LASEK Eye Surgery in Daegu, Korea (research+surgery+post-op)
UPDATE: I just realized I never posted this and it was saved as a draft. *facepalm Its one year later and I'm still loving my new eyes.
I'm writing this post about my experience with Lasek eye surgery here in Korea. Hopefully it will be informative to not only my friends and family back home but people who are interested in Lasik/Lasek here in Korea. I didn't seriously start to consider Lasek surgery until I began researching teaching in Korea and I found out how cheap it is here in Korea. If you're like me, you would think this means a sacrifice in quality for cost. However, in Korea they have a strong ophthalmological field and the lasers and equipment in these eye clinics are constantly updated with the times. The surgery is usually more than $2000 in America.
Side note: When going through this process, you should have a translator or English speaking friend who can help you through the process. It's an added plus if your doctor speaks English. Most do.
What: LASEK (Laser-Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratectomy)
Where: Noon Eye Center (Korean link) Daegu, SK
Cost: 1,290,000W or $1200 (this is a mid-range price -2014)
Whenever I make a big decision in my life, I research until I'm satisfied...then I research some more. That's what I did with my surgery here. Here's briefly the info on both Lasik and Lasek (yes, there is a difference).
(copied from some other Lasek blog)
Pros: no pain, no recovery process, perfect sight right after the surgery
Cons: greater risks for problems post-surgery, if you have head-trauma later in life (i.e. contact sports, car accident, fight with your brother) it can cause permanently scarred vision because the laser goes through all layers of your eyes so the scars don’t completely heal (<<that being my non-medical understanding)
Pros: very limited number of post-surgery risks and lower percentages in the risks it does have compared to LASIK, no risk of head trauma damaging your eyesight because the doctor physically cuts a layer of your eye before the laser is used–therefore it heals completely a.k.a. much more stable!
Cons: lots of pain (post-surgery; don’t worry, they numb your eyes for the cutting part!), slow recovery process)"
Takes about 3-6 months to get total 20/20
Because I travel a lot and enjoy outdoor activities (including Rugby), I decided LASEK was a natural choice for me. This meant I had to plan my surgery to coincide with a vacation so I had enough time to recover. Fortunately, the Lunar New Year was coming up and I got a 4 day vacation. This provided just enough time to rest my eyes before returning to school.
After 2 consultations at 2 different clinics in Daegu (Zenith and Nune(Noon) eye clinics), I finally decided on Noon. I had a discount at Zenith from a friend (it would've been $1000), but there was an additional set of drops included in the Noon Eye Center's package (I'll go over that later). Also, Noon provides a free English translator who accompanies you through the whole process, including surgery. This made the process simple and complication-free. There are many other clinics in Korea and most are reputable, however it may be better to go to a clinic in a major city as its likely to offer better service and have more resources. Surgery in Seoul will hike up the price significantly. Noon Eye Ctr. was the biggest clinic here in Daegu and it performs on average 40 surgeries daily.
Because I went to 2 clinics for testing, I was able to compare the different processes. It was interesting to see how each clinic differed in testing. While for the most part they ran the same tests, Noon had an "assembly line" approach that made it incredibly efficient. At Zenith,1 nurse escorted me from machine to machine, breaking in between to help other patients. At Noon, each machine had its own technician who would pass on your clipboard of info to the next.
After about 6-8 thorough tests, I sat down with my translator and the scheduler/financial consultant to discuss which surgery I wanted. They had 2 choices of Lasek: one where the surgeon removes the corneal layer and another where a machine does it. I went with the standard surgeon option. Strangely, we talked to the doctor after the financial consultation. However, all he did was take a glimpse at my eyes and affirm my Lasek decision. I made my surgery appointment for 2 days later. That night I had to choose between the 2 clinics and in the end I chose Noon for 2 reasons: the translator and the PRP drops(more on that later).
The morning of my surgery(1/30/2014) arrived and I was really not that nervous. I researched the whole process (even watching a Lasek surgery video) and when you know and understand what you'll be going through, it removes a lot of the nervousness. Having the translator there helped demystify everything I was going through as well. I changed into a surgical gown and put on some slippers. These weren't surgical slippers; its just customary to wear slippers here in Korea when you want to be comfortable (even the Doc wore them). Then I took my glasses off for the last time ever...
I was given one last pretest and some additional tests before the surgery. After a few minutes, I was escorted to the surgical room and laid down on one of 4 operating tables. They used eye clamps (see: A Clockwork Orange) to keep my eyes open. I was told the surgery was painless and this was mostly true. They gave me some anesthetic drops and the pain of having my eye poked and prodded was numbed. HOWEVER, it was painful keeping my eyes open and having the bright operating lights shining in my eyes. I was told to look at the green light and focused on it as if staring at anything else would blind me (hmmm). The doctor put an alcoholic solution on my eyes and peeled part of my cornea. While the alcohol was in my eye, everything went blurry until it was washed out. They then shot the laser into my eye which is a crazy but painless sensation. Afterwards, you have the rare pleasure of smelling your own burnt eyeball. When everything was finished, they put a protective contact lens in to act as a bandage.
Each eye took about 5 minutes and afterwards I was moved into a recovery room. I could actually see a little better already but definitely not perfect. You're not meant to see perfectly after, unlike Lasik. They then gave me an I.V. with a pain killer. I'd never seen this system before, but the IV had a button I could push every 15 minutes and it'd administer the pain reliever. I'd have to remove it myself in 48 hours.
They gave me my regimen of eyedrops, which they thoroughly reviewed with me (another time when the translator came in handy). They also gave me a wearable icepack which was unfortunately Size Pygmy and completely useless to me. I went home only about 10 minutes after the actual surgery.
I went to the clinic unaccompanied and fortunately my vision afterwards was functional enough to wave down a taxi and make it back to my apartment. The 1st part of the recovery process takes about 3-4 days to overcome the initial pain. I'd prepared my apartment by stocking up on easy to prepare foods and moving everything out of the way so I wouldn't trip as I blindly walked.
When I got back home from my surgery (around 11:30am), I just laid down and relaxed. The rest of the first day I wasn't in much pain because of the lingering effects of the anesthetic. I just put in the drops as scheduled and everything was cool. While sleeping, I had to wear some hard plastic protective goggles. That night things started getting uncomfortable. It wasn't really too painful or unbearable, just an annoying sensation of dry eyes. It feels like the worst case of dry eyes you've ever had (or will have). Day 2 my eyes were dry and the muscles around my eyes were very sore. I managed to watch a movie to pass the time, however keeping my eyes open too long caused fatigue. That night I woke up again and went back to sleep with some trouble. Day 3 my eyes were just as sore and I was a little less functional, however I was able to cook. My IV was exhausted (even though I didn't use it much) and I pulled it out. I'm not sure it even helped. Day 4 I awoke with my eyes feeling better and they began feeling better the rest of the day. I actually typed the majority of this article on Day 4. My vision is probably around 70-75% and it won't be 100% for a month or 2.
UPDATE: 1 year later and I have 0 complaints. No issues at night time, no new pain, no headaches. Nothing. I'm incredibly happy I did this in Korea and have no regrets. Highly recommend getting the surgery while you're in Korea.
UPDATE: 2 years later and still very happy w/ the results!