'I can see every leaf on the tree'. How I had laser vision correction

Two hours later, my vision had already recovered to 80%.

graphic designer, marketer

“I have had a mild degree of myopia -2.75 since high school, so I decided to have laser vision correction”.

I first thought about the procedure when I got a job in an ophthalmology center. After talking to doctors, learning more about the equipment, seeing every day happy faces of people who got their sight back, I finally decided to do it myself.

The whole operation took about five to seven minutes from the moment I entered the operating room. First they anesthetized my eye with drops, told me to go to the operating room and lie down on the couch. Then they put a dilator for the eyelid, a “suction cup” on the eye itself and made an incision. At that moment you stop seeing for a couple of seconds.

There were no sensations, just a little unpleasant.

The eye was washed with a special solution, and the picture appeared blurred. Then it was necessary to look at the green light of the laser for 17 seconds, after which the doctor put the flap back in place. Then the same thing was repeated with the other eye.

Coming out of the operating room, I could already clearly see the outlines in the distance, but everything was as if in a fog. Every minute the picture became clearer and clearer. Two hours later, my vision had already recovered to 80%, and a day later – to 100%.

I did not experience any painful sensations, and the next day I could see perfectly well. It is an amazing feeling when you can see license plates, every leaf on a tree or every hair on a person’s head without straining. Doctor-ophthalmosurgeon Dubrovina Anna Valerievna made a jewelry work on restoration of my vision, for what I am very grateful to her.

Two eyes were operated on different days

psychologist

“Poor eyesight was since childhood. Either genetics or stress. Diagnosed with progressive myopia. I walked as I was, because I didn’t want to wear glasses. I learned about the existence of lenses when I was already a student. I did this for about six or seven years.

I tried to restore my eyesight with the help of exercises and massages, but after a couple or three months of daily such exercises, the result was nil. The last straw was when I ran out of lenses and had to go to the other end of the neighborhood to pick them up – 10 minutes away by car. My eyesight is -2.5 and -2.75, astigmatism, but I decided to take a chance.

I drove out and realized that the road was blurred. I couldn’t see the signs, the numbers on the traffic lights either. I decided that I needed to get corrections. I analyzed most of the clinics. The main points were: cost, quality and reviews. On the day of surgery was afraid, because the unknown of what is happening is frightening. It was good that the doctors voiced every step. Although at some point you stop hearing everything and want everything to go as soon as possible.

My friends who had corrections said that the worst thing is when your eyes get dark. For me it was the most pleasant moments, because at that moment there was no pain. The surgery itself was extremely unpleasant, my eyes were wildly watering, which made it difficult for the doctors to put a vacuum on my eye. As a result, I was only able to operate on one eye on the first day, and the second one on the next.

It’s funny that when you get up from the operating table, you see red spots, as if you were a wounded character in a computer game.

But this effect lasts for about five minutes at most. After that, you see everything clearly. I felt weak, so for the first couple of days I only slept. Within a month my eyes recovered and stopped being red.

After three months I was taken off all restrictions. I thought about the fact that I should have done the surgery much earlier, so that I would not have to suffer with glasses and lenses. Now I wake up every morning with 4K image quality.

Doctor’s opinion

ophthalmic surgeon of the Eye Microsurgery Clinic “I see” (St. Petersburg)

“Most likely, different laser correction techniques were used in the described cases. In the first case, judging by the description, it was ReLEx SMILE – the latest generation method, which is as comfortable as possible for the patient, including in terms of recovery. And in the second case, perhaps, a flap technique, LASIK or FEMTO LASIK was used, so the rehabilitation period was a bit longer.”

It is also necessary to make a discount on the age of patients, as the younger the patient, the easier he tolerates the intervention. The presence of accompanying factors such as the presence of dry eye syndrome and the length of contact lens wear also plays a role.

Laser correction, I believe, can and should be done if there are no contraindications in general health and eyes. The main thing is to choose a good ophthalmologic clinic and an experienced doctor.

Temporary restrictions include inflammatory diseases of the eyelids, cornea and conjunctiva in the acute stage. Among absolute contraindications: age under 18, pregnancy and lactation, epilepsy, mental disorders, cataract, glaucoma, keratoconus, thin cornea, retinal detachment, diabetes mellitus, presence of a pacemaker.