Intralasik - Part Two: DURING

On the day of the treatment, I was the third patient in line. There were two very teenagerish looking Chinese patients before me (I intended to use the word ‘young’ but that made me appear ‘old’, so lets just agree with my selection of words :p) I was asked to arrive there at 1 pm, so while waiting for my turn, a nurse named Molly briefly explained the aftercare, dos and don’ts, helped me put on the surgical gown, cap and foot cover, dilated my eyes and made me feel comfortable. Around 3 pm, I finally met the doctor; Dr. Zainura. She read through my test results and checked my eyes, and at the same time explained to me the procedures and risks involved, also what to expect in the operating theatre and percentages of things that could go wrong. I initially anticipated that I could spend more time with her before the surgery, but surprisingly it was relatively brief and short because she on the other hand, expected that the counseling session had prepared me well for the surgery. Fortunately I didn’t have much to ask and I was quite ready myself, or else I would have been very panicky and anxious. It also seemed like she was rushing the pre-op session a little bit, probably because she had done it a gazillion times before. Even her explanation was flowing out of her mouth like a recorded speech! But she looked very professional and very certain on what she was doing, so that kind of gave me the assurance and confidence I badly needed. Plus she was also very pleasant. But frankly, I still feel that they should have let me see the doctor first before I decided to go for the surgery. Maybe I should have insisted. Oh, I hate regret. Learn from my mistake guys and lets move on. 

In her explanation, the doctor told me that 1% or 3% (I forgot which) of lasik patients will get a prolonged, if not permanent, side effects and complications after 6 months of surgery. 1 out of 200,000 people will suffer from excessive corneal curvature which is caused by thin cornea surface. 100% patient suffered temporary dry eyes and approximately 5% will need enhancement or follow up surgery to 'touch up' the previous operation. Normally people with remaining power of 100 after lasik are not encourage for the touch up mainly because enhancement means another surgery, which carries a new set of risks. So which mean to say, avoid it while you can. Although Optimax offers free lifetime enhancement as many time as possible, as long as the eye thickness is sufficient and in my case, the remaining thickness will allow for another 200 power enhancement, hopefully I will never need one.

Before getting in the OT room, the doctor used a topical anesthetic drops to numb my eyes and make a few marks on the white eye area. Basically I had to undergo two laser procedures, the first was to create the flap and the second was to shape the corneal bed. A nurse cleansed and sterilized my eyes, brought me to the first room which placed the intralase machine and helped me lie on the OT bed. The room temperature was very cold, even the doctor noticed that I was shivering; she asked a nurse to cover my body with a blanket. Another nurse covered my face with a piece of cloth that exposed my eye through the hole in the middle, then asked me to open my eyes wide and taped my eyelashes to get it out of the way. After that I couldn’t blink anymore, so it was quite agonizing having to gaze at the direct bright light before the procedure started. The doctor then placed an eyelid holder in my eye to prevent blinking. It was uncomfortable when she inserted the thing in because I can feel the pressure. After that, the doctor reminded me not to move my eyes, just relax and focus on the target light at the centre, not the ring of bright lights around it. The target light was very dim and barely seen, so I have to really focus and keep my eyes steady. The doctor started the laser which lasted about 15 seconds per eye. My vision got darker and eventually I can’t see anything until she removed the eyelid holder. My vision became blur again and she repeated the procedure on another eye. After completed, the nurse pulled the taped cloth and it felt like I was given a wax! I thought I lost lots of facial hair that day. 

Afterwards, I was brought to the second laser machine. Again the nurse put on the cloth, taped my lashes, placed the eyelid holder and made me stare at the bright light. This time, the red target light was much clearer. I saw the doctor holding a needled syringe but I don’t feel anything when she jabbed it in my eyes.  The flap was lifted and when the laser started, an intense smell of burning hair arouse in the room. I can see the tiny blue laser light circling slowly around my eye. It only took a few seconds but it felt like forever because I was trying hard to keep my eye still. The machine can detect and follow small eyes movement but it will automatically stop if your eye gets outside the target area. The doctor had warned me earlier that if the operation was halted middle way, things might get complicated because the entire test had to be repeated again due to the changes in the eyes map and contour. After the laser, the flap was flipped back to its original position. In order to achieve a smooth, crease-free flap, the doctor stroked the surface of my eye repeatedly in every direction. I guess the best way to describe it was 'like spreading icing on a cake with a pair of spatula’. Urgh, sounded weird but you know what I mean. When the procedure ended at 4pm, my vision was still blurry, but it was already better than my vision before. 

Overall, the surgery went well. To tell you the truth, I felt no pain at all. Only a bit of discomfort when the eyelid holder was placed and also not to forget, the unintentional ‘waxing’ session! ;) 

Wow, this post was longer than I thought and it took me days to complete. But if you're still interested on this matter or crave for another yawn, please come back later for the final part of Intralasik. Till then, bye!

Comments

[fitrah]

What an experience! I can feel and imagine that. Alhamdulillah it went well. I still remember your beautiful eyes which I admired to. hihi.
Please take good care of this amanah.

[azury]

Hehe.. arigato gozaimas! Kalau akak ada kat sini bole kite belanja makan.. ;)

[Juri]

Waa, surgery tu buat hidup2 azury? ingatkan dalam keadaan bius pengsan, tadela ngeri sgt... sungguh berani ok! yupp, aku memang setuju wt kak fit, ur eyes memang amat cunz, pakai spec tebal time f1 dulu pun boleh notice tau haha!

[azury]

Kalau bayangkan mmg macam ngeri, tapi tak rasa ape pun sebenarnye. Jun, ingat tak spec pink aku waktu form 1 dulu? Mane ntah buang, patutnye simpan buat kenangan. Benci gile spec tu, walaupun mak aku kata comel. Tension i! ;p

[Adiksu]

Salam.

huhuhu i'm almost fainted reading ur experience..hahaha
alhamdulillah suma selamat...agree with Kak Fitrah, u r very lucky diberi anugerah yg sungguh la cantik...mmg mengancam tau..

-Kak CT-

Note: adiksu ni nick masa bebudak dulu..;)

[azury]

Thank u kak siti :)