Hugh Durkin, Irish Internet Guy - Just an interweb industry chap who has been using the internet to pay my bills for over a decade. This is my blog.

I meant to blog about this before, but almost a month ago I had the pleasure of having laser eye surgery to correct the vision in my eyes.  I’d been a speccy since the age of around ten and in some ways did really enjoy wearing glasses (they make me look more intelligent than I really am), but I had a rather wierd contact lens subscription.  Not only were my contact lenses more than double the normal price than ‘regular’ prescriptions, I had to order them in advance from the opticians, meaning that on some occasions I had to go without contact lenses when delays occured.  Add to that the nasty habit of falling asleep with them in after a few drinks on a night out, and you’ll soon realise I was a recipe for disaster when it came to being a contact lens wearer.

The procedure was much simpler than I imagined.  About three weeks beforehand I went for my initial consultation with Optilase in Dublin, where they can scan the eye and check the cornea to ascertain the depth of it.  One thing that struck me was how impartial they are - they freely told me that my cornea might not be thick enough for Lasik, and I might have to go for Lasek instead, even though Lasek is the cheaper option.

Lasik and Lasek differ both in the way the procedure is completed, and the recovery time.  Lasik is the faster, easy to recover from option, and involves cutting a flap in your cornea, lifting it, and then letting the laser do its thing.  With Lasek an alcohol solution is used to loosen the corneal tissue which is then peeled back, and the laser reshapes the important bits.

Anyway, after my initial consultation I came back for a pre-op, where they told me I was indeed eligible for Lasik - yay!  I was offered the option to go for the newer ‘Wavefront Lasik’, which is more expensive but can reduce the risk of some after effects occuring, including nighttime glare when driving etc.  In any case, I don’t think there can be a ‘cheaper’ option when it comes to your eyes - they’re your eyes for life!

The staff at Optilase told me to have a friend or family member come with me on the day of the surgery, to drive me home - you’ll find out why later!

Optilase are open 7 days a week, so I opted for the surgery on a Sunday at 10am.  They say you can eat and drink as normal before the procedure, but I was a little bit naughty.  Ireland were playing Argentina in Croke Park on the Saturday so I went along to that with a friend, had a few cheeky pints, and got home around 10.30pm!  Probably not the best idea the night before surgery on your eyes, but at least it relaxed me!

I was up early (around 7am) on the day of the surgery, and arrived at Optilase in plenty of time - at 9.30am.  At around 10am I was brought downstairs to the treatment area, where the area around my eyes was cleaned and disinfected prior to the procedure.  I had to wear covers over my shoes before entering the room, and clearly every care is taken to ensure the procedure area is a safe environment.  Then I was given some valium to calm my nerves, and sent me off to la-la land for the procedure.  No wonder they insist on bringing someone with you to take you home afterwards!

Around 10 minutes I was brought into the laser treatment room and lay on what is basically a glorified dentists chair.  I was laid flat on my back, and given a soft rugby ball toy to hold onto - when you’re nervous your hands tend to twitch quite a lot!  Special cushions were placed under my head to keep them steady, and the team then matched each eye with the laser equipment to make sure they were aligned.  I just had to basically focus on a red dot, and that was it.  Then the surgeon arrived and the procedure started.

The procedure begins by dropping a local anaesthetic into your eyes to numb them, which is fairly instant.  It’s then just slightly odd but not uncomfortable.  You feel a small bit of pressure on your eyes as a suction device is used to hold your eye in place (for obvious reasons!) then, as the cutting device cuts a flap in your eye, it goes dark for a few seconds, and then light comes back.  You’ve no clear vision, it’s all totally blurred.  At this point they’ve created a flap around your cornea which has been pulled back.

Laser treatment then begins.  It’s basically just flashes of light, and you can hear a sort of ‘tick tick’ sound, and there is a slight smell of burning!  My procedure took 24 seconds on each eye, and a member of staff counts down the procedure by the second, and finishes off with the words ‘procedure complete’.  No doubt this is for surgeon to refer to, but it does calm the patient down too.

Want to see the procedure?  Check out this video from Youtube!

It’s all blurry again but you can still see room light - remember, that flap is still pushed over to one side at this point.  Then, they lubricate your eye and start to pull the flap back.  It’s a wierd sensation but a good one because pretty much instantly you see results.  Vision comes and goes as the surgeon manipulates your flap to ensure it in place correctly and any air bubbles are ironed out, and thats it!  You’re still lying on your back and looking up, but you get a sense of clear vision already - it’s odd.

Then they do your other eye.  Yes, you can have both done in one sitting, something that I don’t think was achievable 20 years ago!  The second eye went just as smoothly as the first.  You know exactly what to expect at this stage, so you’re a bit more calm and relaxed about the whole thing.

When you sit up after the procedure - with the help of a member of staff because you’re really enjoying the valium at this stage - they ask you to if you can see the time on the clock.  I responded without even thinking about it.  I could see the clock perfectly, and the time on it, and it was only after a few seconds I remembered didn’t have contacts in - yay, I could see!  I was then led into another room for a quick look at my eyes, and what I can only describe as a ‘debriefing’.  I was given three sets of drops for my eyes - an anti inflammatory I had to put in three times a day for a week, an antibiotic which had to put in four times a day, and lubricating drops to help keep my eyes feel fresh as they healed.

I also had plastic goggles taped to my face to cover my eyes, and I was told to wear these when sleeping for a week, just to make sure I didn’t rub my eyes.  I was to go straight to bed when I got home, and to sleep for a few hours.  The nurse told me I might get a gritty feeling in my eyes for a short period, and they may be stingy and sore too.  A friend of mine drove me home, and I went straight to bed.  Oh, did I mention the time on the clock?  10.20 am, so I was back home in bed by 11am - it was so fast!

I woke up at about 5pm, got up, and walked around the apartment.  It was amazing.  My near vision was a bit odd - it’s like getting a new prescription for your glasses, it takes time to adjust - but the feeling was incredible.  Everything was crystal clear, and I wasn’t uncomfortable in any way.  I watched a little telly with my new eyes (you’re not supposed to, but i’m a naughty boy), had some dinner, and went back to bed at about 10pm, making sure to put my drops in before I slept, and also to have my goggles on.

Optilase bring you back for post op checks after 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months.  These are all included in the price.  When I went back for my 1 day checkup, the optician did an eye test to ensure I was fit to drive, and checked up on how the flaps were healing.  I had better than 20/20 vision, and could read far more from the chart that I could before - even with my glasses!  Amazing!  I was told to complete the course of antibiotic and anti inflammatory drops over the rest of the week, and to keep lubcricating my eyes with the blink drops.

When I went back for the one week checkup, the optician told me my eyes were continuing to heal well, and my vision was stabilised already.  I could now sleep without the goggles on at night, and just had to make sure my eyes were lubricated with the blink drops.  Even though I don’t feel like I need them most of the time, I still put them in a couple of times a day to be sure.  I reckon i’ll phase them out over the next month or two.

It’s an amazing feeling being liberated from my specs.  I don’t have to worry about running out of contact lenses, breaking my glasses, or losing my glasses.  I can also wear any type of sunglasses, and not just ones with prescription lenses.

If you’re a speccy, i’d totally recommend having laser eye surgery.  And if you’re in Dublin, i’d recommend Optilase - my experience with them has been fantastic.

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