Epilasik Surgery at Eagle Eye Centre by Dr Julien Theng (1 month post op update)

I've just gone for my 1 month post op review.

Only the first and last review would be carried out by Dr Julien Theng himself. So far the other reviews were done by the other doctors.

My vision is considered some sort perfect alr. There is still some negligible residual degree in each eye but it doesn't affect my vision. My degree was 600 before.

For astigmatism wise, it didn't really get corrected. Started off with 75 in both eyes but it's now 100 in my left and 50 in my right. But as of now, I don't notice any double vision so I'll say that's negligible as well.

Doctor mentioned that there is slight hazing in my cornea so I'm put on another month of steroid eye drops. Truth be told, this is the part that's freaking me out. But again, as of now, I don't really notice any white film when I'm looking at things. Hopefully that will clear up.

Doctor says cornea is still not done healing, so I'll update again in a month's time.

Shinagawa vs Eagle Eye Centre (Dr Lee Sao Bing / Dr Julien Theng)

TL,DR : I did epilasik with Eagle Eye Centre (Dr Julien Theng) after weighing all the pros and cons.

Personally, I felt that Shinagawa was superior in almost every aspect compared to Eagle Eye Center. Not that Eagle Eye wasn't good, it's just that they couldn't match up to the level of service or ambience.

Ambience wise

Shinagawa had a much more cosy and atas feeling. Eagle Eye was noticeably more crowded though, which then also resulted in a longer waiting time before the nurses/doctors/receptionists could attend to you. But if you're the kind that feels more at ease seeing other people go through the same procedure as you, you'll feel more reassured at Eagle Eye

Service wise

It felt better in Shinagawa since the waiting time was shorter. I had to spend a lot of time just waiting around for my turn at Eagle Eye. It was like a spin-the-wheel game with the call-in for Eagle Eye as well. 9 out of 10 times I wouldn't be able to get through and I'll have to end up calling and calling and calling non-stop. That was the part that really got on my nerve. That said, you do get a guaranteed response if you contact them through their website, so that was always my last go-to resort.

You also get a lot more personal time with the Dr in charge of you at Shinagawa. For Shinagawa, Dr Lee Sao Bing was the one who attended to me, he explained my results and recommended me the procedure entirely in person. But for Eagle Eye, there's a consultant who does all that with you, so you'd have to make up your mind before going in to see the doctor. My doctor was Dr Julien Theng, and although there are a lot of reviews online that says he has a very reassuring voice and so on, I didn't get that feeling. What I felt was that he was quite robotic, it's as if he has said those lines ten thousand times (he probably had) and was just repeating them without even having to process it. The whole confirmation check plus consultation took like, maybe a minute or two before I was ushered out and the next patient invited in. The lasik assessment also had lesser tests compared to Shinagawa. But I was still quite reassured since the test results were similar to that of Shinagawa.

(*Digress: 

I also went for a lasik assessment at Dream Eye Center in Seoul, Korea. They did a whopping 24 types of tests on my eye. The whole thing was free and the consultant spoke perfect English. So you may want to drop by if you're visiting Korea. Of the 24 tests, other than your usual ones like cornea thickness, shape, etc, they also tested for eye dryness. You can pay 50 000 won (~SGD60) for a DNA test to see if you have any genetic issues that makes you more prone for cornea collapse. I really wanted to do it there because the whole thing (including medication and follow up checks for 2 years) was dirt cheap. They quoted me 1.6million won (~SGD2000), which is like less than half of what you'll have to pay in Singapore)

That said,

Everything at Eagle Eye Center was still very professional. There wasn't anything that made me lose confidence in them along the way. And yes, the one-day assessment plus surgery was really a god-sent. I know there are some research/sayings that it's not good to do on the same day, but aiya, trust your doctors right. 

So why did I not go with Shinagawa even though I preferred them?

Dr Lee Sao Bing recommended that I do the bladeless lasik (which is the one with the flap). I enquired about epilasik since I wasn't very keen on living with a flap for the rest of my life but he was quite against it. According to him, my degree was quite high (600 plus for degree and 125 for astig) so there is a possibility of corneal scarring. I'm not sure if it's because the clinic doesn't offer epilasik (on their website they say they do, but none of my friends who went to Shinagawa did epilasik), but I didn't want it to be a case where the doctor can go "I told you so" if things really turned out that way.

