2016 Shinagawa Lasik by Dr Lee Sao Bing Post 1 (Pre-op)

Finally plucked up my courage to attend the pre-assessment for lasik.

I've been sitting on the decision for years now but never quite got around to actually doing anything about it.

My eyesight is quite a bad one. 650 degree on both eyes plus another 175 for astigmatism.

I've been wearing glasses since Primary 2 and contacts since Secondary 2. I used to be the kind that will refuse to step out of the house unless I put on contacts, and I will go for like as many as 20 hours in them, but since about 5 years ago, my eyes have been complaining. They were so dry that I can't leave the contacts in for more than 4 or 5 hours, otherwise I would have to drop in eyedrops like mad. Since last year, I kind of just gave up on wearing contacts and have been wearing spectacles to work, but it made me really self-conscious and has taken quite a toll on my self-confidence.

The reason why I've been putting it off for so long is that
1. The technology is only about 20 years old. I'm paranoid about what happens after the 20 plus years.
2. There have been cases where lasik failed, making the person's eyes worse. I'm afraid that I'll be one of the unlucky ones.
3. The lasik procedure is also very expensive.

But I've quite a few friends who've gone for the procedure and none of them regretted their decision, so I finally decided to take the plunge.

The two clinics that I shortlisted were Eagle Eye Centre (Dr Julien Theng) and Shinagawa (Dr Lee Sao Bing). Of the two, I don't know why but I'm just more biased towards Shinagawa, and that was the only clinic that I went to for the pre-lasik assessment. Didn't go for any of the talks at all.

My first consultation was for my chalazion. Wanted to do the pre-lasik assessment on the day itself but was adviced against it because the chalazion (which is like an enlarged stye thing) could have been pushing against the cornea, and the readings might have been off. I initially wanted to do the removal surgery but Dr Lee Sao Bing adviced against it because most of it has dried up so it's just a scar tissue left. Now there's a lump on my left eye lid, so sad. But it's pretty unnoticeable unless you stare closely.

For the chalazion consultation, I paid $149.43 in total.
1. Systane ultra eye drops x 1 ($15.71)
2. TLC eye care wipes x 2 boxes ($23.94)
3. Consultation ($100)
4. GST ($9.78)

After a week, I went for the pre-lasik assessment.

Won't be talking about the pre-lasik assessment since you can find plenty of information online, but basically the nurse is the one conducting all the readings, then you will be led to see Dr Lee Sao Bing who will then advice you on the suitable procedure based on the readings taken.

For me, because my corneas were thinner than the average person's (mine was 510um and 530um compared to 550um for the average person), Dr Lee recommended doing the Intralase Bladeless Lasik (where a flap is created) over epi-lasik, reason being due to the high degree and thin corneas, there's a greater chance of scarring occurring during the recovery. Scarring on the cornea would lead to a haze-like effect for your vision. On top of that, I'll have to add on the cross-linking procedure to strengthen the corneas. Total cost for both the lasik plus cross-linking would amount to about $5200 after the $200 credit card discount.

Chances of my eyes regaining perfect eyesight was 97%, 3% possibility that there might be some residual degree left.

Catch is that I'll have to complete the procedure within 3 months, otherwise when I redo the pre-lasik assessment, it will no longer be counted as a first visit, and would be priced higher (around $70).

Total damage for the pre-lasik assessment was $34.81.
1. Lasik consultation ($20.56)
2. TCL eye care wipes ($11.97)
3. GST ($2.28)

I've scheduled my surgery for mid May, so I'll update again probably end May after it's done. Hopefully the surgery will go smoothly.