-> I was last month measured up for a cataract operation by a laser  
-> driven device that precisely measured the crippled eye;  it left  
-> me in the grip of a dazzlingly different figural affer-effect - an  
-> array of sizzling colours being teh complement of light I'd never  
-> encountered before.... 
 
-> Indeed,  every perceptual effect turns out, when probed, to be far  
-> more complex than is spelt out in the 101 texts.... 
 
-> :-) 
  
Some years ago, I was watching TV, when I realized that the vision in 
one of my eyes was blurry. A few minutes later, I developed a 
horrendous headache around that eye. I went to a hospital emergency 
room, and was soon told that I had a form of acute-onset glaucoma. 
(This was a relief. I had suspected I was having a stroke!) The 
pressure in that eye was about four times normal, and twice the level 
at which blindness would soon ensue. I was told that, unless it was 
treated right away, I would be blind in that eye by morning. I opted to 
have it treated, which involved spending the night with needles stuck 
in my arm and a nurse putting drops into the eye every few minutes. By 
morning, the pressure was actually a bit below normal, but that's 
nothing to worry about. The doctor told me to put drops into the eye 
for a week, and then he would perform laser surgery to fix the problem 
permanently. 
  
The surgery, which was actually done on both my eyes, just in case, 
used a laser to burn small holes through the irises of my eyes, which 
would give the fluid a way to escape if the normal way became blocked, 
so the pressure would not rise. 
  
When the holes were burned through, I saw blinding light from the 
laser. And, yes, the after-effects were interesting. I couldn't see 
well enough to drive for an hour or so. But then everything returned to 
normal. I go for a check-up once a year, and there has been no sign of 
anything wrong since the surgery. I guess it worked. 
  
Lasers have many good uses.... 
  
                        dow 
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