My experience of laser eye surgery
Step through of my experience in getting laser eye surgery at Moorfields Private Eye Hospital.
PRE SURGERY
(1) Initial Consultation:
My friend had recommended having laser eye surgery at Moorfields. I emailed and was offered a consultation appointment in a week. The initial consultation costs £200 which involves many different eye tests to assess the type of laser eye surgery you need. However this money you are unable to get back if you don’t proceed with the surgery. This lasts around 45 minutes with a final meeting with the surgeon to discuss the laser eye surgery that is right for you.
*Make sure to not wear your contacts 7 days before your appointment.
(2) Type of laser eye surgery:
My contact lenses were stronger than I needed at -3.25 and the optometrist recorded -2.75 in both eyes. I was told I’d be suitable for bilateral FemtoLASIK treatment and get perfect 20/20 vision! This takes place every Wednesday so I was booked in for the following week. Overall fees for the consultation and surgery came in just under £5,000.
*Make sure to not wear any make up or perfume on the day of your surgery and avoid wearing eye contacts a few days prior.
The Surgery
(3) In the hospital:
I arrived at 15:30 for a 16:00 appointment. They mentioned to come half an hour earlier if I was nervous for some valium to calm my nerves. The surgery I was having is where a corneal flap is created using femtosecond laser to correct my prescription. It sounds horrible but the procedure was NOT painful. It’s uncomfortable but actually is over in 20-30 minutes for both eyes. It is just strange being able to see lights and movements around your eyes and just overall a weird sensation. I left by 5:30pm, after waiting half an hour and having one last check up.
After surgery
(4) Leaving the hospital
Straight after the surgery your eyesight is foggy and blurry so I had slight difficulty seeing. Your eyes are really sensitive to light so they recommend that you wear sunglasses when leaving the hospital. I got a taxi as it’s best to avoid the tube where there is dirt/fog after your surgery. My eyes felt fine straight after just continued to feel glazed over and had red blotches around the sclera.
*You aren’t allowed to wear eye make up for a week.
(5) Eye drops
You will have a lot of eye drops to use for the first day of surgery and day after.
Day 1:
(1) Eye drop 1: Every hour, Eye drop 2: Every hour, Eye drop 3: Every 15 minutes (as much as you feel you need if it feels dry) Eye drop 4: Every hour. Finally a cooling and soothing gel to apply to bottom eyelid like eyeliner at night (only if you do not have contacts in – which I was given, they take this out the next day appointment.)
Days 2 to 7:
(2) Eye drop 1: Every 3 hours, Eye drop 2: Every 3 hours, Eye drop 3: Every 3 hours. Finally the cooling and soothing gel to apply to bottom eyelid like eyeliner at night.
Week 2-4:
(3) Eye drop 1: Once a day Eye drop 3: Once a day. Finally the cooling and soothing gel to apply to bottom eyelid like eyeliner at night.
(6) Follow up appointment
The next day after surgery I had a follow up appointment, if like me, you had the FemtoLASIK treatment then the surgeon will take out the contacts and do a general check up of your eyes. My eyesight still felt blurry however my eyes had overcorrected so it was more difficult to see up close. This went away quickly and I now have 20/20 vision!
Would I recommend?
Absolutely! I’m terrified of the idea of people touching my eyes. It was uncomfortable but nothing was painful- a completely bearable process. Even after the surgery it’s more just getting used to your eyes feeling dry and blurry. I had a lot of red blotches around my pupils for over week, which also happened to my friend. I now wake up every day with 20/20 vision, what a blessing!
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Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I am in the US but I have been contemplating laser eye surgery for sometime now. I just have never followed through due to economics and also extremely terrified of anything touching my eyes.
This detail experience really calms me down a little bit, at least enough to go about doing the research as to what it will cost and the involvement that I will have to commit to.
I’m glad to hear that the surgery went well!