My experience with ReLex Smile Lasik in Istanbul, Turkey

My experience / recommendation – ReLex Smile Lasik in Istanbul

I wore contact lenses for over 10 years and was just waiting for my prescription to stabilize. Since the time had come, I wanted to have a preliminary examination to determine whether my eyes were even suitable for laser surgery. This led me to compare different offers first.

Since the treatment in Turkey is significantly cheaper than in Switzerland, I contacted Mr. Kara. He and his team are always very helpful and respond to my messages very quickly. After the initial examination in Zug, I immediately decided to continue the process and have my treatment in Istanbul.

My skepticism that the quality of treatment in Turkey would be lower than in Switzerland quickly dissipated. Firstly, all the laser systems used are the same, regardless of whether the treatment is performed in Switzerland or Turkey. Secondly, I am convinced that the eye clinic in Istanbul has more experience because they treat more patients there.

From the outset, it was clear to me that I preferred the ReLEx® SMILE® method from Zeiss because it is minimally invasive and thus promises a significantly shorter healing process. Furthermore, patients using this method complain much less about dry eyes than those using the classic (Femto-)LASIK method.

My treatment appointments were scheduled and flights booked. Since I had never been to Istanbul before, I extended my stay and spent four nights there (three nights at the Mercure Istanbul Altunizade Hotel were included). Unfortunately, there was some confusion upon arrival in Istanbul. I was only informed later that the shuttle service was waiting for me outside in the parking lot. This meant that I waited for 15 minutes, completely unaware, at the exit (after baggage claim) for the driver. The next morning, I was picked up for transport to the clinic, and that’s when the next minor misunderstanding occurred. According to the schedule, the pickup was at 9:00 a.m. At 8:45 a.m., I received a call from the hotel reception informing me that the driver had already been waiting for me since 8:30 a.m.

Upon arriving at the clinic, the main examinations took place, along with various administrative tasks. I was briefly confused about the payment. I was told that payment would be in euros, so I had specifically transferred euros to my debit card. However, payment was actually made in Turkish lira, and luckily I had sufficient credit on my card. There were some rather long waiting times for me and other patients (a two-hour stay, but only 15 minutes of actual time spent).

Before the actual treatment, I was informed that it would take place at approximately 12:30 pm. At least I used the time to go to the nearest shopping center and browse around.

The treatment itself was very quick (about 10 minutes), and afterwards I was driven back to the hotel where I could recover. For the first two to three hours after the treatment, my eyes burned and sometimes watered (like when cutting onions). After that, I felt much better, and in the evening I went out for dinner as usual.

During the follow-up examination the next morning, it was determined that I could see up to 150 percent and that I could do everything again without restrictions.

The rest of the stay was very pleasant – hardly sensitive to light – and since I needed a PCR test for the return journey, this part was also organized by the eye clinic and I was driven to the test center accordingly.

Gabriel Luu, 07.Jan.2022 (Behandlung am 09.Dez.2021)