[woodtick]

Lilya,
I'm assuming you are talking about Lasik surgery. Don't worry, it's not too bad of a procedure. How do I know you ask? Well, I had it done about three years ago in Toronto, Canada. There was Canadian eye clinic that was doing the procedures for $500 per eye versus $2500 per eye for an American Eye doctor. Since my wife worked for the airlines and we fly for free, we decided to go to Toronto and make a weekend of it. BTW, Toronto is a wonderfull city.

Here is what I remember about the procedure:

On the day before surgery, I had a complete eye exam including a digital maping of my eye's corneal contour. The digital maping is how they determined the number of seconds the lazer blasts your eye. The clinic staff gave me a tour of the clinic and explained the procedure in detail. I was also able to view a procedure being done at the time through a viewing window.

Day of surgery:
Prior to surgery they gave me one of those "magic" pills to relieve anxiety and some eye drops to numb the pain. I then went into the operating room and laid on a nice, big well-padded table. The procedure started by placing a tool on my eyelids of one eye to keep them open. The next step was the least comfortable of all, cutting the flap. I remember trying to pull my head back into the padding on the table. Not because of pain but just because of a natural instinct to protect my eye. The cutting instrument puts a lot of pressure on the eyeball, in retrospect I remember thinking at this point "This is sort of medieval process, but at least it doesn't hurt." As he applies the instrument to the eye you start to loose your vision until it is completely gone. Eventually you see nothing through your eye, completely black no light. I could see how someone might start "freaking out" at this point because you are literally blind in one eye until he finishes cutting the flap and removes the tool. The tool then cuts the flap and the doctor removes the tool from your eyeball. My vision came back somewhat at this point, but from what I remember it wasn't much but plain light and no immages coming through. It was a relief to have some vision back at this point as opposed to absolute darkness.

Next, I was placed under the lazer machinery. There was a red light I had to keep looking at in order to maintain the lazer's accuracy. The doctor started the lazer. It made a zapping type sound as it fired, whack-whack-whack-whack-whack and the smell of burning flesh permeated the air regardless of the fact that there was a vacuum to remove the smoke. The lazer runs for a specific duration of time that is predetermined by the computer. The doctor monitors the machine during the process. The computer determines the amount of firing time from your previous corneal mapping. When the lazer is finished the doctor puts the flap back in place, places a patch over the eye and moves to the other eye.

BTW, during the entire procedure the doctor told me exactly what he was doing during each step and what I should expect as he was doing it. Just listening to his voice was comforting and it was also reassuring when things would happen exactly as he said they would.

After the procedure, my wife took me directly to our hotel room. I took some more "magic" pills and went to sleep. The hours just after the surgery is when the pain can set in. Try to obtain enough drugs to sleep through it, that's what I did. I didn't wake up until the next morning. I don't recall having any pain during or after the entire event. The next day I went back to the clinic for a post-op examination. I had subsequent check-ups at specific time intervals for the next year. The clinic recomended yearly checkups and gave them at no charge. If you kept up with the checkups, they would re-do your eyes for free if the procedure was necessary again.

I had dryness and irritability for a few weeks following the surgery. I had to be conscious not to touch my eyes at any time for a while. I also had to wear goggles during sleep and while in the shower. Get a good pair of sunglasses and wear them every time you go outside for several months or longer. Ultraviolet rays and intense sunlight can cause damage as your eyes are extremely sensitive during this time, besides you will look really cool too! LOL! I bought Maui Jim brand optically ground, polarized sunglasses. It was an investment, but I felt I was worth it!

The end result:
I have 20/20 in both eyes. I do believe my eyes are more sensitive to becoming dry but I believe that is a small price to pay for what I have now. Thank God for modern medicine! I can enjoy wintertime outdoor activities again without having my glasses fogging up. I can waterski, wakeboard, swim or windsurf without prescription goggles. Never again will I have lost or broken glasses or run out of contacts. Whas it worth it? Absolutely and I would do it again without hesitation.

There is a small risk, of course, as there is with any surgical procedure. My clinic was completely transparent about it's history. They revealed their success rate and also gave the average success rate nationwide in order for me to not only understand the risk factor but also to rate the clinic. I was also told how many procedures my doctor had done and what his specific success/complication numbers were.

I wouldn't worry especially if you doctor is experienced. I didn't know what my doctor's experience or success rate was until after I was commited. At that price, I didn't give a rip. I was going to give it a try either way. You should ask your clinic about your doctor's history prior to commiting to the surgery to put your mind at ease. If your doctor isn't willing or is evasive about giving that information, I would go somewhere else. I didn't even have to ask my clinic for the information, it was part of the pre-operation preparations.


Oh, one thing I want to reiterate; Make sure you sleep for at least eight to ten hours just after the surgery. I think I slept for about twelve or fourteen hours. This period is very critical. It is important to keep your eyes closed because you can get contamination under your flap before it heals and that could lead to infection. If I were to do this again, I would wear swimming goggles from the clinic until I got back to my room. I only wore sunglasses. I found out about six months later when I had another eye exam that I had a small amount of contamination under my flap in one eye. It's there forever now. I would imagine it got there during the travel from the clinic to the hotel. Just commit yourself to sleeping. My cousin had the procedure done in Winnepeg, Canada about six months after I had mine done in Toronto. He didn't get enough pain medication or sleeping pills. He said it was one of the worst experiences of his life. The poor lad was all by himself too. Just sleep through this period, I can't stress how important this is.

That is about all I can tell you. I hope this helped.

Don't worry, you'll be fine,
Wood