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  • Peter Clark

    • Rating 
    • 5.00
    • | Posted on 
    • 13/10/2009
    • Price Paid for Surgery 
    • £ 6300.00
    • Treatment Type 
    • LASIK on both eyes, starting from -12 & -12.5 dioptres (about 20/800 vision). This counted as a 'high profile' correction, so I paid the higher price of £6300 instead of the normal £4500. This is an all-inclusive price, from the snack food & drinks to all follow up care and secondary surgery you might need. Some eyes take two operations by default, so that is included as well. There were 3 appointments before the surgery: - First, they filter out obviously unsuitable people from a basic eye exam, and make sure you know the risks involved. This is free, so you can go along and check the place out and meet the staff. - The second appointment is to check your eyes in depth so they can setup the computer program for the lasers. Each eye gets its own custom program, unlike some places that used a best-fit program from a pre-existing database. They also go through in a LOT more detail any side effects and what a possible worst-case scenario would be. - The third appointment is on the day of the surgery. The surgeon double checks everything and makes sure you know the risks before you sign the consent forms. I had my first two appointments back-to-back as I was certain I wanted to go ahead! It turned out that my eyes had a very thick cornea, so they were able to do my eyes in a single operation instead of the normal two needed for my high prescription. They deliberately made by eyes long-sighted to start with, as the eyes heal and the swelling goes down my eyes will correct themselves back to 0 dioptres (i.e. perfect!). After the surgery, appointments are spread over increasing periods of time, based on need. You always have a next-day follow up, and some people have another one after 1 week. My eyes looked great, so I came back after 1 month, and will go back again in another 2 months for a complete eye check-up. You then go back after another 6 months after which they might say to come back yearly.
    The surgery is VERY simple (well, from the patient’s point of view - probably somewhat more complicated for the surgeon!). You really feel nothing on the eyes, but the visuals you get are very weird and can be a bit worrying. Thankfully, they explain exactly what they are doing at every stage of the surgery, so you never had the worry of "is it meant to do that".

    The first stage is making the flap in the surface of your eyes. They paralyse your eyes using eye drops so you feel nothing, and then lock your eyelids open with one of the eyelid stretching things. There is a light feeling of pressure on your eye, but not actually from your eye. Your vision then turns milky white from the bottom moving upwards. At this point your vision is very milky and fuzzy. This entire stage takes about 4-5 mins, with the laser being about 1 minute in total!

    The second stage has you looking at a green light, which when they fold your flap back turns into a giant green fuzz-ball. Just try and keep it so your entire vision is green. The second laser then comes on and you can smell burnt hair, which is not a happy smell when you realised that your eye is being vaporised!

    Finally your flaps are put down and your eyes are checked over by the surgeon, and you are sent home. About 20 mins in total! It's very exciting when you sit up and can read the clock on the far wall!

    For the first 3 hours you have to have your eyes closed, but stay awake. Have a friend about to talk to as otherwise it could be VERY dull! You also have to put in eye drops regularly (for me it was about every 5 minutes, for some it’s every 15 minutes). Your eyes tell you when you need more as they start to feel very dry.

    After that, you get to look around. Your vision will still be slightly fuzzy, and you will have bad haloing and star bursts which are most noticeable at night. Don’t worry - these all slowly fix themselves over the next month. The day after my surgery, my Dad drove me to the clinic for my next-day check up and I was reading the road signs with no problems! Every day you notice your vision is better and better!

    My eyes itched like crazy for the first hour, and then had a slightly dull ache for a few hours. You get various eye drops to take, which includes an anaesthetic. At night, you get to tape plastic shields to your head to stop you from rubbing your eyes in your sleep. The tape is VERY sticky, so remember to use the wipes provided to remove the goo.

    The day of surgery, I could see enough to walk around outside. When I woke up the next morning, I could see well enough to watch TV from my bed but not well enough to read small text like a newspaper. By the time I got to the clinic for my follow-up I could read the smallest text on the reading card, and could read 20/25 sized text on the board with no problem. The next day, I was using my computer and by the third day, I was able to do pretty much everything I could before.

    I’ve just had my 1 month check-up and my vision is 20/16 in each eye and a combined result of 20/12 (top 1% of people!) so I am incredibly happy! I still get some start-bursts at night and light haloing, but these have gone down a lot in the few weeks, and will continue to disappear as my eyes completely heal.

    There are some strange things you don't expect. For example, everything is slightly bigger. Colours are more vivid. I can now see my nose as a shadow in each eye! I have peripheral vision again. Every time you get out of the shower you have a slight moment of panic when you can't find your glasses. You get used to them all in the end!

    What I have told people is that you would have to be insane to even consider having eye surgery. It's also the single best thing I have ever done, and I can't recommend it enough! Those two statements are both true, and when you are happy to live with that you are probably good to go and have it done!
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