There seem to be many people curious about Smile Pro surgery, so I thought I’d write a detailed, vivid review. It still feels somewhat unfamiliar, and there seem to be few surgery reviews from long-term lens wearers haha
First, to organize why I decided to have the surgery,, 1) Wore circle lenses since middle school - About 13 years = 10+ hours a day + 7 days a week + circle lenses (+sometimes fell asleep wearing them after drinking,,) - Got bad headaches when wearing glasses, so I wore lenses even at home - Since I was going to wear them anyway, I wanted to wear something pretty, so I chose circle lenses (As an aside, I’ve had very large eyes since I was little, so I always lived hearing that I had huge eyes, and I hated how they looked smaller when I wore glasses, and because my eyes were large, my pupils looked relatively small, which was a complex for me) - I had severe astigmatism, but circle lenses couldn’t correct it, so I wore them by increasing the prescription on my own (R: -7, L: -6) 2) Allergies and conjunctivitis every seasonal change - When I went to the hospital, they told me not to wear lenses, so I just got by with anti-inflammatory medicine I could buy at the pharmacy,, - Later on, I got used to the redness and just kept wearing lenses and pushed through 3) On overtime days or drinking appointments, I wore lenses for up to 16-18 hours - Office worker who uses a computer a lot - When it was dry or the wear time got longer, the lenses would always move around, and even artificial tears couldn’t fix it,, - Lying down at night with the lights off and using my phone was my daily habit.. if it was short, 1-2 hours; if long, 4-5 hours
Then there was a time when overtime became really frequent, and I had a huge reality check about why I was still wearing lenses to chase some kind of luxury and glory.. The next day my eyes were extremely red, and it felt like my heart was pounding in my eyes, and I suddenly got so stressed that I decided to have surgery!
▶ Surgery preference Smile LASIK >>>>>>>>> LASEK >> phakic IOL
Honestly, even I thought my circle lens-wearing period was way too long, and as someone who had lived with conjunctivitis, I vaguely thought Smile LASIK would be impossible I was prepared for it not to work and even considered phakic IOLㅠ
Because I’m a working adult, I judged that going around to multiple clinics for examinations was unrealistic, and I thought it would be exhausting to visit several hospitals in one day and I’d probably give up halfway through because of my personality,, So I gathered as much information as possible and narrowed down the hospitals
Since I was considering phakic IOL if Smile LASIK wasn’t possible, I organized the hospitals classified as top-tier for each surgery - The surgeon’s experience with surgery (whether the doctor also had vision correction surgery) This is true for all surgeries, but especially for Smile LASIK, because the surgeon’s skill is crucial - Official Smile LASIK + latest VisuMax equipment - Whether the examination equipment was also neat and up to date - Hospital location and atmosphere.. (I assumed that the more patients there were, the better the location and the fancier the interior would be,,) - Ideally, whether there was a doctor known for phakic IOL and whether the prognosis was also good I made an exam reservation with the hospitals narrowed down this way
▶ No-contact lens period (what I was most curious about before my exam) - Looking at reviews from long-term lens wearers, I confirmed that many people stop wearing lenses longer than recommended - I wore glasses for about 3 weeks, and during that time I wore lenses for about 2 days - For the week right before going to the hospital, I wore glasses
▶ Specs - Vision R: myopia -5.75, astigmatism -1.5 L: myopia -4.75, astigmatism -1.75 In other words, moderate myopia + moderate astigmatism
- Corneal endothelial cells R: 3067 L: 3344
- Corneal thickness R: 543 - 106 (amount corrected) = 437 (remaining) L: 543 - 97 (amount corrected) = 446 (remaining)
Fortunately, my cornea was on the thicker side of average, so Smile LASIK was possible! They said that even though I wore circle lenses for a long time, corneal thickness is usually inherited Don’t give up in advance; I recommend at least getting the exam~
In addition, during the examination process, an abnormality in the right retina was found,, They explained it to me, but I can’t remember well; it seemed like there was a small hole in the retina.. Anyway, I also had a dilated eye exam They told me to get treated before leaving, so I even had laser treatment that day After treatment, they said the fence had been set up well, so I could forget about it and live my life, and I really did forget about it,,
For various reasons, I recommend at least getting examined,,
▶ Why I considered Smile Pro - During the consultation, the counselor told me that a new device called Smile Pro had been released - Originally, if I was going to have surgery, I wanted to have it done by the chief director, and they said only the chief director performs Smile Pro surgery - They were running an early-bird discount until the end of October (+ free corneal strengthening), so when comparing 'existing Smile LASIK + corneal strengthening' and 'Smile Pro + corneal strengthening', there wasn’t a big difference in price
▶ Why I hesitated about Smile Pro - It had only recently entered Korea, so there were few surgical cases - So I worried that the doctor might not be familiar with surgery using that laser
Coincidentally, the counselor was the second person to have the surgery, so I could ask lots of things... Even so, I was a little worried, but they said it would be possible to change the surgery plan on the day of surgery too So I decided to reserve Smile Pro for now and keep thinking about it And then I decided on Smile Pro!
