Tuesday 2 April 2019

Laser Eye Surgery - I See Your Point

Crap puns to start this article? I don't see why not. I recently had laser eye surgery, and have had many people ask me about it and what it involves, how the recovery is going and many other questions so I thought I would put it into writing (not braille) for you here so that you don't go into it blind. OK, that's enough. Get on with it.
The morning after my surgery under
the effects of lots of medication.

Back in the days when I used to play cricket and take it somewhat seriously I decided to have a
season abroad in Australia to make myself a better player. When I got back to England the improvement was there for the first half of the season, and then I went on the sort of streak that makes me wonder how I didn't give the game up then and there; SEVEN ducks in a row, three of which were Golden (For those of you who don't know about cricket, a duck is when you are out without scoring, a golden duck is when you are out from the first delivery you face). It was about this time I thought I should get my eyes tested.

Sure enough, I needed corrective measures. I have never ever wanted to wear glasses so I went for contact lenses, and after a few failed attempts at inserting them resulted in bloodshot eyes I finally got the hang of it. I went for the ones that last up to a month and only took them out to sleep. I even got a cheer from the players balcony at Bovey Tracey Cricket Club when I finally got off the mark again. After a few years of this carry-on I suffered something called Episcleritis, which is basically when the eyes don't get enough oxygen and go red (see photos). It was recommended that I get glasses, and when using contact lenses I should only use the single-use daily ones. In 2011, I got glasses and used contact lenses for playing sport and social events.

I hated my glasses, so much so that I took them off for photos and vowed to get my eyes lasered one day. A cousin of mine had his done and he said it was one of the best things he ever did, and for approx £300 per eye it sounded like a great idea! Beats paying £150 every few years for glasses. I went for the referral and in typical style I was told my eyes needed a "special procedure that costs £1,000 per eye". Thank you for your time, see you never.

Episcleritis in my right eye at the end of the 2012 season.
This was September, by late October it still hadn't cleared.
(Pictured with Pete Bradley (L) and Chris Bradley (R))
And so the dream of laser eye surgery died a little death, not to be resurrected for a few more years. I went to a place in Parramatta in 2015 for a consultation, LASIK surgery for $3,000 per eye. Thanks but no thanks, I'll keep saving. Fast forward to the start of this year and once again I decided to go for a consultation, this time after a bit more in-depth research I found Sydney Eye Clinic. I booked myself in for an assessment at the Baulkham Hills office, and learnt of a new procedure called Advanced Surface Laser.

The difference is that with LASIK, they make an incision around your iris and open it like a flap, laser in behind it and close the flap again. That incision will never fully heal and there is a (very small) risk of infection. With Advanced Surface Laser they simply reshape the surface of the eye to ensure the light hits the inside of the eye in the correct way, therefore giving you perfect vision. No incisions, reduced risk of infection and crucially a lot more cost effective at $1,200 per eye which would come down further because of the Health Fund I chose. Naturally I made an appointment on the spot although I would have to wait a month to get in, and travel to Darlinghurst for the op.

Despite being told I would need a carer on the day, I completely underestimated the reliance I would have on my wife to undertake this role. I thought it would be a case of have the surgery, be driven home and after a rest day all would be normal. Not. A. Chance. Don't get me wrong, whilst the recovery was not easy it was an absolutely miniscule price to pay for the results, and I'll get to that, but if you do opt to go for this procedure be prepared. They give you a week off for a reason.

Sydney Eye Clinic say that in order to minimise the time off work you need they do the procedures on a Friday so you have the weekend to recover, and will sign you off from the Friday until usually the Wednesday or Thursday. In my case, they signed me off until the Friday meaning I had 6 days off "sick". You can't wear your contact lenses for two weeks before the procedure because it affects the surface of your eye and it needs time to settle.

