This is a review of SMILE LASIK at SNU Eye Clinic
1. Eye examination I arrived at my 10 a.m. appointment time and started the eye exam right away.
I had already completed the preliminary questionnaire I was sent through chat, so I was able to go straight in for the eye exam. If you come without doing the preliminary questionnaire, I think it may take a bit more time. If you are scheduled for surgery, I definitely recommend completing the preliminary questionnaire sent through KakaoTalk before you go!
Also, I had previously had an eye exam at another eye clinic, and I think this clinic had more examination machines than that one. The optometrist disinfected the equipment each time before using it and kindly helped me through the exam, which I appreciated!
To briefly write only the eye specs important for surgery: Corneal thickness R585 L583 Myopia/astigmatism R -4.75/-1.50 L -3.00/-1.25.
2. Consultation The consultation was the part that felt a little disappointing. It was a session where we went over the examination results above and discussed which surgery would suit my eyes.
After hearing a brief explanation about my eye condition, the different surgical methods, and the prices, I said I wanted to proceed with SMILE LASIK + corneal strengthening!
Actually, I met the conditions for several event discounts, so before the consultation I had asked a lot of questions through the KakaoTalk channel. (I’m really grateful to the staff member who kindly answered me.) But the conditions I was told then and the conditions/prices the consultant told me were a bit different...? I was a little flustered, but since I had already come up with the surgery schedule set, I couldn’t really look for more information. The consultant also stayed in the stance of, “The information the patient found is incorrect,” and I couldn’t postpone the surgery at that point, so I just decided on SMILE LASIK + corneal strengthening.
I understand that corneal strengthening is essential for people with thin corneas or suspected keratoconus, but my corneas are actually on the thicker side, so I had a lot of concerns about corneal strengthening. Still, I thought it might be better to do it since eye surgery is something you only do once, and there were also opinions from ophthalmologists saying that if the cornea is thick, there is no real need to do it.
So I wanted to hear a little more explanation, but the consultant’s attitude felt to me like they just wanted me to decide quickly and pay. Actually, I also wanted to ask the director, but consultation with the director was only possible after payment. Don’t people usually pay after surgery...? Or at least I feel like payment should be made after the surgery is confirmed, but maybe it was because I was a same-day surgery patient...
Well, I know doing the same consultations every day must be tedious and tiring, but from the perspective of the person getting surgery, there are inevitably many things to wonder about and many things to ask. In any case, I was a bit disappointed by how mechanical the consultation felt.
And the process goes: meeting the director in person -> waiting in the operating room -> surgery, but maybe there was some confusion among the nurses in the middle, because they almost skipped the meeting with the director and just took me straight to the operating room. I understand they were busy, but from the perspective of a patient with no information, I have no choice but to trust and follow the nurses, so I thought it would be good if they checked one more time and paid a bit more attention.
3. Surgery I put on a cap and gown, disinfected my hands, and entered the operating room! The operating room was slightly cool, which was nice(?) I was also glad to see the stuffed toy I had often seen in reviews. The setup allowed a guardian to watch from outside, so my dad watched from outside and said it was interesting. I lay down with my eyes closed, and the director came in and performed the surgery. They fixed my eye with a device so I couldn’t close it, then the machine came down, held my eye, and fired the laser for about 25 seconds. The view in front of my eye gradually became blurry and then brightened. It was exactly like the patient-perspective video I saw during the consultation.
I thought 25 seconds would feel very long, but the director kept telling me I was doing well from beside me, and while singing my favorite song in my head, I tried to zone out as much as possible and stare at the green light, so it felt shorter than I expected. I was also a bit curious how short SMILE Pro must feel.
Since it was eye surgery, I was actually very nervous, but the director explained the surgical process, kept encouraging me by saying I was doing well and that since I did well with this eye, I just needed to do the other side the same way, so I think my nerves eased a lot. Actually, the surgery ends incredibly quickly before you even fully relax.
After the laser, they do a sweeping motion in front of the eye, but it just feels like something is touching it; it does not hurt at all. The blurriness does get just a tiny bit brighter.
4. Immediately after surgery Right after surgery, things were definitely hazy, but even so, I could see much better than the world I usually saw without glasses. It was a little fascinating that I could see what was right in front of me.
Maybe because the anesthesia hadn’t worn off, my eyes only felt a little stiff, and after scheduling the next appointment, I got in the car to go home.
After about 1-2 hours, the anesthesia gradually wore off and my eyes started to hurt. To me, the pain felt about the same as when your eyes hurt after putting in contact lenses incorrectly. When I kept my eyes open, they stung, so I kept putting in the drops and tried to sleep with my eyes closed.
Then after coming home, about 5-6 hours after surgery, my eyes no longer stung even when I opened them, and my vision gradually became brighter. I was told I couldn’t wash on the day of surgery and should also refrain from using electronic devices, so I played something like a narrated Romance of the Three Kingdoms and slept deeply.
5. After surgery As most reviews say, when you open your eyes the next morning, it’s a whole new world. I’m clearly not wearing glasses, yet the world looks even clearer than when wearing contact lenses. What more is there to say?
I managed it as instructed by using the medication and artificial tears, and today, on day 3 after surgery, I visited the clinic and confirmed 1.2 vision in both eyes!
Even now, when I look at nearby books or a computer, my focus still doesn’t align well and my eyes feel a bit stiff, but today the director said this is natural and that my vision will continue to improve for about 3 weeks. Oh, and there is some glare, but not enough to really bother me. Considering the inconvenience of glasses and the dryness of contact lenses, this amount of glare is nothing....
Get SMILE LASIK. Get it twice. Oh, I guess you can’t get it twice.