ESL Blogs

Last summer, I decided to do laser operation for my myopia. Until now I faced it with contact lenses. In fact, I have myopia from 15 years old. I wore glasses for 1,5 years and since then I was wearing only contact lenses. I had in the back of my head the laser but I didn’t know in which age of my life I would do it. It was something that I wasn’t thinking it for many years. But this year after the urging of my mother, I decided to do it.

On October, I went to a doctor to collect information about the whole process and the methods of the laser. After 2-3 days I went again to test my eyes in two machines (oh yeah, I saw this all time classic colorful aerostat :D) and he found my myopia 2 degrees at the left eye and 2,5 degrees at the right eye and he also found that I have astigmatism, I think 1 degree. I didn’t know that I have astigmatism, lol. He told me that everything is normal and that we will use the recent technology method, the Femto Lasik method. Also he told me that I must not wear lenses at least for 2 weeks before the operation, but only glasses.

So, what is Femto Lasik method? It is a method by which is used the Femtosecond Laser. The name of the laser came from the number of pulses per second by which works the particular laser. It is applied in the first stage of the operation and they are used tiny, lightning fast laser pulses, which creates a flap. To explain it with simple words, the Femptosecond laser is a laser that replaces the application of the blade. After that, the surgeon can proceed to the second stage of the operation which is the correction of the myopia with the main laser.

Not to tell more, I ask you to see the videos below and you will understand how it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNnIb5M7r3M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpYlZoJHbHE

The operation was executed on November 2th, in the Laser and Eye Center, in Thessaloniki city. Some other doctors would do the operation, but my doctor would be inside with me. So, we went together, with his car, in the noon. When we arrived, a receptionist asked my identity, and we went upstairs with a doctor to check my eyes. (Here, I have to say that all stuff of the center, doctors, nurses and receptionists, were very friendly and polite. That was something positive that was kept in my mind). Downstairs, while my doctor went to get ready, I was sitting in the lobby and having nothing else to do, I was observing the other people who were waiting, an aquarium with fishes, the walls, and finally after 15 minutes about, a nurse called my name and I followed him to a room. There, he gave me specific green surgical shirt, surgical cap to cover my hair and surgical bags to cover my shoes. He led me to the surgery room where was my doctor and two other doctors (women). The room was white and clean. There was a bench with a lot of things on it and two beds with a laser machine above of each bed. It didn’t look like a surgery room, it was friendly too :D

They asked me to put my back bag down on the floor, not to touch anything and to lie down to the one bed. The nurse wiped my eyes with Betadine and put anesthetic drops in them. They were telling me almost everything that they were doing to me. The one doctor stuck my eyelashes on my skin with specific paper stickers. After a while, she put in my right eye the eyelid speculum which is used to keep it open. They brought the machine too much close to my eyes and they asked me to look up and not to move my eyes. Then they applied the Femto laser. I didn’t feel anything. It lasted less than 30 seconds. They put many drops for hydration and they did the same process to the other eye. My doctor was encouraging me by telling me that I am going very well and to count till 20 and it will be finish. I think it finished at 25, I stopped counting at 20. :D

After that I lay down in the other bed with the main laser machine. Keeping my eyes closed as they asked me, we were waiting for the machine to warm up for about 5 minutes. When it was ready they put again the paper stickers and the speculum. They opened the flap with a tool, they put drops and they brought the machine very close to my eye. They turned off the lights and they asked me to look at the green light inside the machine and not to move my eyes. The one doctor was talking to me: «Look at the green light, now it will become red, now yellow, red again, green». Indeed, the light was changing colors. She told me to keep on looking at the green light. But my eye blurred and I lost the light. I tried, finally, I found it and I stayed unmoving. After 10 seconds, maybe less, it finished. The lights were turned on. They put many eye drops to my eye and they put the flap back to its place. They put many drops again and they did the same things to the other eye.

When it finished, my doctor told me: «We finished Elen, you went it very well». Hearing these words, my hands automatically relaxed and I realized how stressed I was, as till that moment I was clenching them. After 1-2 minutes they cleaned my eyes from the Betadine and they told me not to touch my eyes at all. I took my back bag and I went to the room before the lobby where my doctor told me to wait for him.

I am sorry for the so big blog. I tried to make it as small as possible. I deleted many details but I wanted to write step by step what exactly happened, from the beginning till the end. If you didn't get bored or tired, there is a second part that I will upload soon. :)