Good bye Myopia & Hello perfect vision

Like any typical Singaporean, I was handed my first pair of glasses when I was 8 years old. To be honest, I was pretty excited to be having this new piece of accessory when I first got them. But the excitement soon turned into frustration as my life had permanently became more inconvenient!

As I was quite a sporty boy, that pair of glasses soon became something that I really hated. One thing was for sure, glasses and basketball don’t really go well together! My glasses broke into 2 during one of the basketball training sessions and so I decided to give contact lens a shot. I managed to convince my mum that I needed to wear contact lens for sports and she agreed to let me try out the monthly disposal ones. But for some strange reason, my eye kept rejecting the contact lens. I didn’t find them comfortable and they would drop off whenever my eyes were dry. I had no choice but to say hello to glasses again.

My next encounter with contact lens was after my national service. For some reason, they fitted really well and so I started my journey with contact lens ever since. With contacts, it really gave me so much more convenience especially when I was playing sports and working out. I also realised that my face feels less oily without glasses.

But there are also quite a number of down sides with contact lens. Whenever I have them on for more than 10 hours, my eyes become really dry and itchy. Every now and then, I will rotate between glasses and contacts.

2 years ago, a good friend of mine decided to go for LASIK Surgery. He was complaining that he couldn’t take wearing glasses anymore.  He then researched and compared the benefits of LASIK vs wearing glasses and took the leap of faith and went ahead with the surgery. He had nothing but praises for the procedure. Every now and then, he’ll mention that going through LASIK surgery was the best thing he had done for himself. I often wonder how having perfect vision will be like but can’t seem to find a strong enough reason to go for the surgery.

This year, Limaran suffered from quite a number of eye irritations and we started researching on what contact lens will do to your eyes if worn for very long hours. We decided to also start researching on the different procedures that are currently available in Singapore. We were given the opportunity to get our eyes tested at a LASIK clinic in Paragon level 13 to see if our eyes are suitable for the procedures.

After going through a series of test, the doctor told us that we are suitable candidates for refractive surgery! That was really good news for us! As my case was slightly special, I will be doing ReLEx SMILE for one eye and LASEK for another! The doc shared with me his experience with LASEK surgery as he got it done 6 years ago. I also remembered that my friend, Adrian, recently went through LASEK surgery

As for ReLEx® SMILE (Refractive Lenticule Extraction, Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) it is a new, bladeless, flapless and gentle refractive eye procedure that corrects visual problems including shortsightedness and astigmatism. It is the next generation of laser vision correction surgery that uses only one femtosecond laser for the entire procedure. Like most refractive eye surgery procedures, ReLEx® SMILE aims to reduce your dependency on spectacles and contact lens in order to improve your quality of life.

Here’s a short clip to show what actually happens during the procedure:

It was late March when we went for our consultation and we decided to have our eyes fixed after our Bali trip.

SURGERY DAY (17 April 2015)

The day finally came! I was really excited to be back at the clinic to get my vision fixed. We came in bright and early at 9am and since it was the last day with our glasses on, why not take a selfie? =)

When we went into the surgery lounge, I started to have abit of cold feet. But the staff nurse in charge took really good care of us, answering all of my last minute questions to make me feel assured.

Limaran was the first to go in and the nurse administered my numbing eyedrops. Before I knew it, she was out! I briefly asked her how it went and she told me that the whole procedure went really well =) Thank God!

It was my turn next and I was starting to get really nervous. I was placed on the surgery bed and pushed right below the machine. I started with my right eye.There was some very slight discomfort for a short while during the procedure but nothing unbearable. 

The entire surgery procedure for my left took about 10 mins

My brother, Edric, came to pick me up after my surgery and we headed home so that I could get a meal in and sleep. Took a few hours nap and when I woke up in the evening, my right eye which did ReLEX Smile, was able to see thing pretty clearly already. There wasn’t any discomfort at all =) As for my left eye, it was slightly more uncomfortable due to some swelling. I was given some painkillers before I left the clinic but it wasn’t necessary at all =)

The next morning, we headed back to Paragon level 13 for our eye check. Not forgetting the post-surgery care – SHADES ON!

The doctor was very happy with the results of my eye test. To my gladness, I was able to drive that day.

Being in a position to be able to experience ReLEX Smile on my right eye and LASEK on my left, I would recommend ReLEx Smile. What I can say is that technology has come a really long way I got a much clearer vision within 1 day after the surgery and there was no pain at all.

But all in all, I’m so so happy to be able to able to go through my life without glasses or contact lens anymore. Thank you ReLEx ®SMILE for giving me this opportunity to be able to wake up to clear vision again which I have come to realise is one of the biggest blessings in life. I have also thrown away my glasses and contact lens as I will not need them anymore! 

Thanks for reading and cheers to perfect vision =)