Korean Job Discussion Forums

tinamarie04 · Joined: 25 May 2009

I want to do this!! BUUUUUUT. I have horrible eyes, horrible... my contact prescription is like -9 and -8.5... glasses are around -10... has anyone had this done with eyes as bad as mine? Is it even possible?

The Lemon · Joined: 11 Jan 2003

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. "It was the worst 10 min of my life. I was so traumatized that I cried for the entire day after" is far more honest than what I read in the doctor literature.

daniel-andersson · Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Location: Seoul (but from Sweden)

Xuanzang · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Sadang

Would someone kindly let me use their name as a referral for the Dream Eye clinic? PM me if you're willing. Allegedly you will get a cosmetics set.

sqrlnutz123 · Joined: 15 Jun 2009 Location: South Korea

Does anybody know of a good clinic near Ansan?

daniel-andersson · Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Location: Seoul (but from Sweden)

Hi!

So I went to the Dream Eye clinic last Friday (4 Dec) and am happy with the result so far. I paid 1.8 even if they first said 2.2. There are clinics how does it for much cheaper (like 1.2) but some of those are not part of the Korean eye clinic associations. They also have older instruments and might charge you with small fees for eye drops etc. A good clinic that also could provide a good insurance was important for me even if I didn't do a lot of research, (a normal personal health insurance will not cover an eye infection).

The operation went fast. One hour after that we has started with the last minute eye checks I could leave. I didn�t wait 30 minutes since it was late and they wanted to go home. I had no pain during or the days after the operation so I think was lucky. As for the weekend I was lessening to a lot of podcasts, I liked DNTO and the Seoul Podcast. Smile

The vision is not yet perfect but I can already see pretty well. I have borrowed a pair of sunglasses from a friend but later bought a good pair which can be read at this topic.

catchshime · Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 1:31 am Post subject:

I am also getting Wavefront LASIK done for 2.0 mil at Myeong-dong Dream Eye Center in 2 days. Will post how it goes. My eyes are -3.0 and -3.25 L/R respectively, I am near-sighted.

kingpin · Joined: 23 Jan 2003

I had a consultation at Yebon Eye Clinic in Jongno yesterday and, while I'm eligible for either LASEK or LASIK, it turns out that I have rather large pupils (7 mm), which increases the risk of starbursts/halos/light-blasting after the surgery. I also have rather dry eyes, which could pose problems, too, but I'm more concerned with the pupil size issue.

I have a consultation scheduled for Dream Eye in Myeong-Dong as well, so I'll see what they say before making any final decisions.

For now, though, I'm curious to hear from anyone else who had similarly large pupils and went ahead with the surgery? How's it been for you?

nena · Joined: 19 Nov 2009

Kingpin - I did lasik about 4 months ago. I was also told by several eye doctors that I had large pupils, which would have made me ineligible for surgery a few years ago. Also, I've always had dry eye problems, which would definitely get aggravated by surgery.

I dont know the measurement of my pupils (how they compare to yours), but the issue of size was brought up to me by all the doctors I saw.

I did have really bad halos/starbursts/light-blasting for the first 2 weeks after surgery. After that, the "blasting" effect started to fade quickly. The halos and bursts also started to reduce in size/intensity. About 2 months later, I no longer saw any of these effects.

I actually see a lot better in the dark compared to when I wore glasses, so, I'm actually very happy with the results there.

My dry eye problem DID worsen with the surgery, though. Dry eye is an extremely common complication. I am on the prescription eyedrop "Restasis" to help my eyes produce more tears naturally. The winter cold doesn't help, but the dryness has improved a WHOLE lot. I use regular wetting eyedrops once or twice (at VERY most) a day. For the first month or two after surgery, I used wetting eyedrops between 5 and 15 times a day. Don't leave the house without a bottle, haha!

Anyway, so.. basically I wouldn't worry too much about the dry eyes. It will likely get worse after surgery, It's a minor inconvenience for a few weeks, that's it. I can't say if my pupils were as big as yours, but it seemed to be fine for me. All of my doctor consultants said taht my pupils were large, but, wouldn't interfere with the success of my surgery.

Hopefully you can confirm that by seeing another eye doctor.

Best of luck with whatever decision you make!

kingpin · Joined: 23 Jan 2003

Yaya · Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Location: Seoul

The Lemon · Joined: 11 Jan 2003

Sadly, no surgery yet. The doctor discovered that my contact lens prescription I've been using for the last 15 years has been wildly overpowered (those diagnostic machines in all the contact lens stores I've used throughout Asia are inaccurate, he says).

Since my eyes and brain adjusted to the (wrong) power, he was concerned about how they'd react to having LASIK done to the correct power. Therefore I have to gradually change my contact lens power down to the correct one, and if there's no problem I'll try again next year.

Thanks everyone for the advice.