Laser Eye Surgery (LASIK) - What it's all about

So after wearing glasses/contact lenses for 20 years (of my 28 year old life) - I finally decided to take the plunge and go for laser eye surgery. It's a pretty big decision because you really have to assess just how much wearing glasses/contacts bugs you to undergo a surgical treatment. Some people are really afraid of hospitals, surgeries, doctors, etc....and I'm one of them. Anyway, I'll describe what happened so if you are thinking about, you have a bit of an idea of what's in store.

The Consultation

First, you have to pick a Laser Eye centre that you want to get the procedure done at. This part was a bit easy for me because a very good friend of mine had already done the research. His brother is an opthamologist in Toronto and had recommended a particular Doctor (Dr. Simon Holland) of Pacific Laser Eye Centre in Vancouver. I did some research on Dr. Holland and found out that he and another Doctor in his office, Dr. Lin, are two of the best in North America. This was really reassuring. I mean, if I am going to get my eyes fixed, it better be with the best.

Once you pick where you want to have the procedure done, you arrange for a consultation. I went on January 29, 2008. I couldn't wear my contacts for the day before the consultation so that the Doctor could have a better assessment about the shape of my cornea. I first went in for some preliminary tests - topographical images of the cornea and assessing the depth of the cornea. Then I watched a video about the surgery and the risks involved. The best part of the video was one of the facts that no one that had laser eye surgery at Pacific Laser Eye Centre had ever gone blind. That was incredibly reassuring! After the video I went in for a consultation with the Doctor who took a look at the preliminary tests and told me I was a good candidate for LASIK! I didn't exactly know what he looked for but I was just happy that I was a good candidate. FYI - there are two kinds of lasery eye surgery - LASIK and PRK. In LASIK, they cut a flap in your cornea and the laser burns some of the tissue underneath to correct your vision. Then they put the flap back and wait for it to heal. The recovery time with LASIK is very fast and comfortable. With PRK, they actually burn the outer part of your cornea with the laser so the healing time is longer and bit more strenuous. Either way, the worst would have been to psych myself up for the surgery and then to find out that I wouldn't be a good candidate for either but I was relieved that I could get LASIK. I didn't really have many questions for the Doctor - the only thing I asked was whether he had had the procedure done on himself or not and he said yes. I then met with one of the patient counsellers and she told me that the approximate cost would be $3900 for both eyes and that the next available surgery time was February 8th. It was quite overwhelming at the thought of getting the surgery done so soon. She also mentioned that they wouldn't do the surgery until I had a pre-operative exam with my optometrist who would confirm my subscription and do further tests to make sure I was ok to do the surgery. Also, she said that I wasn't allowed to wear contact lenses for at least a week before the surgery.

Later that day, I called my optometrist and made an appointment for a pre-op exam for February 5th. You have to also have your contacts out for a week before the pre-op exam. I called the Laser Eye place again to confirm that I could have the surgery within 3 days of the pre-op and she said it was fine but just to make sure my optometrist put in the dilating drops that only lasted for a couple hours and not a couple of days.

The Pre-Operative Exam

So I was obviously very nervous for the time period before my pre-op. I didn't want to get my hopes up too high in case my prescription hadn't stabilized or there was some other reason that I couldn't get the surgery done. In the pre-op, my optometrist basically checked my prescription and the amount of tissue on my cornea. My prescription had not changed at all for the past two years - it was exactly the same! So we were clear in that area. The next thing was to make sure my cornea had enough tissue for the laser to remove. If you have a very bad prescription, you need to have extra tissue to remove - my prescription was about a negative eight but I ended up having enough extra tissue! I was very relieved. My optometrist went through a bunch of risks with me and talked to me about what it would be like for the first week and first month after the surgery. But basically, he gave me the thumbs up for going ahead and that's all that I needed to hear.