▶ Why I chose Smile Pro - The laser irradiation time was cut down to 7 seconds -> less strain on the eyes, so I expected recovery to be faster - It’s an upgraded VisuMax device, not a different laser itself -> the method is not different from existing Smile LASIK - Effective for astigmatism correction -> as someone with moderate astigmatism, this was very welcome news,,
▶ Preparation before surgery - I watched surgery simulation videos in advance - Since it was allergy season and my allergies were bad, I took antihistamines regularly I was worried I might sneeze during surgery,,ㅠ - I stopped drinking alcohol for about 2-3 weeks before surgery
▶ Surgery day - Surgery was performed on the first day of the Chuseok holiday, so the schedule was full, and I booked the first slot at 8 a.m. - I went to have the surgery with my mother, using the subway - On the day of surgery, they only did a simple vision test - After putting in numbing eye drops, I went to see the director and checked the astigmatism axis - I wore the surgery cap and gown and waited - I wasn’t thinking about anything, then suddenly started getting nervous ㅠ Sometimes when I look at my phone up close, my eyes get a bit cross-eyed, and I was scared that might happen during surgery, and I had also read reviews from people saying the green target moved and they thought the surgery had gone wrong, so I was anxious
▶ Entering the operating room - I entered the operating room as the first patient, and they said they would check the astigmatism axis once more - When I lay down on the surgical bed, they gave me a rainbow rabbit plush and started the surgery - They operated on one eye at a time, and taped shut the eye that wasn’t being operated on - Because Smile Pro’s laser is fast, they said the green light disappears faster, and when it disappears I should just zone out, but it really disappeared incredibly fast, and just as I was thinking, 'Huh, is this really right?' I heard, 'Yes~ the laser on one side was successful, I’ll do the other side~' - I thought I’d need to know the method to apply it to the other sideㅠ but I didn’t really know,, first they taped shut the operated eye, then did the other side On the other side too, just as I was thinking, 'How did they do it again..' I heard, 'Yes~ the laser on both sides is now finished.' ,,ㅋㅋ - My takeaway was that 7 seconds is really, really short,,
▶ After the laser ended, - While the laser was being applied, they performed the part that removes the laser-cut corneal tissue while the eye had become whitish and blurry - They told me to stay still, so I stayed as still as possible - I had seen reviews saying it felt unpleasant, so I was worried, but it felt refreshingly comfortable,, It was like having my eyes scaled..? For me it wasn’t unpleasant; if anything, it was fineㅋㅋ Maybe because I also like dental scalingㅋㅋ - They said the surgery had been completed successfully and congratulated me - They put in some eye drops for corneal strengthening, and the world turned orange - They said the important parts of the surgery were over and I could relax now, so I did, but the nurse told me not to look around and to keep my eyes on the white light in front of me ㅋㅋㅋ - Anyway, the surgery ended like that,, it really wasn’t a big deal,,?
