I had worn glasses since elementary school and contact lenses since middle and high school... As everyone knows, glasses are one of the most inconvenient things ever, right? You cannot see your own body when you wash, so when I removed body hair I always left one or two strands on purpose^^, steam fogs them up when I eat hot soup at home, I wear them until just before sleep, if I fall asleep in them they leave marks, they make my eyes look smaller, and so on....
In the end, at exactly 29, I wanted to get SMILE LASIK, which is said to be enough in one day, so I looked into several hospitals based on ophthalmology reviews and what people around me said. There are not that many places in Gwangju, so I went to the eye clinic that seemed the most trustworthy, [Clinic A]. My job does not have many days off, so I wanted same-day testing and surgery, and I booked the date to match that. Since it was same-day surgery, I did not use the eye drops for testing, so I do not really know how uncomfortable they are, but my younger sibling, who had the tests later, said their pupils were dilated and their vision felt dizzy.
Anyway, the test results showed that my corneas were extremely thin, so not only was SMILE LASIK impossible, but even regular LASIK was not an option. I was told that PRK was also the last chance this time, and that if I was lucky and the cornea healed and returned after this, I might be able to have surgery one more time. It was a pretty desperate story. Since I had already decided on same-day surgery and had gone there thinking only about LASIK, I thought, how different could PRK really be... the only difference is that recovery will be slower... and decided to go ahead.
I put on a gown and sat waiting with the other surgery candidates in a row. When it was my turn, I went in and lay down, and they put anesthetic drops in my eyes. Then they fixed my eyes in place and shaved off a thin layer of cornea, and there was literally no pain at all.
The hardest part, surprisingly, was when they corrected my vision with the laser. Was it one minute? Was the light red or green?... It was 5 or 6 years ago, so I do not remember clearly. The point was that I had to keep looking at that laser light without moving my pupils and without blinking.... Because of the anesthetic, my eyes did not hurt, but maybe because the eyeball cannot be left dry, liquid kept pouring out, and my pupils kept moving involuntarily.... I did not even realize they were shaking, but the doctor kept warning me that my pupils were moving.
And that liquid was unbelievably cold, to the point where I wondered if glacial water could really be this cold^^.
After that short time passed, something gray kept flashing in front of my eyes and covered my cornea back to normal, and the PRK was finished. At that point my vision was not yet clear, but it did not hurt either, so I just shuffled around, went to the optical shop downstairs to switch to blue-light glasses, got my medicine, took a taxi, and went home.
Then the anesthesia wore off and hell began.... It felt like someone was throwing sand into my eyes and pressing down on them with a fist, and that pain kept going. If you are getting PRK, if your eyes are usually sensitive, or if your corneas are thin, I think it would be good to prepare painkillers in advance.
The hospital gave me anesthetic eye drops that could be refrigerated and used once a day, though I do not know how they do it now. Anyway, those had to be saved for sleeping at night so I could at least sleep a little..... So during the day I had to endure the pain with nothing. Strictly speaking it was not the kind of pain from digging out your eyes, but because it does not go away and keeps going for five days, you start to feel crazy, so please! Painkillers!!! Prepare them!!!!! in advance....
Also, with PRK you should keep your eyes as dark as possible for five days and not open them, so it will not be boring if you prepare YouTube radio or other things you can listen to with your ears in advance.
And after five days, your eyes do not magically become crystal clear, but your vision gradually improves as you recover. For about a month? or three months? I think? you cannot wear eye makeup, and you also have to wear blue-light blocking glasses, so there is quite a bit of aftercare. People who are lazy, if aftercare is not done well, I understand that vision correction does not go as well. I did not want to go through that terrifying pain again, so I took care of myself diligently.
After I fully recovered, before surgery my vision had been around -0.5 to -0.6?? I think... I do not remember exactly... I think my glasses lenses were compressed once or twice. After the surgery and recovery, my vision was 1.2 in both eyes, and the world was really comfortable. But astigmatism... astigmatism definitely caused light halos at night, so driving at night was unfamiliar and difficult for a while.
Then, as time passed, my vision gradually dropped again, and now it is around 0.8 in both eyes. Daily life is not a problem, but the astigmatism was not corrected, so the vision in both eyes feels different, and on tired nights the light halos are severe enough that a two-lane road looks like four lanes, so I cannot say there are no side effects.
So for night driving, I wear glasses made at an optical shop with a little extra correction, with myopia in one lens and astigmatism in the other.
If you ask whether I would still get PRK even knowing all of this, I would say yes^^. Even so, it is much more comfortable than wearing glasses. I am worried because my vision is gradually dropping again, but it has been 5 or 6 years since PRK, and I think 0.8 is not bad. Even when I first went for a consultation, the counselor said that usually you can maintain it well for about 10 years... so all I can hope is that my cornea heals well enough that I can have surgery one more time after this.
I hope my old review was helpful.... I will end here. Thank you.