LASIK: The post-surgery post.

Mar 13, 2008 17:18

Last night I wasn't feeling too nervous, but this morning I was all jitters! I woke up early to get ready and eat breakfast. We left the house around 8:30 am and arrived at the Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute in Bellevue right on time.

When I got there, I just had to fill out/sign paperwork and pay the fee. Then I played the waiting game for what was probably 30 minutes but felt like an hour. Chris was smart and brought his Japanese to study; in my haste to get out the door, I forgot to grab something to entertain myself.

The Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute center in Bellevue is really nice! The waiting room felt more like an upscale hotel lounge than a medical waiting room. They even had snacks, juice, coffee, and water. I ended up spending a lot of time waiting, considering how long the procedure actually takes.

After signing in and paying, I waited for about 20 minutes before they called me to do some routine check-up stuff. They evaluated my corneas, took pictures of the exterior of my eye, and checked my prescription. All these things were pretty quick, though I didn't see the doctor for probably another hour.

Once those tests were done and they had confirmed I was ready for Lasik, they sent me back to the waiting room. I was only waiting for about 10 minutes before they called my name. I followed the nurse into another room to put some of my stuff in a locker. Then she led me to another area where several people were waiting. I donned a surgical hair net and booties over my shoes, and then I sat and waited. One of the nurses gave me eyedrops to numb my eyes and also 3 different pills. Then they went over the medication and other post-operation instructions that we need to follow.

So after that, I got moved into another waiting area, only this time it was smaller with just two seats. They gave me more numbing drops and let me sit for them to kick in. Then she led me by the hand into the surgery room. Another nurse led Chris to the viewing room.

When I got in, the doctor introduced himself to me and the nurse introduced herself and another nurse. They had me lay in a chair, and then they gave me another set of eye drops. They did the right eye first -- I remember looking at the red light in the center of the machine; they used an eye spring to hold open my eye. Then they used this circular suction to cut the flap before the laser went to work. After the laser fixed everything, the flap was brought back down. I swear I could feel the surgeon using a tool to gently push the flap back into place, but it was hard to figure out what was happening with my perspective. Anyway, then they put a soft contact on, which will be removed tomorrow at my follow-up.

They followed the same procedure on my left eye, and I swear that the total time for both eyes took less than 5 minutes, let alone 10. It was incredible!

When I was done, the nurse helped me up and walked me over to where Chris was waiting. Then we sat down and the nurse explained the post-surgery instructions/care. I hate eye drops, so having to use them so often will likely be my biggest challenge. But I've had Chris do them for me today; tomorrow I'll have to figure something else out.

Anyway, when I sat up I could see around the room, though it felt like I was looking at things trough a fishbowl. The underwater eyesight effect should wear off within the next day or two, possibly longer. But I'm already very happy with the results. I went into Target on the way home from the surgery, and it was awesome to be able to see everything without my glasses. I still reach up to push the invisible bridge on my nose and adjust my nonexistent frames, but I think it'll take some time to break that 10-year-old habit.

The whole experience was a little surreal and a little scary, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
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