Also, I was all for going ahead with the bladeless lasik but it was as if some higher almighty force was telling me not to. I had to reschedule my surgery 3 times because every time, a day or two before the surgery, I would get an eye infection (read styes). So after the third time, I was like, forget it flip table, I'm not doing this.

So yeah, that's how I ended up going for epilasik at Eagle Eye Centre (will update about it in my next post). 

Surgery updates can be found here.

Shinagawa vs Eagle Eye Centre (Dr Lee Sao Bing / Dr Julien Theng)

TL,DR : I did epilasik with Eagle Eye Centre (Dr Julien Theng) after weighing all the pros and cons.

Personally, I felt that Shinagawa was superior in almost every aspect compared to Eagle Eye Center. Not that Eagle Eye wasn't good, it's just that they couldn't match up to the level of service or ambience.

Ambience wise

Shinagawa had a much more cosy and atas feeling. Eagle Eye was noticeably more crowded though, which then also resulted in a longer waiting time before the nurses/doctors/receptionists could attend to you. But if you're the kind that feels more at ease seeing other people go through the same procedure as you, you'll feel more reassured at Eagle Eye

Service wise

It felt better in Shinagawa since the waiting time was shorter. I had to spend a lot of time just waiting around for my turn at Eagle Eye. It was like a spin-the-wheel game with the call-in for Eagle Eye as well. 9 out of 10 times I wouldn't be able to get through and I'll have to end up calling and calling and calling non-stop. That was the part that really got on my nerve. That said, you do get a guaranteed response if you contact them through their website, so that was always my last go-to resort.

You also get a lot more personal time with the Dr in charge of you at Shinagawa. For Shinagawa, Dr Lee Sao Bing was the one who attended to me, he explained my results and recommended me the procedure entirely in person. But for Eagle Eye, there's a consultant who does all that with you, so you'd have to make up your mind before going in to see the doctor. My doctor was Dr Julien Theng, and although there are a lot of reviews online that says he has a very reassuring voice and so on, I didn't get that feeling. What I felt was that he was quite robotic, it's as if he has said those lines ten thousand times (he probably had) and was just repeating them without even having to process it. The whole confirmation check plus consultation took like, maybe a minute or two before I was ushered out and the next patient invited in. The lasik assessment also had lesser tests compared to Shinagawa. But I was still quite reassured since the test results were similar to that of Shinagawa.

(*Digress: 

I also went for a lasik assessment at Dream Eye Center in Seoul, Korea. They did a whopping 24 types of tests on my eye. The whole thing was free and the consultant spoke perfect English. So you may want to drop by if you're visiting Korea. Of the 24 tests, other than your usual ones like cornea thickness, shape, etc, they also tested for eye dryness. You can pay 50 000 won (~SGD60) for a DNA test to see if you have any genetic issues that makes you more prone for cornea collapse. I really wanted to do it there because the whole thing (including medication and follow up checks for 2 years) was dirt cheap. They quoted me 1.6million won (~SGD2000), which is like less than half of what you'll have to pay in Singapore)

That said,

Everything at Eagle Eye Center was still very professional. There wasn't anything that made me lose confidence in them along the way. And yes, the one-day assessment plus surgery was really a god-sent. I know there are some research/sayings that it's not good to do on the same day, but aiya, trust your doctors right. 

So why did I not go with Shinagawa even though I preferred them?

Dr Lee Sao Bing recommended that I do the bladeless lasik (which is the one with the flap). I enquired about epilasik since I wasn't very keen on living with a flap for the rest of my life but he was quite against it. According to him, my degree was quite high (600 plus for degree and 125 for astig) so there is a possibility of corneal scarring. I'm not sure if it's because the clinic doesn't offer epilasik (on their website they say they do, but none of my friends who went to Shinagawa did epilasik), but I didn't want it to be a case where the doctor can go "I told you so" if things really turned out that way.

Also, I was all for going ahead with the bladeless lasik but it was as if some higher almighty force was telling me not to. I had to reschedule my surgery 3 times because every time, a day or two before the surgery, I would get an eye infection (read styes). So after the third time, I was like, forget it flip table, I'm not doing this.

So yeah, that's how I ended up going for epilasik at Eagle Eye Centre (will update about it in my next post). 

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.