Laser Eye Surgery - Experience on the Day of the Surgery
I spent most of the weekend in lovely company, yet often thinking "what was I thinking?" about having jumped at such short notice into laser eye surgery.
Come Monday noon, I spent the following hours mostly in the reception area waiting for more tests. A few things had not gone to plan. First, they had me booked for both eyes. Then the wavefront scanner and the traditional optometrist equipment reported back different prescriptions. Eventually the nurses/operators gave up and made the decision the surgeon's who assured me that there'll be no problem, he'll pick the right scan to work from.
So I was eventually, around 5pm, called in to have the procedure performed. I had to lie down on some sort of table, told to relax. I was a bit panting at the time, ever so nervous.
Numbing eye drops were dripped into my eye. Then after a few minutes, a device was lowered and pressed against my left eye. At the third attempt, the nurse said something like "suction achieved, 3.2". Then my eye was fixed in place by some sort of plastic frame. I started to get seriously nervous now.
Then came the laser which opens the flap I mentioned before. I didn't feel anything, but I stared into bright light in which after a while all sorts of colours started to flicker, in weird patterns. But it was not from the laser, it was simply that after a while of staring into that bright light, my nerves started to play tricks on me, so much I realised. After a minute or so, the laser was swung away.
I was really anxious and worried now. I worried I'd panic and run away, or move my head in some silly way and screw up the procedure, but I willed myself to stay down and not be a wuss.
Then the second laser was swung in and lowered and after the surgeon checked that I was okay, the procedure started. That laser is supposed to track eye movements so if some muppet manages to move their eyes, there'd still be no damage done. I decided to not risk it and just st it out. I took maybe 2 minutes and I was done. And again I saw interesting patterns.
Almost immediately I was told that I can stand up and escorted into a nearby waiting room. Just as if nothing happened. Well, I was told not to touch my eye, but that's about it.
After a while a nurse came and gave me a bag with 7 bottles of eye drops, an eye shield and a brochure detailing what to expect next. He was keen on neither my intention to back by tube and train nor going to work the next day. I had to sign a few waivers. If you get both eyes done, don't even think of doing anything like travelling on your own. You'll not be blind as a bat, but everything but the bigggest letters will be undecipherable to your blurred eyes.
Going home was very unpleasant. I wore sunglasses all the way and kept left eye covered to protect against wind and dust and had people stare at me. Eventually I came home, put the goggles on and tried to sleep.
My eye by then was itching, burning and irritated, but there was NO PAIN. Just discomfort, like they had told me.