Far more operations are performed in Istanbul than in Switzerland! – Report from Saturday, May 30, 2015

I’d wanted to have laser eye surgery for several years. But I had no idea how I was going to raise the money, which would cost at least 5,000 Swiss francs. By chance, I came across the Swisslasik website. At first, I was naturally skeptical. But the low price prompted me to do some research. It turns out that far more operations are performed in Istanbul than in Switzerland. As a result, the doctors there have considerably more experience. That’s why I decided to go ahead with the surgery.

Organizing the trip was straightforward; Mr. Kara also had no trouble arranging travel for my friends who spontaneously decided to join me. Since I didn’t want to use my savings, I asked about an installment plan. Mr. Kara asked me to pay for the flight immediately. I was then allowed to pay the remaining costs in installments over the three months leading up to the operation.

There were problems with the airport pickup. But thanks to the very helpful people at the airport, the taxi eventually showed up and took us to the Hotel Levent. Although we arrived quite late, we still managed to get a delicious dinner in the hotel restaurant. At first, I was disappointed that the hotel didn’t offer a view, only light wells that let in very little sunlight. But when I lay in the dark hotel room that evening, I was very glad about it. The hotel accommodates several medical tourists.

The next morning, I was picked up from the hotel at 9:00 a.m. Although the driver didn’t speak German and only a little English, the transport went perfectly. He took me to the clinic’s waiting room. A little later, Mr. Tolga, my translator, appeared. Incidentally, he speaks fluent German and exudes an incredible calm. A big compliment to him! He led me through the large and incredibly professional clinic to the ophthalmology department. There, a nurse greeted me and took me to a darkened room. Inside were the usual examination devices that anyone who wears glasses is familiar with. I passed the time between the various examinations by reading. After the initial tests, I was given drops to dilate my pupils. To fill the half-hour wait, Mr. Tolga took me to the hospital cafeteria. Although the staff spoke neither German nor English, they still understood my request for cappuccino and cheesecake.

After half an hour, I was picked up again and examined further. Then I saw Dr. Cosar, who performed the standard test with the letters on the wall. Afterwards, the three of us sat down at the table, and she explained to me, with the help of Mr. Tolga, that I was a suitable candidate for standard LASIK surgery.

Before the operation, I had to wait two hours for the drops I’d taken beforehand to wear off. Mr. Tolga suggested I wait in the cafeteria, but I didn’t feel like sitting around for two hours. Instead, I asked if there was a shopping center nearby. My translator didn’t hesitate and put me in a taxi that took me straight to the nearest center. The shopping center was fantastic—very modern and spacious. I also appreciated the unobtrusive staff. For the return trip, I gave a taxi driver my hospital card and was taken back.

Mr. Tolga led me to a cordoned-off area of ​​the ophthalmology department and explained which drops I had to take and when. I also had to sign a liability waiver. There were two people ahead of me in line. Then, after about 45 minutes, it began. A nurse gave me shoe and hair covers and a gown. I was then taken to the laser room, where Dr. Cosar was waiting for me. I received numbing drops and lay down on the examination table. A plastic sheet was applied to the right side of my face, and then a hole was cut out for my eye. A round object was then pressed against my eye, preventing me from blinking. At first, I was afraid that my eye would be held open with clamps or something. But it didn’t feel unpleasant. When the flap was removed, I was briefly blind. Then I had to stare into a light for a few seconds that first became blurry and then sharper again. The operation was over, and the flap was repositioned. After the procedure was repeated on my left eye, I was allowed to get up and leave the room. In the next room, I was able to take off my gown and was given darkening “ski goggles.” At that point, my vision was quite good, and I wasn’t sensitive to light. I was under the laser for no more than five minutes; the whole thing is absolutely not bad.

After a few minutes, I was led into Dr. Cosar’s office, where she had me read some letters on the wall again. She said everything was fine. I asked for a sedative, which I received without any problem. Afterwards, Mr. Tolga led me back to reception. There, I took a strong painkiller that I had brought from home.

While I was waiting for my chauffeur, my eyes started to hurt more and more. They burned and became very sensitive to light. When the chauffeur arrived, I could barely open my eyes. He kindly took my arm and led me to the car. At the hotel, the receptionist handed me my room key, and I was able to lie down in the darkened room. After a few minutes, my boyfriend also arrived at the hotel to take care of me.

In the hotel room, I was in severe pain and could only tolerate complete darkness. Despite taking painkillers, I also had a terrible headache. Those two to three hours were awful. After that, the light was a little better, and we ordered dinner from room service, which arrived very quickly. Since I’m already familiar with eye drops, using the disinfectant drops was no problem.

After about three hours, I could tolerate full light again and decided to find some dessert outside. A few steps from the hotel is a long street with many shops, restaurants, and pharmacies. I tolerated the light very well and could see clearly into the distance. However, I noticed that my close-up vision was less sharp. I felt well enough to sleep that I didn’t need the sleeping pill. Sleeping with the protective goggles on was uncomfortable, but it was okay.

The next day, my boyfriend accompanied me to the clinic. He was also thrilled about it. After some examinations, Dr. Cosar explained that my eyes were fine and that I no longer had any limitations. At our request, Mr. Tolga then took us to the metro station, from where we traveled into the city. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Grand Bazaar, even though my vision was still quite erratic. I had absolutely no problems with light sensitivity and spent the entire day without sunglasses.

The next day we took a boat trip on the Bosphorus, and I lost my glasses. In the evening, we were taken to the airport. We were initially puzzled as to why we were being picked up four hours before our flight. But when we saw the queues at the airport, it all made sense.

Four days after the operation, I went back to work. Working on the computer was no problem. I was also able to drive again without any issues after two days. The problem with blurry vision at close range disappeared fairly quickly.

Four weeks later, I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist. Even after such a short time, my vision had returned to 120%. She was impressed by how cleanly the flap had healed. She also immediately sent confirmation to the road traffic office that I am now allowed to drive without corrective lenses.

I am very satisfied with the entire operation and I can wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.

Rahel Moll