Laser Eye Surgery Journey With Accuvision

2. WHAT IS LASER EYE SURGERY? Laser eye surgery basically involves reshaping your cornea (i.e the front surface of your eye that you can see) so that you can focus better. In my case, it’s about correcting my short-sightedness so I can get to 20/20 vision – which I’ve not had since my early 20s (if ever). It can also correct long-sightedness and astigmatism (yes I had to Google these terms, well the 2nd one to completely understand what to write in this spot haha)

4. WHY I DECIDED TO GET LASER EYE SURGERY? Well, I first became considerate of the idea whilst waiting to get my hair transplant in Turkey back on November 13th 2020. I sat with Joe, another chap who was having his hair transplant – and who told me he got laser eye surgery a couple of years ago. He said he was sick of wearing glasses/needing contacts – and so decided to have the surgery – and it was one of the best decisions he had ever made. At that moment – I was queuing up to go through a 6-hour treatment for my hair that involved having my head torn open – so the prospect of getting laser eye surgery didn’t seem too crazy. This will change in the future however when I do have children and then I need to drive to places. At that stage, my vision will become more important – and I’d need to wear glasses every time I drive. So the idea of not wearing glasses really appealed to me. With all of this in mind – I immediately fired off some questions to him.

6. DOES LASER EYE SURGERY HURT? Joe confirmed that laser eye surgery doesn’t hurt because they anaesthetise the eye – meaning they paralyse its feelings. Not the emotional one’s – but rather the brain-eye connection such that you see and experience different sensations – but none of those sensations are a pain as such. Moreso – it’s a case of various drops being placed into your eye, a green flashing light you need to keep your eye on throughout the procedure, as well as some pressure on your eye.

7. IS THE PRESSURE ON YOUR EYE INTENSE? Nope, the pressure on your eye isn’t intense – it’s pretty manageable – so nothing you can’t handle. It’s a little bit like someone is – well – pressing your eye slightly. I’d later discover it was much like when I had my face flat down pressed up against the operating chair during my hair transplant

8. CHOOSING A LASER EYE SURGERY CLINIC Joe had had his surgery a couple of years back, and for my sisters, it had been 4 and 10 years. Unlike with my hair transplant – where I had a reference from someone who had the treatment in the last few months – this wasn’t the same. Also, knowing that Joe had paid around £6,000, I wondered whether there was better value money for deals out there. Whilst much of these surgeries were sold on the basis of the quality and experience of the surgeon – I’d figure all of these guys were really experienced – and that therefore the quality of the result would be indistinguishable in the end. Regardless I started my googling, with laser eye surgeries near me, as well as laser eye surgeries in London, and the journey began.

9. DIFFERENT TYPES OF LASER EYE SURGERY So as I’d discover – once I started googling – is that there are three main types of laser eye surgery to consider – LASIK, SMILE and surface laser eye treatments. What is Lasik Eye Surgery? So this is the most common surgery that people end up getting to get them off contact lenses or (in my case) glasses. What does Lasik stand for? It stands for Laser-assisted in situ keratomileuses.

10. What are the refractive errors of the eye? Basically, this means the shape of your eye is not correctly bending the light that comes into it – thus resulting in a blurred image. But when you hear about being ‘short-sighted (many younger people are), or ‘long-sighted’ etc – these are all refractive errors – the technical terms for which are: Myopia (nearsightedness) – what you have if you’re better at seeing things close up. Hyperopia (farsightedness) – the opposite lol. Then it starts to get more interesting with presbyopia (the loss of near or close vision with age) and astigmatism.

11. LASIK EYE SURGERY PROCEDURE There’s dome-shaped clear tissue at the front of your eye of which the shape is adjusted basically so that light bends slightly differently when it comes into your eye to adjust for the current…well incorrect bend. And there’s a flap that the ophthalmologist will create – a tiny one at the front of your eye – this will then be lifted up, so the cornea can be reshaped underneath. The flap is then rolled back on because it’s this that forms a protective barrier whilst your eye/cornea underneath it heals.

12. TESTS YOU NEED TO PASS BEFORE UNDERGOING LASIK EYE SURGERY So – I’m not sure at all of the ‘fail rate’ associated with getting laser eye surgery but there’s definitely a bunch of considerations before you go ahead and get the surgery done: These include (but are probably not limited to) the: Examination of the corneal composition It’s shape and thickness The optics of the eyes Tear production Intraocular pressure Your pupil size The lubrication of the eyes and refraction ● ● ● ● ● ● ● I’m not going to pretend I know in depth what each of these is – but I did do a little bit of research into each of them so you can get to grips with them

14. WHO IS NOT SUITABLE FOR LASER EYE SURGERY? Your eye prescription is unstable Your cornea is too thin or it’s irregular in some way Your eye prescription is outside the safe range of treatment You have poor eye health You have poor overall health You’re pregnant or nursing You have severe dry eyes ● ● ● ● ● ● ● So there you have it – assuming you don’t have any of the above issues (to your knowledge) – crack on and keep reading.

15. HOW QUICK CAN YOU GO BACK TO NORMAL LIFE AFTER SURGERY? For The First 24 Hours After Lasik You will have had protective shields or lenses placed over your eyes and will be wearing sunglasses most likely when you come out of surgery. Make sure you keep your eyes closed as much as you can for the first 24 hours. Also, you’ll need some assistance getting back home where you should be focussing upon rest and nothing else. You’ll be given drops to take every couple of hours also. For The First 24-72 Hours After Lasik You should see improvement quite quickly and the sensitivity which will be soothed through time passing and the use of the antibiotic drops you’re given should do the trick. You can open your eyes more and return to normal life. Follow your ‘eye feeling’ however – and focus upon resting when your eyes tell you too as well as closing them when you feel you need to.

16. FINAL THOUGHTS I feel like I’ve become a tiny bit of an expert through putting this blog together and walking you through much of what you can expert from getting Lasik like myself. It’s definitely been an exciting journey for me and I almost wish I knew about this a decade earlier (which of course I did because two of my sisters had laser eye surgery) – but better late than never. And I hope that you give such a journey some consideration as you think about what you can see, what you can’t see and how much it does for you to have a surgery such as this.