October 2012 in Australia. Episcleritis in right eye still apparent.
Upon arrival on the day of the appointment I was introduced to Dr Ilan Sebban and immediately I was reassured. I cannot fault the man, he was polite, courteous, understanding, funny and relaxed me before an operation I was nervous about. It could have been the Xanax tablet kicking in to be fair, but when I later met him again without the effect of medication I thought the same, so there's that. You get sent downstairs to the pharmacy to pick up your medication. I honestly thought it would be a few eye-drops, and didn't expect the bagful they gave me. Valium (diazepam), Dozile sleeping tablets, prescribed painkillers and a script for Endone if the pain becomes unbearable and various eye-drops to be used at different times? You feel like you need a degree in chemistry to understand it and at this point I was mentally preparing for the operation so I switched off and let Jess take the instructions. I'm glad she did.

After a few final tests, calibrations and anaesthetic eye-drops I was led into the theatre to be greeted by more friendly staff, a bed and a great big piece of apparatus which was obviously the frickin' laser. You know those things that dentists use to keep your mouth open? Imagine those made of metal and for your eyes... Blinking would be a bad thing, so these prevent it. Sod matchsticks.

While laying down on the bed they move the apparatus in place, and impress on you how important it is for the following 30 seconds to look at the green dot, the whole green dot and nothing but the green dot, so help you God. Obviously you do it, ignoring the smell of welding or burning that is in the air. You breathe a sigh of relief as they rinse the eye with a solution, and then it's onto the next eye. The green dot! Don't forget the green dot! Same again, same burning smell, same rinsing and then voila! It's done! You feel nothing while the procedure is being done. No pain, maybe a mild pressure, but nothing. However when it is done, your eyes begin to sting more and more. You're becoming light sensitive. You are so focussed on this new sensation that anything they are telling you wouldn't register, and this is why your carer is so important. They listen to the instructions for you.

This was about the time it became clear it was a bigger deal that I gave it credit for. Jess had to guide me to the car, I couldn't keep my eyes open because it hurt. I got in the car and she drove home while I was there with a baseball cap over my face to try and ease the light sensitivity issue. It was a good 30-40 minute drive home but it felt like double. As soon as we got home I got into bed and was given the valium, probably some pain medication and thankfully fell asleep. Other than toilet breaks and some food I don't think I moved from that spot for at least 24 hours. The pain eased off, and the vision was blurry but the best thing for me to do was sleep.

Jess deserves enormous credit for keeping me to the schedule of medication and eye-drops all weekend, by Monday I was able to look after myself my vision was blurry still, and that lasted until well after I went back to work with gradual improvements. Podcasts and the radio are your friend in those first few days to combat boredom, television isn't the best idea for too long as it dries your eyes.

After two or three weeks there was still some blurriness, to the point that I was a little scared driving into work for a week or so because I couldn't read number plates except for the car immediately in front of me in traffic. However as each day progressed I felt more and more comfortable and things kept improving. When I went for my follow-up appointment after a couple of weeks Dr Sebban asked which line I could read on the usual screens they give you for eye-tests and I could read the bottom line, which surprised him! At this stage I was a little apprehensive that it hadn't worked as well as I hoped but he assured me the skin across the eye takes approximately 7-8 weeks to fully heal, so although your vision should be good enough after a week or so (and it was) it takes a little longer to become perfect. As I write this it has been 6 weeks since my operation and my vision is way better now than it was when I had contact lenses on, almost as perfect as when I had glasses.

I only have eye drops to last a couple more weeks and after that it is done. I couldn't be happier with the results even if they stay as they are now, and the fact they may improve further over the next couple of weeks is a bonus. In conclusion, it is definitely worth doing. If you have the right health fund you could save yourself even more, but if I remove that from the calculations and with the knowledge that this should last at least 10-15 years then I have already saved money if you compare that with the cost (and hassle) of glasses and contact lenses over that same period.

I'll happily answer any questions you might have, however if you seriously want to get it done book yourself an appointment with Sydney Eye Clinic and see Dr Sebban yourself. I am yet to speak to any person who has had their eyes lasered and said anything bad about it, everyone has said they are so glad they got it done. I'm the same and now I can vouch for it with my experiences. I started with a crap pun so now I'll end with one; You'll see what I mean.