Laser Eye Surgery

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Dear Blog Readers,

I've had one of the most amazing weeks of my life and decided it was definitely blog worthy. I will try and loosely relate them to travelling so that the diehard travelblog readers aren't too disappointed!

After a couple of months of practicing with my excellent driving instructor Ros (please get in contact if you want her details - highly recommended!) and going out with my nerves-of-steel Mum have been very effective. My test wasn't great. In fact, I my reverse around a corner was so dire that I actually assumed I'd failed within the first two minutes. Maybe it was the lack of nerves after that which made me pass! So I now hold a shiny new (manly) pink driving license which opens up the opportunities when travelling abroad. My instructor was quite surprised when I'd told her I'd actually been on a scooter in India, a motorbike in the Philippines and a car in Korea without having a provisional license.

Two days after passing it was time for my laser eye surgery. I found blogs very effective when I was trying to decide whether to have it or not. I thought I would return the favour with as much description as possible to help others who are thinking about it.

So where do I start? I began thinking about laser eye surgery probably two or three years ago. Often it was when playing sport and travelling that it became a nuisance carrying contact lenses, losing contact lenses, breaking glasses, etc. Not only was it disastrous for myself because my eyesight was bad enough that I couldn't physically do anything and it was also becoming financially exhausting. My eyesight deteriorated significantly in secondary school but has been stable now for over five years. This stability is essential for anybody thinking about laser eye surgery.

I will give you some specific data about my eyes because I found this lacking in a lot of blogs I read and they would have been helpful for me:

Right Eye: Sph (-6.25), Cyl (-1.00), Axis (132), Cornea Thickness (494), Pupil Size (8.46)

Left Eye: Sph (-7.50), Cyl (-0.50), Axis (150), Cornea Thickness (497), Pupil Size (7.5)

My eyesight is quite bad and I have a slight astigmatism (Cyl) in my right eye which actually improves my vision (Sph). My cornea is quite thin and I have a slightly larger than average pupil size in my right eye.

I considered getting it done in South Korea when I was there last year. It would have cost about £2500-£3000 for my surgery and the surgeons and facilities are as good, and arguably, better than in England. I didn't end up getting it done because I would have been a long way from home if anything had gone wrong and I didn't have the time that I would have wanted to recover properly.

When researching in England, I found that there were three big players in the laser eye surgery market - Optical Express, Optimax and Ultralase. The consultations are free but be prepared to wait a while for an appointment. I had a consultation at Optical Express about a month after phoning for one. The consultation was very thorough and I left feeling very pleased that everything had been checked and all of my questions had been answered. Due to my poor eyesight and thin cornea, the only available option for me was the LASIK Intralase Wavefront surgery. This is the pinnacle of laser surgery at the moment. I won't go into specific details about what the surgery is as you can probably find it on Wikipedia. Note there are two different surgeries - LASIK and LASEK.

Probably the biggest thing that potential laser-eyers will need to consider is the price. Don't be fooled by the adverts saying £400 per eye! I was expecting to pay around £1000 an eye so I was very surprised when I was told mine would cost £2000 per eye. You see, the way it works is on a sliding scale. The people who can get it for £400 an eye will have a minimal prescription (probably not even spectacle-worthy!) and they will not need the Intralase or Wavefront technology to make the cornea cut and map the eyeball respectively. The price goes up almost exponentially until you reach my amount of £2000 per eye.

I looked on the bright side - I was worried I would be in a position where I would have to choose whether to have a cheaper surgery at the expense of some of the technological advancements that would improve my vision. Luckily, I had no choice but to have the most expensive surgery so I wasn't put into that predicament.