When I came out of the operating room, my mother was extremely surprised and worried, asking why I was out already,, She said it seemed like it had taken about 5-10 minutes ㅋㅋ Maybe because it was a Pro version, it really felt like it ended before I could even blink Right after it ended, I took the 2 Tylenol tablets I had brought, and went to get 2 kinds of eye drops + artificial tears, but it was too early so I had to wait a bit
▶ After surgery on the day of surgery After the surgery, it wasn’t totally invisible; it was blurry like when my vision was bad before surgery, and because I was numb, I thought it didn’t hurt at all~~ and took a taxi home But once I got home, it really hurt a lot for about 3-4 hoursㅠㅠ I was like, who said Smile LASIK doesn’t hurt!!!! That makes no sense!! Waaah!!! and fell asleep for a nap Then the eye pain gradually went away, and I started seeing well from that evening I could see far away clearly,, small text was also very clear, There was a bit of blurriness, but because my vision was so bad before surgery, I really didn’t feel any discomfort That day I rested properly and just slept~ * While awake, I set an alarm every 2 hours and diligently put in my eye drops
▶ The next day after surgery - Visited the hospital the next day to check the postoperative progress - Intraocular pressure / corneal shape normal, vision 1.2 (so moving,,) Since my eyes have been bad since elementary school, I can barely remember ever having vision over 1.0 in my life.. I found the light after just 5-6 hours after surgery ㅋㅋ At the optical shop before, they told me that if you wear lenses for a long time, corrected vision might not come out well They expected my vision to be 1.0, but since it came out to 1.2, I think it’s fine
▶ 2 days after surgery - Because it was the Chuseok holiday, I kept resting at home - Coincidentally it was the Asian Games period, so I ended up watching the matches without realizing it from the massage chair.. - I tried to avoid electronic devices as much as possible, but I wasn’t very successful ㅜ - I was a little worried, so I visited the optical shop near my house to replace my old glasses with blue-light-blocking lenses - The optician was surprised that I was already out and able to live normally,,ㅎㅎ - Anyway, I think I wore blue-light-blocking glasses and watched a bit longer
▶ 3 days after surgery - Wore sunglasses and went to the park near my house for about 3-4 hours - My eyes felt a little itchy, so I diligently used eye drops, and I put on a show and took a long, lazy nap - That day too, I enjoyed myself without any issues
▶ 6 days after surgery - Went to work at the end of the Chuseok holiday - I could see well without any problems or discomfort, and although it was dry, since I had worn lenses for over 10 hours a day, post-surgery dryness wasn’t a big issue - I had some things to submit personally, so I worked until dawn
▶ 8 days after surgery (today) - From 6 days after surgery onward, I kept working on the computer until dawn, and there was no major strain - I wasn’t used to seeing so well, so sometimes I even thought I was still wearing lenses - When I got home and was eating dinner, I suddenly saw so well that I instinctively thought, 'Ah, I need to take out my lenses' but of course I wasn’t wearing them
I’m really, really, really satisfied with the surgery Until now, everyone but me had been living such an easy life..ㅋㅋㅋ Now I understand why everyone recommended it..
The best things are being able to do my makeup using the vanity mirror,, being able to turn on the light right away and crush that mosquito when I hear it buzzing while lying down to sleep without searching for my glasses,, being able to see well even when I wake up in the middle of the night.. being able to wear glasses as a fashion item.. it’s just everything..
▶ As for the side effects people worry about... - Blurriness: because I had severe astigmatism, things feel clearer now than when I wore lenses - Glare: I already had glare from astigmatism, so I don’t really notice it much - Dryness: since I used circle lenses for more than 10 hours a day, 7 days a week,, it doesn’t feel more severe - Night vision: since it hasn’t been long since surgery, they said I might not see well in the dark, and I do think that’s a little true~ Objects don’t look sharp in the dark.. but then again, my vision was originally bad..
I’m living a daily life that’s clearer than wearing lenses! Worry only delays happiness,,^___^ I hope everyone gets the surgery they want and finds the light~~
좋아요 0