Hello~
I had wanted to get vision correction for a long time, but I was too scared to do it. This time, after returning home from overseas for good, I decided to get vision correction surgery while I had time off, and I went through with it.
I had been considering SMILE LASIK for a while, and over the past 5-6 years it seems to have become much more common. When I briefly looked into it a few years ago,
ㅇㅅㅇㅇ was already famous for SMILE, and its reputation was still the same. After watching their YouTube channel, I developed trust in them, so I ignored all my acquaintances' recommendations and had same-day surgery at ㅇㅅㅇㅇ with Director ㄱㅈㅎ. It was also a day when the chief director, Director ㅈㅇㅅ, was not there, and I had originally been considering either Director ㅈㅇㅅ or Director ㄱㅈㅎ anyway, so I just went straight with Director ㄱㅈㅎ.
For reference, I have high myopia, so I am sharing this information for those with high myopia to refer to and feel encouraged.
Left/right myopia: -6.5 (high myopia)
Left/right astigmatism: -0.75 (mild astigmatism)
Target corrected visual acuity left/right: 1.0
Preoperative corneal thickness: left 594 / right 592
Correction amount: 106 each
Residual cornea: left 488 / right 496
Pupil size left/right: 5.8 mm, on the smaller side
My corneas were thick, but although the shape of my retina was not abnormal, it was not a normal shape either, so scleral reinforcement was recommended together and I had it done.
Day 1 - Same day
The surgery took about 10 minutes. After the laser irradiation, I was told I might briefly not be able to see, but it was not as frightening as I expected. Some people said the sensation during scleral reinforcement felt strange, but when they sprayed something like medication, it just felt cool.
After surgery, my vision was extremely blurry, like there was fog over my eyes. Things in the distance gradually became visible, but they looked very hazy, so it was uncomfortable.
Still, it was better than taking off my glasses with -6.5 vision, so I managed to find my way home by public transportation. It was raining heavily that day, so I could not get a taxi. I hurried to get home before the anesthesia wore off, took the subway, transferred three times, and got home. Fortunately, even after I got home, I did not have any particular pain.
The feeling after surgery was like the uncomfortable feeling of wearing contact lenses on a day when my eyes were tired. There was almost no pain, but I definitely felt that my eyes were a bit tired, so I went to sleep early. Before going to bed, the haziness had almost disappeared, and I could see well.
Day 2 - After surgery
I had a checkup in the morning, and my visual acuity was about 1.0 in both eyes. When I woke up, I could see better than the day before, so I comfortably took the subway to see the director, and I was told the surgery went well. By the second day, I was already starting to see clearly.
Day 3 - Day 11, up to now
I started seeing well from the day after surgery, so I do not really notice a big difference up to today. But my eyes definitely get tired when I look at text, use the computer, or focus on things up close. Especially when I look at the computer for a long time, my eyes feel sore and my focus feels blurry. My right eye, which had worse dry eye, is a little more uncomfortable than my left eye, but it feels about as uncomfortable as when wearing contact lenses. So far, it is absolutely not to the point that I regret the surgery, and I believe it will gradually improve.
Also, maybe because I had glasses and now I do not, wind gets into my eyes, and when I look at things up close I squint. I may not really notice it myself, but I thought there might be some glare, so today I got glasses with no prescription.
Light spreading was noticeable on the day of surgery, and from the second day onward, lights looked a bit more spread out when they were large or when I looked at them in the dark. But small lights are fine, so I have not felt any major inconvenience walking around at night.
Personally, I do not usually feel that my eyes are very dry, even with the air conditioner on. But when I wake up in the morning, my eyes seem dry and do not open easily, so I do look for artificial tears first.
So far, I think there are more gains than losses. And I think the symptoms above will also gradually disappear like they do for other people.
After surgery, I have been actively recommending SMILE LASIK to people around me, though I also wonder what it would have been like if I had gotten implantable contact lenses. I heard that implantable contact lenses have also become much safer compared with before, so if you have high myopia, I hope you look into it carefully and choose the surgery that suits you.
No matter how thick the cornea is, I was a little worried because more than 100 of the cornea was being ablated and scleral reinforcement was even recommended. But I felt confidence and trust from the director, so I was reassured and could entrust the surgery to him.
I really wanted to take off my glasses, and I had always struggled with contact lenses. Every time I wore lenses, I often felt like my eyes would get worse and be damaged, so I gathered the courage to do it quickly before presbyopia came. It was also a good opportunity to learn the condition and characteristics of my eyes through various tests before surgery. I will manage them well and maintain healthy vision for a long time.