Jack Optimax

Jack makes a few trips to Optimax at TTDI these past few days as I get my eyes fixed. I'm typing this post through newly lasered eyes, AND without any optical help. No glasses, no contact lenses. =D

This morning I woke up to my life long dream of waking up and SEEING without having to first reach for my glasses. =D

So how was it? The first visit to Optimax was for a 2 hour eye examination. I went through about 7 eye test machines as they tested for sight, cornea thickness, refractiveness, acuity, etc etc. After confirming on suitability (25% of patients get turned down for unsuitability, for example too thin corneas) and degree of short-sightness and astigmatism, I went back with blurred vision from the pupil-dilating drops they administered for the test.

Second trip...

Surgery day. Register, get pupils dilated for surgery and dressed in hospital gowns (very classy one, got cloth cuffs. Fuyoo). The nurse explained the after-care routine, then the doctor personally sat with each patient and talked about the upcoming procedure. I remember one line he said - "If you hear any zzz zzz sound ignore it, thats the laser doing its work. If you smell barbecue, ignore it, thats the laser..."

I was not nervous at all going into surgery, after all its a 30 minute procedure and I'm getting my eyesight (!!!). The three hours leading up to the actual surgery was a tad boring, especially with a fellow patient yapping away with anxiety beside me. Then it came my turn. Yeahoo, I thought..

The first thing the doctor does before we go into surgery is mark two dots in each eye, with a blue marker. That totally freaked me out. How come in the gazillions of counselling and information they provided they failed to mention this? Since I shrank back (come on, he's touching the eye with a marker!!) and the marks he made were not visible enough, he had to do it again and touched up the marks in my eyes twice. EEeeuuwwww.

Then we go into the surgery room and the procedure begins. During surgery a ring is fixed around the eye so you can't move it; then the cornea top is sliced open, lifted, the laser applied, and the cornea top put back in place, smoothed down and that it.




While the surgery is under way there is a lot of bright lights hovering over the eye, and the first instict is to blink, right? The ring over the eye prevents this, and although I was desperate to close my eyes agaisnt the lights invasion I can't. At that point of time I remember feeling extremely extremely horrified. That feeling I'm not keen on going through ever again.

Then the cornea slicing part. Haha the thing is you're awake throughout the procedure, and you have to maintian your eye looking at a given guiding light. So.. you get to SEE you cornea lifted, SEE it returned to position, SEE the doctor smooth it down with whatever instrument that is. Damn geli. Eeeee. My hands are going weak just typing this out. Eeeee...

If you're thinking to laser your eyes (Sorry Juon I hope this didn't scare you), go for it. The results are worth it. But be prepared lah, don't be hero like me. It's not a walk in the park, its shit scary actually. :p

* Thanks to the current wave of O% credit card installment that made this surgery possible.