●Profile - Wore glasses from middle school for about 12 years - Has worn contact lenses since around the same time (Glasses and contacts were worn about 50:50, and once I put on contacts I usually wore them for at least 10 hours) - No history of eye surgery, but I used to get conjunctivitis often in middle school - Has both rhinitis and allergies - Vision (myopia was mild, astigmatism was moderate) R: Myopia -2.00, Astigmatism -0.76, Astigmatism axis 180, target corrected vision 1.0 L: Myopia -2.25, Astigmatism -1.50, Astigmatism axis 175, target corrected vision 1.0
- Corneal endothelial cells (2000 or more is normal) R: 3188 L: 3111
- Corneal thickness (under 500 is considered thin, 500 is average, 550 or more is thick) R: 495 -> corrected amount 48, remaining 447 L: 497 -> corrected amount 64, remaining 433 *For reference, I learned this during the consultation! I was told that wearing contacts for a long time does not make the cornea thinner ㅠ People with thin corneas are said to be born with thin corneas...! If surgery is impossible because you wore contacts for a long time, it seems to be for some reason other than corneal thickness :)
- Pupil size (under 6 mm is considered small) R: 5.8 L: 5.8 *If the pupil is small, the chance of glare after surgery is lower
●Why Smile Pro? I actually made my reservation for Smile LASIK and had even finished the eye exam, but Smile Pro had not even been posted on the official website yet! I was curious, so I asked near the end of the consultation! What exactly is Smile Pro...? Three big points stood out to me, so I’ll write them down!!
1. Equipped with an automated system that can improve the accuracy of astigmatism correction compared with conventional Smile LASIK (detects the eye's central axis in real time) 2. Laser irradiation time has been reduced from 24 seconds to within 10 seconds (about 7 seconds), helping reduce psychological 부담 and lowering the rate of suction loss. The faster it is, the less inflammatory reaction and the lower the risk of tissue damage, so recovery is faster 3. Reduced haze symptoms, where vision looks cloudy. When the laser is applied, bubbles form on the corneal surface. Because of those gas bubbles, vision may improve immediately after surgery, but the field of view may not look clear
Before the consultation, my biggest worry was that if suction loss happened during Smile LASIK, it would be converted to LASIK at that moment. My eyes are so sensitive to bright light that I sometimes can’t open them properly, and they feel very stingy, so I was really afraid I might move my eyes during surgery ㅠㅠ But the advantage in point 2 felt huge to me! My concern about the smaller number of surgical cases was eased by the explanation that the surgical method itself does not differ much and only the equipment has been upgraded! So, after being told that Smile Pro surgery was possible that day, I switched to Smile Pro and decided on it!
They also showed me results from a family member of the clinic staff who had one eye done with Smile LASIK and the other with Smile Pro. Both surgeries had excellent outcomes, but Smile Pro showed slightly better results in corneal shape, recovery speed, and similar areas, which was decisive for me!! (That does not mean the Smile LASIK eye failed or was bad. Both had good results!)
●Eye exam & consultation Before the consultation, I asked in advance about the experience of the optometrists! The tests are done by machines, but the optometrists still examine the results and match the values before entering them ㅠ After being told that the optometrists had an average of 5-10 years of experience, I thought that seemed fine! You can check on the clinic website which machines are used and what corneal tests are performed, so please take a look! And when another optometrist checked everything once more at the end, my trust level went up again~
You all know that before vision testing and surgery, soft contact lenses must be stopped for 3 days, hard contact lenses for 1 week, and orthokeratology lenses for 1 month, right? I thought this clinic's period might be a little short, so I asked whether not wearing them for longer than the specified period would help, but I was told that it would not produce better results! So I only stopped for 3 days and went in!
●Surgery Since I’m an office worker, the only holiday that allowed me to rest sufficiently after surgery was Chuseok, so I searched thoroughly and even went ahead with same-day surgery! Even if you book same-day surgery, the surgery can still be scheduled for another day after the consultation! I was planning to cancel on the same day if it seemed bad during the consultation, but they explained everything in detail and kindly, and answered all my questions right then and there~ They also showed me the numbers from the eye exam on the monitor, making everything easy to understand at a glance, which I liked! After all the tests were done, after the consultation, if you proceed to the surgery floor, you put on a gown and cap in the waiting room and wait before the surgery begins! You can see the operating room transparently, but when the surgery actually starts, they cover it so you can’t see directly!
