A Month After: My Shinagawa Intra Lasik Surgery Experience

Phoebe must-haves #throwbackthursday

In 2010, a very good friend of mine had his eyes Lasik’d. He was raving about it and being a near-sighted, astigmatism laced athlete with a grade of 550/875, I knew that I needed it too. I soon had myself screened in the country’s top facility (I’ll let you figure this out heehee) but they rejected my eyes’ condition for a good reason (it’s a long story). I approached 2 more facilities and I got the same response. I was sad that I couldn’t have my eyes "fixed" but of course, I understood and didn’t bother pushing it.

Then again, you see, I’m kind of stubborn. Until I get a finite answer of no, I don’t stop gunning for what I want. So last March, I went to Shinagawa at the Enterprise Center to get my eyes screened. The consultation cost me somewhere around Php 2500-2800. The consultation’s a mix of going through around 8 machines (above) and a couple more tests before the eye surgeon sees you for a final go or no go assessment. Dr. Jaime L. Dinglasan Jr., M.D. DPBO (Senior Surgeon, Cataract and Refractive Surgery) said I can get my eyes Lasik’d but it has to be Intra Lasik or the bladeless Lasik because my left cornea (I hope I remember this correctly!) is too steep and if we go bladed, it might leave a scar. *cartwheels* I wanted to do it that very moment however I had commitments that can’t run with the Lasik recovery (more on this later).

And so the big day happened! Last November 2, after what seemed like forever, I finally got my eyes "fixed". My surgery was scheduled at 1pm but I was advised to come in at 11am due to pre-op tests. I didn’t have to go through all the machines again, but just a couple to check on my current grade together with the overall condition of my eyes. Once given a green light, I was lead to a room where anesthesia's dropped on my eyes. It had to sit for a couple of minutes before going to the operating room (OR). Just before going to the OR, I was given instructions on what to do, what to expect during the procedure and how to take care of my eyes after. Apart from the list of dos and don'ts, I also got a post-operation kit containing the following items:

The first out of two steps in this procedure required me to look at a green light to align my eye with the laser. After aligning, tiny, rapid pulses of laser light's applied to create a corneal flap. Lifting the flap happened so fast -- less than 30 seconds per eye! The tricky part is getting off the OR chair with your flap created and moving to a different room. While a nurse assisted me along the way, it felt so weird moving from one room to another with extra blurry vision. Anyway, the second step aka. correcting the vision happened just as fast as the first step. The moment I stood up, everything was SO clear. So much clearer than a spanking pair of brand new contact lens! :)

It's been over a month since my Intra Lasik (had it last November 2) and I have no regrets to date. It's not the most inexpensive thing money can buy (it set me back by almost Php 91,000) but it's the best money I spent on myself to date apart from the travels I've made the last 10 years. Since I had my eyes fixed, I literally take just 10 minutes to dress up and get ready for work since I don't have to fumble over a fresh pair of contacts and the works. Crashing to bed is equally fast since I don't have to clean my weeklies or dispose my dailies. Best of all, I can't wait for summer when I can finally run from the shore wearing my sunglasses without having to remove my contacts. :)

For your reference, here are the do's and don'ts included in my kit. While your surgeon may advise differently, these are just the general guidelines given to patients.

If you're interested to have your eyes screened for Lasik surgery, Shinagawa is located at the Mezzanine, Tower 2, The Enterprise Center, 6766 Ayala Ave. cor. Paseo de Roxas, Makati City. Their phone number's 02 491 0000.