Laser Eye Surgery Diary | Surgery

Two weeks ago I went along to Optical Express for a Laser Eye Surgery consultation, my laser eye surgery diary entry can be found HERE. I finally decided to take the plunge and be free from glasses and contact lenses. To go through any sort of surgery, especially one that is elective is a huge decision to make. But with this decision I was pretty sure it was one that I wasn’t going to regret!

My Laser Eye Surgery appointment was booked for Wednesday at 1.30pm at Optical Express in Harley Street. I took my other half, Ankit, with me as it is recommended you take someone with you to make sure you get home ok after the surgery. I woke up on Wednesday morning with mixed feelings about the surgery, I was both nervous and excited at the thought of going through with the surgery, though also slightly anxious for what was to come. During my consultation the ins and outs of the surgery wasn’t really explained to me in detail, though I think if it was explained to me, I would have chickened out! You need to have a meal before the surgery just to make sure that you are relaxed and comfortable, as the last thing you want to think about when you are in the waiting room and surgery itself is your stomach grumbling! When I walked into the waiting room of Optical Express I was greeted by the reception staff, and was slightly surprised at how busy the waiting room actually was. As usual I was doing my scan of people wondering who had already had their surgery done, or who was waiting to have theirs done. Before you arrive for your surgery you are asked if you have fully read the terms and conditions and initialled each statement where applicable. The statements are just so you are fully aware of any risks, and that you are not being pressured to go through the surgery.

I was made to feel settled and relaxed within the waiting area, and was called for tests within twenty minutes of arriving. The tests were the same as that of the consultation, and were purely to ensure that the surgery was fully tailored to the specifications of my eye shape and prescription. Whilst I was going through the tests the consultant talked me through his own experience of laser eye surgery, as he himself had it done three years ago. To my surprise he did mention that women coped better with the surgery than men! (breaks out into song)…Who runs the world…girls?!

After the consultation, it was another 30 minute wait, and then I was taken to speak to the surgeon, Manek Patel. He discussed the procedure to me in detail and what to expect, whilst checking my eyes to ensure that Lasik was the right procedure for me. He answered any questions I had and kept me at ease about the surgery. At this point I was completely ready to go through with it!

It was another 30 minute wait for the surgery itself, and when I was called in it was a bit of a relief as I had been waiting around in the waiting area for a few hours now. Also, booking my surgery on the day of the tube strike wasn’t ideal as London itself would be busier than usual. Entering the surgery room I was asked to sit on the surgery bed, whilst a hair net was put over my head and taped down. I was then asked to lie back and make myself as comfortable as I could. The anaesthetic eye drops were then put into both eyes, and I was advised that they might sting slightly – which they didn’t. I was then greeted by the surgeon again, who made sure I was comfortable and relaxed. And then the procedure began, one eye was covered up and an eye clamp was put onto my eye to stop me from blinking and moving my eye. The eye clamp isn’t actually as bad as it sounds, and this was the one thing that I was absolutely petrified about. I think I was thinking about it way too much before the surgery, as when it came to it, I couldn’t feel it at all!

I was then moved under the first machine, which involved suction being placed against the eye to create the flap. Although this did not hurt at all, it was slightly uncomfortable. Bear in mind that you are awake for the entire process, and you still have vision in your eye. The suction wasn’t something I was prepared for, and this was the most uncomfortable bit about the process as I literally thought my eye was going to pop out. But, as usual, this was my imagination running wild, though, I must admit, this is what it felt like. This process took about 15 seconds, and during the process I could hear the count down from one of the assistants from three down to zero. Then it was on to the actual laser.

For this the surgeon was getting to work for. At this point I was feeling completely drowsy and jut wanted to sleep. From what I could make out the surgeon was moving my cornea and asking me to stare at the orange flashing light above me. It was a strange experience seeing your cornea move around your eye; the lights reminded me of a kaleidoscope and again, it was not painful at all. Just a weird experience. The laser was then turned on and it did it’s work. From the laser, it does smell slightly, but this is NOT your eye burning, this is purely the laser. It also makes small banging noises, almost like bang snaps (fireworks you throw on the floor). The same process was then done to my other eye.

Eye drops were then put into my eye, and the laser eye surgery was done. I was greeted by another assistant who took me out of the procedure room and sat me in another separate room, asking me to keep my eyes closed and remain relaxed. She talked me through the after-care procedure, and the only downside I had about the after-care was actually discussing it with me when I was drowsy as I was not retaining any of the information! After 10 minutes I was seen by the surgeon again to make sure there were no immediate problems with my eye. At which point I was ready to leave.

Again, I felt at a bit of loss at this point as I had just been out of surgery and hardly given any information about after-care. Although I was back at Optical Express the next day, I couldn’t help but feel a bit lost as to what to do now! With a taxi booked I took my bag of eye drops, and after-care leaflet and hoped that the after-care the next day would be slightly more informative.

Now I really don’t want to put anyone off having laser eye surgery, but when I did get home the anaesthetic had completely worn off and my eyes were starting to sting – sort of like the feeling you get when chopping onions. I knew it was going to feel like this but I didn’t think it would be all too bad as it actually was. I was starting to feel dizzy, and had the biggest migraine I had ever had. My eyes were watering like crazy and I actually couldn’t open my eyes at all. I put my final set of eye drops in for the day, you are given three different types which you need to put in three times a day, and took a paracetamol and made my way to bed. You are given a pair of protective googles to wear for one week whilst sleeping to make sure you don’t damage your eyes when sleeping. Here was me hoping to a good night of rest. Was I wrong or what? I couldn’t get to sleep at all as the pain from the migraine was just not going away and my eyes were watering so much. When I did manage to get to sleep, however, and woke up, I was so surprised that I could actually see. Trust me, when you have worn glasses since you were 9, the feeling of not having to grab your glasses as soon as you wake up is indescribable.

Day one
The first thing I wanted to do when I woke up was actually check what my eyes looked like. I hadn’t looked in the mirror since the morning of my surgery day, so didn’t know what the state of my eyes were. I had two large red patches in my eyes, similar to if your eyes are blood shot. This is completely normal and all part of the healing process. Putting my eye-drops in, sunglasses on, I made my way to my post op after care appointment at Optical Express Harley Street. My post op check involved an eye-test and checking my eye to make sure it was healing, which it was, though my vision had not restored to what it should be. I was booked in for another appointment the week after. My eyes were dry and I was advised to keep putting in the eye drops for dry eyes every few hours to help this. I continued to have a migraine, which I explained to the consultant, and was advised that this was normal due to the stress and pressure that was put on my eye. Here’s hoping to improved vision by tomorrow! The rest of the day I literally spent in bed sleeping as my head was hurting way too much to do anything else.

Right now I can’t look at computer screens properly without having my sunglasses on, and my vision gets worse at night. I have another appointment at Optical Express next week, so I’m excited to see if my eyes improve any further!

Catch up with me in a few weeks time after my surgery for my results! Have you had laser eye surgery before, or are you thinking or surgery? Do you have any advice/what was your experience like?