Hi everyone!
I could finally make up my mind to get rid of my glasses and get laser eye surgery/ procedure. This is me wearing my eye glasses for the last time while going for the procedure.
I had been thinking about the procedure for a long time but couldn’t make up my mind to go ahead and do it because of the following concerns:
- I was scared because eye is so delicate and something sharp would be poking my eyes.
- I was worried what if the procedure goes wrong and I go blind or my eyes’conditions get worse.
- I couldn’t take out time to go for the procedure and take rest with the busy schedule. (Initially, I was considering to get LASIK which has a longer recovery time.)
- Money was also one of the concern as these procedures are expensive.
So, I kept on telling myself it’s fine I can work with contact lenses and glasses.
Reasons why I chose to go for it:
- My eyes were getting dry and it was getting difficult to put on contact lens for long hours when working.
- I went back to wearing glasses and would only put on contact lenses for special occasions or going out with friends.
- Everything was still okay, but after putting on glasses for long hours, my nose and back of the ears would hurt and I started getting irritated about it.
- Also, one of my friend had got LASIK procedure done on her eyes before so I was less afraid about the procedure not working.
After I had these issues, I started learning more about the procedures and what will be done to my eyes. Then, I searched for the centres that offer these procedures and found one in Yuen Long, where they would do a check up first to see whether my eyes are suitable for this procedure.
This is what I found from their website:
I chose ReLEx SMILE because the recovery time was shorter and I could go back to work after 2 days rest.
I booked an appointment for the check up and the check up cost me $800 dollars. They had many machines to check the eyes, one of them check for pressure by blowing air into the eyes (which kind of scared me). Also, some eyes drops were put into the eyes to check the dilation so you so avoid driving on this day. Everything went well, my eyes were suitable for the ReLEx SMILE procedure.
I booked an appointment for the procedure after a month because I was going out of town. The doctor told me not to put on contact lenses for at least 2 weeks before the procedure.
The procedure:
I was back to Hong Kong and it was time to get ReLEx SMILE done on my eyes. After I arrived at the centre in Kwai Fong, they had the eye test done again. Honestly the eye tests and the waiting time was longer than the procedure itself.
They prepared the room for the procedure and I was given a operation gown. I was taken inside then I lied down where the laser equipment was located. My left was covered and then doctor put some eye drops (anesthesia) in my right eye to make it numb as I would be awake throughout the procedure. They used some contact glass to keep my right eye open. Doctor told me to keep staring at the light of the laser. It was only few seconds for the laser, then the doctor made the incision after which my eye became cloudy and I got scared but the doctor said keep looking at the white light. Then after few seconds, my vision got clearer. Then my right eye was done and it was time for the left eye. So same was repeated for the left eye. I was a bit less scared for the second eye because I knew what was going to happen. After both eyes were done, my vision was already clear but it was very difficult to open my eyes. So the doctor told me to keep the eyes closed then I was taken to a dark room to sit for 20 minutes. Then the nurse told me how to take care of the eyes, putting eyes drops and eye shield.
The procedure for both eyes took around 20 minutes in total but overall it took me 3-4 hours included check up and waiting. So after the procedure I couldn’t keep my eyes open the light felt too bright. I had brought sunglasses so I put them on and luckily my parents were there to bring me home. We grabbed a taxi home because I could barely open my eyes and mum had to hold me to walk.
The cost for the procedure was $20,000 (Hong Kong dollars) excluding the cost for check up. Also, this price was for a package deal for 2 people. I could get this package because my brother also made appointment for his eye procedure together with me. The price can be lower if more people go together to make appointment whereas the appointment day for procedure can be different. As long as you make the appointment together, you could get your eyes done at different days.
I will write more about taking care of the eyes right after the procedure in the next post.
Thank you for reading!