The Surgery

My mom came with me to the Laser Eye Centre on the day of the surgery. I was a bit nervous but I just wanted to get it over with. I first paid my $3900 and they gave me some sedatives. I'm usually not a big fan of pills but I wasn't going to say no. I then went through some preliminary tests to make sure nothing had changed in the past few days. I then went into the pre-surgery room where they let me practice putting in my eye drops and they make you listen to a tape about what the surgery is like. Pretty soon I was being called into the surgery room and I was feeling the nerves creep up. There is a bed to lie down on - and they put a pillow under your knees to make you more comfortable. Then they gave me two stress relief balls to hold onto with my hands - that got me a little freaked out. Pretty soon we were getting started ...lots of drops in the eyes and then they coverd the left eye to start working on the right. There was a metal clamp used to hold my eyelid open and then the Surgeon said "Now you are going to feel a bit of pressure" - and then I felt pressure alright. I don't know what it was but it felt a bit uncomfortable for about 10 seconds and then I could see the flap being cut and lifted. It's all very blurry and you are meant to look at some green blinking lights straight up. It's sort of a weird sensation - because you can see them doing this to your eye but you can't feel anything. It wasn't painful at all. The only painful part was when they put "pressure". Then I heard the Surgeon call for the laser and I could smell a bit of burning for about 5 seconds. Once the laser is done, the Surgeon puts the flap back and smooths it down and takes off all the clamps. There's an eye patch out on one eye while they switch to other eye. And that was it. It only felt like a few minutes later and I was out of the surgery room. Insane how fast it was.

Post-Surgery

Right after the surgery, they do a vision test. This was a bit scary because for some reason I thought I was going to be able to see perfectly right after the surgery so when I did open my eyes and it was all blurry, I was a bit nervous until I was reassured that it was normal. I tried not to open my eyes again for the next few hours. My mom took me home after we got our "care package" of eye drops and instructions and wicked sunglasses!! I actually love the sunglasses - they are really big and dark and probably have the best UV protection for my eyes than any of my Chanels or Pradas. I basically kept my eyes closed for most of that night except to eat and to put in drops which have to be put in every couple of hours. It was quite the spreadsheet my mom and I made up to figure out which drop has to go in and at what time. Later that night - probably around 1130pm I just did a little test of my vision - I basically opened my eyes and looked at the TV to see what I could read. It was incredible and clear. I quickly closed my eyes and rested them waiting for my appointment with my surgeon the next morning.

It was a pretty tough night - waking up at midnight, 3 a.m., 3:30 a.m., 6 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. to put in drops. I went back to the Surgeon at 8:15 a.m. for the post-operative exam where I opened my eyes fully and he tested my vision and checked the healing. I was relieved when he said everything went well! I asked him if I should be opening my eyes or keeping them closed or what. And he basically told me that at this point, it was back to normal. Just wear the sunglasses when outside and keep putting your drops in...oh and NOT TO RUB MY EYES AT ALL.

The Week After Surgery

The week after surgery was a little interesting. I guess when deciding to actually undergo the surgery, I didn't really think about what it was going to be like afterwards. My optometrist (in my pre-op) had actually warned me that the week after, you are not allowed to clean your eyes even though you are putting in gallons of drops. It wasn't THAT bad but it was a little uncomfortable. Basically, the one particular drop - Celluvisc - the lubricant - makes you get this gunky buildup on your eyelashes and you really can't do anything about it. I really tried to fight the urge to just pull at my lashes to get this goop off of it. It's only for one week - it's sort of annoying when you wake up and your eyelashes are stuck together. You can just squirt saline on them and slowly pull them apart. You aren't allowed to take a proper shower and get your eyes wet. I ended up going to a hairsalon and getting them to wash my hair for me. A little annoying but again, it's only for a week. On the Friday (a week after the surgery), I went to see my optometrist for a check up and he said that all was well. He also told me I could start to GENTLY clean my eyes - and to use the steam from the shower to loosen up the gunk. THANK GOODNESS.

Three Weeks After Surgery

Things are going well. The vision is still crisping up. I think it is supposed to take 3 months before your vision is totally stabilized. I'm still using Celluvisc but maybe only about 5 ot 6 times a day. I still can't believe that I can see and that I am not wearing contacts. It's really quite surreal. I don't think it's fully hit me yet. I'll keep you posted. But for now, this was definitely one of the best decisions of my life.