Slightly deflated about the price, I had a look online and noticed that Optimax were doing the exact same surgery for £1000 per eye. It seemed like an opportunity not to be missed so I phoned and booked another free consultation with them. Although I'd already had a consultation, each company will want you to have your own with them so that your details are on their systems. The consultation at Optimax wasn't as impressive as Optical Express. Their machines to initially test your eyes kept breaking; the consultation room was extremely small and very dark. The optometrist gave me some alarming news at the end of the consultation that I would not be eligible for LASIK or LASEK due to my pupil size and cornea thinness. She said she would contact their head optometrist with my results and let me know what options would be available for me.

This startled me because I'd assumed that the results of each consultation would be more or less the same and the amount of information on the Optimax website showing that there is no significant difference in the machines that are used or the expertise of the surgeons. A few days later, I was told that the head optometrist recommended that I have the replacement lens procedure which is basically the same as a cataract operation; i.e. replacing the lens entirely. I researched and asked some of my friends who are medics who were also surprised at the recommendation due to my age (the surgery is often recommended to people over 40), health and the fact that Optical Express were happy to go through with it.

So where do I go from here? I found it quite difficult to find any independent and neutral information. Before going to any of the consultations, I discussed my thoughts about having the surgery to my GP and optician who both said that I would be a candidate but they couldn't do any of the tests that I had during my consultation to verify that I could have the surgery. I considered going for more consultations, such as at Intralase, but the time it takes to actually get the consultation and have the surgery is on the order of a couple of months. I deliberated for a while and did as much research as I could and decided that Optical Express was my best chance.

I was lucky that a good friend had recommended Optical Express and with her recommendation I was able to get £300 off my surgery. I suggest doing this if you a considering the surgery as you can save a bit of money and I'm happy to give you my details should you decide to go through with it. Also, Optical Express offer a 10 month interest free payment plan which can be useful to spread the cost. Optimax offer a much longer interest free payment plan (up to 36 months!) and Optical Express have longer payment plans but with interest added on. After confirming my operation I was scheduled to have the surgery on 3rd February 2012. The day that would change my life.

I knew the week of my operation would be a big one with it being my driving test two days prior. Having passed that, my confidence was up enough for me to be looking forward to the operation rather than nervously dreading it. Mum and I drove to Leeds making small talk to break the nervous silence. Mum suggested putting on Tricka Technology by A Skillz and Krafty Kuts. It went down well. We had to go to Leeds because the York branch didn't have a surgery to perform the operation so bear that in mind when you get it done and request any follow up appointments to be made at the place closest to you.

We were guided to the waiting room where a number of other nervous looking spectacle wearers sat gauping at the fortunate souls who have just had their surgery completed. After a half hour wait I had my eyes checked one final time and the Wavefront machine was used to map my eye so that the laser can correct the smallest deviations. The Wavefront costs extra but improves the post-op sight, particularly reducing the glare at night. I then waited about an hour before finally getting called up to meet the surgeon for the first time.

This may sound bizarre to many that you only meet your surgeon for the first time about 10 minutes before doing the surgery but it is quite normal. The profiles of each surgeon are available on the websites and I went through them with my friends who knew what the letters after their names meant to check! My surgeon was Dr Aziz and he'd performed over 65,000 surgeries so I knew I was in good hands and he was great and talking through the procedure and answering all of my difficult questions, "So what will happen if I sneeze during the operation?”

I'll talk you through the surgery so that you know what to expect but it may not be suitable reading for the squeamish! I was called through to the operating theatre (basically a room with a bed on it). I was introduced to two nurses. I took off my glasses and was told to look at the clock on the wall and remember what it looks like. This was difficult without my glasses on since the clock just merged into the fuzzy haze of the wall. I laid back, closed my eyes and the nurse wiped some sterilizing liquid over my eyes. He then put some drops into my eyes which numbed them and made my eyelids feel heavy.

