Perhaps more than any other type of voluntary medical procedure, laser eye surgery can change a person’s quality of life for the better. For a person who has never worn glasses it may be incomprehensible to understand just what kind of a restraint they can be. When the sun comes out from behind the clouds you don’t just put a pair of sunglasses on, you need to swap between different pairs. Sporting activities become a lot more difficult when you try running around a court with glasses that were designed more for fashion than sports, and water sports can become a downright impossibility. The cold winter months do not help either. How many times have you seen a person walk in to a room from the cold outside and their glasses fog up the instant they step through the door? Often it seems funny, but becomes less amusing when it happens a number of times a day over the course of the long winter months.
Laser eye surgery is a relatively quick, easy, and painless process and the good news is that in the Czech Republic you can expect to pay between €1,200 and €1,500 for both eyes, which is about half the cost of the same surgery in the US or the UK.
The first step is finding the right clinic and discussing the whole procedure with the doctor. The doctor should be open and prepared to talk through and explain all the steps involved so you know exactly what to expect before, during, and after the surgery.
Laser surgery uses short bursts of a computer-controlled laser beam to permanently alter the shape of the cornea — the transparent membrane that arcs over your pupil and the colored part of your eye (iris). After the procedure, your cornea should bend (refract) light rays to focus more precisely on your retina rather than at some point beyond or short of your retina.
All in all the whole procedure for the patient is quite stress-free and not too demanding. Firstly a doctor will do an initial evaluation to determine whether you are a candidate for the surgery. This includes a number of tests on eyes such as measuring the cornea and noting any irregularities. If you wear contact lenses on a regular basis then it is a good idea to stop wearing them before the initial evaluation because, depending on what type of contact lenses they are, they can change the shape of the cornea for several weeks. There are other minor things that should be done the day before and on the day of the surgery, such as not applying makeup and other creams. Your doctor should explain more.
The surgery takes only approximately 30 minutes from start to finish. You get to lie in a reclining chair not too dissimilar from a dentist’s chair. The doctor then applies some numbing drops and a small instrument is used to keep eyelids open so you don’t blink through the procedure (sounds a lot more uncomfortable than it actually is). You will be asked to concentrate on a light (which is not the laser) but which helps to keep the eye from moving around. Then it’s only a matter of a few quick zaps of the laser and the surgery in effect is all finished. The actual laser part of the procedure only takes a minute or two, depending on how much correction is required. The doctor then places a protective contact lens in the eye, which is removed 24 hours later.
After surgery you may feel some discomfort, so keep pain killers on hand. Another good idea is to have some sleeping tablets ready as the discomfort is at its greatest some 2 – 6 hours after the operation, and the best way to deal with this period is to sleep through it. It is also very advisable to have someone with you on the day of the surgery so they can either drive you or assist you home after the procedure.
Usually patients see better immediately after the surgery but vision is still quite blurry and watery. The following day you will again need to visit your doctor, who will check on the surgery, remove the contact lenses, and administer some eye drops which you will have to use on a decreasing basis over the following 6 months. You will also make regular checkups with the doctor to make sure that the healing process is progressing well.
For the first week the quality of sight increases dramatically with each passing day. After 7 days you should regain about 90% of your sight. Then it is a gradual healing process for the next six months for the remaining 10%. When well rested, and in a lot of natural bright light, usually you cannot notice the fact that the vision is not 100%. For some time you might notice halos or glares around bright lights, especially at night.
As with any type of surgery, certain risks exist and laser eye surgery is no exception. Though serious complications are extremely rare, some of the negative effects may include:
Under-corrections – the laser does not remove enough tissue from the eye. This problem may require a second procedure.
Over-corrections – too much tissue has been removed. This may be more difficult to correct than under-correction.
Astigmatism – uneven tissue removal. This sometimes occurs if the eye moves too much during surgery. It may require additional surgery.
Glare, halos, and double vision – usually most common in low light and when tired; often treated with eye drops.
Dry eyes – for a number of months after surgery eyes may feel unusually dry. Treated with eye drops. Infection – infection and swelling may occur during the healing period.
To many around the globe, especially those leading active lifestyles, laser eye surgery has been a godsend: Not having to search for glasses in the morning after a night out on the town, not having them pulled off by inquisitive toddlers, not having to endlessly polish them every time a greasy finger comes into contact with them. Most people who have had the procedure will agree that this was some of the best-spent money in their lives.
The world is full of products and services that promise to change your outlook on life. Laser eye surgery is one of the few that really do deliver.