After lying down for the surgery, they anesthetized me and the doctor kept explaining things nonstop while proceeding, but because the laser time is only 7 seconds, it went by so quickly and was over before I knew it.... I was watching the green light the whole time, thinking it would keep going, and I was startled when it disappeared in the middle..! It wasn’t because of the laser that I couldn’t see it, but because the green light literally turned off, so I couldn’t see it ㅋㅋㅋㅋ (the doctor explained it) So both eyes were done in just a brief moment. For me, the part after that, when they took out the separated corneal lenticule, was harder than the laser part ㅠㅠㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I wanted to stay as still as possible, but the light was so bright that my eyes felt incredibly strained, and I was scared, so I think my pupils were shaking like crazy, but the doctor still managed it... Still, the surgery ended safely, and I even had corneal strengthening done before leaving...
Because it was Chuseok and the date was changed, I didn’t finish until around 8:30 p.m....! I was the very last patient ㅎㅎ The nurses were also kind in guiding me, so it ended well!
●The day of surgery For about an hour after surgery, even though I couldn’t see well, my vision was better than right before surgery, which was fascinating, so I kept looking around... After an hour, it was hell.....ㅠㅠ The tears would not stop... To the point that if I lay down, water would pool near my eyes and run down the side of my face....ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I had to open my eyes to put in the drops, but I couldn’t open them, so I felt like the medicine wasn’t going in properly and I was losing my mind ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Since I finished at 8:30, I went home, put in the eye drops right away, endured it for two hours, put the drops in once more, and went straight to sleep... I didn’t really feel like the brightness of the light was overwhelming, but right after surgery I couldn’t see things up close well, while faraway things were clear. The glare was really bad on the day itself
●The next day I went for a follow-up check at 10 a.m. right away! As soon as I woke up, I put in the eye drops and sat for a bit, and everything in front of my eyes was hazy like there was fog..? But I could still see well... Eye pressure, the surgical incision site, and everything else checked out as normal! The most important thing, my vision, was 1.2... It was so amazing...!! That feeling of seeing clearly even though things look hazy... Yesterday I couldn’t even read the text on my phone up close, but by around the next evening I could almost see everything up close well too! (Still a bit hazy though). The glare was still severe.
●1 week after surgery The haze that made things look cloudy was still there to a mildly uncomfortable degree by then! Just a little bothersome? It wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t see or was extremely uncomfortable! If you’re not sensitive, it’s a manageable level! My eyes were also very dry~! But for people whose eyes got extremely dry while wearing contacts, it’s exactly that level of dryness... Before surgery, the doctor had told me in advance that if my eyes felt very dry when wearing contacts, they could feel that dry after surgery too, so I was prepared, and I was fine ㅎㅎ. The glare also got much better.
●2 weeks after surgery The haze had almost completely disappeared, and the dryness was still there but gradually improving! The glare is still there too, but it has gotten much better, and I can see clearly:) I was told that glare and dry eye after surgery gradually improve over time, so I guess I’ll just wait and see ㅎㅎ
●Conclusion I’m totally satisfied ㅠㅠ I recommend it to anyone thinking about surgery ㅠㅠ But you have to decide based on your own eye condition, so make sure to do thorough research and get a consultation before deciding!
●Tips 1. Take an anti-inflammatory painkiller in advance... I took mine in the surgical waiting room... Still, it hurts a lot ㅠㅠ 2. Be sure to bring sunglasses and a hat on the day of surgery~ 3. After surgery, you must get home within an hour.... Once the pain starts, it can be really hard ㅠㅠ (go with someone to accompany you) 4. If your surgery is in the afternoon, go to the pharmacy in advance during the waiting time! The pharmacy may close after surgery.. 5. Don’t just buy artificial tears at a pharmacy; get a prescription and buy them that way because it’s much cheaper!
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