Dr Aziz came through the door and sat behind me. He put a clamp into one eye to stop it blinking and covered the other with a patch. I was then put under the Intralase machine. This is where a laser, rather than the surgeon, cuts the circular flap into the cornea. It was entirely painless and it lasted about 15 seconds. The other eye was then done and I was back under Dr Aziz. He then lifted the flap which was the strangest sensation because everything goes very blurry and grey. I was then placed under the laser and repeated to myself the advice he'd given me before going in, "all you have to do is look straight up." I've never concentrated so hard on looking straight in all my life. There is a blinking orange light to focus on and then the laser starts pulsating. This makes a popping sort of noise and gives off a distinctive smell. The smell of burning eyes. The other nurse gives a countdown for when the laser finishes. It only lasts about 20 seconds. The other eye is then done and Dr Aziz finishes the operation by replacing the flap carefully. A number of drops are put into my eyes and the surface is literally wiped which is an odd sensation because you can't feel anything. I was then asked to sit upright and look at the clock on the wall. I could now read that it was exactly 1pm!!

It is worth noting that you may want to get a copy of your operation notes. These will include everything that occurred during your operation. It may be useful later in life if you have, for example, cataract surgery. However, your notes will be destroyed after a certain period of time so you will want a copy for yourself. To obtain them, you have to write to the head office and request them.

I was then taken to another room where Dr Aziz double checked everything was OK and the cornea flap had been replaced correctly. A nurse then talked me through the eye drops that I had to take and the appropriate aftercare plan. You are given three eye drops - an antibiotic, a dry eye lubricant and a milky steroid drop. The steroid drop leaves a horrible taste at the back of your throat! Weirdly, they don't provide any painkillers so I strongly suggest you take some with you! After about 15 minutes, the anaesthetic wears off and your eyes begin to stream constantly. It feels like somebody is pushing onions into your eyes. Make sure you're with a friend to take you home because you won't be able to do it without them! It's also worth taking some sunglasses as everything seems much brighter and you'll get headaches pretty quickly as a result.

Thankfully, the recovery time is very quick! Once I got home, I rested for the day and after about 5 hours I was able to see better and the tearing was beginning to stop. You'll still want to wear your sunglasses inside though and you'll feel like your eyes are itchy but you must not rub them! I thought it felt like when you've kept contact lenses in a bit too long. Your eyes are more susceptible to the light and you get a glaring effect which can cause headaches so keep topping up on painkillers. I tried to do different activities at different focal lengths so my eyes don't strain too much and I've been taking plenty of rest.

I woke up the morning after the surgery and almost wept with happiness being able to see my clock and tell the time. No more accidently using shaving foam instead of shampoo in the shower either! I had a post-op appointment and found out I was already at 20-20 vision. It's a dream come true and I would recommend it to anybody thinking of getting it done!

Tink



Update: A couple more great things with not having specs - 1. No more 'window wiping' when it starts chucking it down with rain. 2. No more steaming up when walking into a warm house when it's freezing cold outside. Brilliant.

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Photos

Before Surgery
One of the last photos of me wearing glasses!

Resting
Wearing my goggles for sleeping. Probably at the pinnacle of my coolness.

Fish & Chips
Fish & Chips on a Friday. Sunglasses needed.

Recovering
In the evening about 6 hours after my surgery.

Bruising
Very common to get bruising on your eye after the surgery. It vanishes after a couple of weeks.

Laura and a Horse
Laura being scared by a horse.

Comments

[Home and Away]

So the travel relevant part was the drive to Leeds?
Anyway, welcome back to TB. I've missed your blogs. And thanks for the detailed report about deciding to get the surgery. Other than laser surgery what else is happening in your life? Have you found an astrophysics job? When are you and Laura getting married? Do you miss teaching in Korea? When is your next extended trip? My son has just started his CELTA course in Bangkok and enjoys the hard work and comraderie with the other students. I'm not sure how long he will devote to teaching. He had wanted to get his LLM, but coincidentally another student had her LLM and had worked as a lawyer, but decided she hated it ("they own you 100% of the time" was her quote) so she is trying this as part of living the dream to see the world. Sound familiar?

[Tamsin]

Awesome!
Hey, that's great news! Glad it was a success! :)