Before LASEK, they run a lot of different tests. I had severe dry eye, so they asked if I was okay with it because LASEK would make it worse. I had already made up my mind to get the surgery, so I just did it.
During surgery, they fixed my eye, sprayed water? and shaved it off with sweeping motions. Because my eyes were open, I could see everything. For people who scare easily, I recommend not watching surgery videos. It didn’t hurt at all during surgery. It was just hard to keep my eyes open, and my eyes stung.
Make sure to bring sunglasses when getting LASEK. I came out after surgery and was surprised because I could see right away. Not extremely well, but enough to find my way home? It was annoying having to keep up with eye drops. There were so many. Put them in this many times, put them in at intervals of this many minutes.
They said eye pain would start from day 3 and my vision would look cloudy. And it really started from day 3. The surgery process itself wasn’t scary, but I was scared of the pain after surgery, so I was pretty frightened. It wasn’t so painful that I couldn’t open my eyes, though. But I think this varies by person? More than the mild pain, the cloudy vision was annoying. Even when I looked at KakaoTalk right in front of my nose, I couldn’t see it. It gradually came back and I could see well. The recovery process was different for each eye. It was 5 years ago, so I can’t say exactly which side took the longest. One side healed quickly, but the other side seems to have taken about a month.
After surgery, glare and halos at night were really severe. I had to wear sunglasses even at night. I still have a little glare/halo effect now. And I developed night blindness. I can’t see well at night. Recently I drove at night for the first time and thought I had become Sim Bong-sa.
The dry eye the doctor warned me about really became severe. Every morning, my eyes feel like they’re being torn apart. I became a modern person who carries 5 artificial tears in each pocket.
Still, I don’t regret getting LASEK. I had lived wearing glasses for a long time, and it was so hard. Even if I went back to before LASEK, I would choose the discomfort after LASEK over the inconvenience of poor vision.
Also, after LASEK, I recommend buying blue-light-blocking glasses. I wear them whenever I use my laptop, and my eyes feel less tired.
This is a surgery review pursuing natural beauty.