Experience report of LASIK eye surgery from January 14, 2011 by Marcel Kaufmann – Report from Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Since about my 7th year of life, I have had to wear visual aids more or less constantly, and from around the age of 12 it was no longer possible without glasses. Time and again I was annoyed when the lenses fogged up or became dirty; contact lenses were always uncomfortable or too complicated, and there were many other things that personally bothered me because of my visual impairments (short-sightedness and astigmatism).
Toward the end, my short-sightedness had increased to around 5 dioptres, and the 3.5 dioptres of astigmatism were also significant. Eventually it got to the point where I had to look for my glasses in the morning if I hadn’t paid attention to where I put them the night before. Well, fortunately medicine has made enormous progress in recent years, and nowadays a great deal can be corrected with a laser.
More than 12 years ago, my brother had his eyes lasered in Germany and is still satisfied today. Since then, it has always been a wish of mine to get rid of visual aids as well, but due to financial and family reasons this was postponed again and again. Here in Switzerland, one still has to expect costs of CHF 6,000–9,000 for a standard operation, and these are rarely covered by health insurance.
About a year ago, my sister also went to Istanbul through Swisslasik and could only tell me positive things. When I recently asked her about the price, the decision was made within minutes – I would finally do it too! After spending a few more days browsing the informative website and gathering plenty of information about the entire procedure, I felt well prepared and ready to take action.
On a Friday, I sent my first email to Swisslasik asking about available dates, and shortly afterwards I already received a reply with possible appointments within a few days. After a few emails, everything was clarified, payment was arranged online, and my departure date was set for the following Thursday.
I did not have a preliminary examination, as I assumed it would work out if it had worked for my siblings as well. Well, maybe I wouldn’t have gone if I had known what would later emerge. I also opted only for the standard package, which in retrospect was probably a good decision.
So on the Thursday in question, I took the train to the airport (who knows how well one will see afterwards), collected the pre-booked ticket with my ID, and off I went to Turkey. Upon arriving in Istanbul, I waited a little while for the transfer service, which was still on its way through the city with passengers from a flight that had landed an hour earlier. Shortly afterwards it arrived, and I was safely taken to the hotel.
A bit of sightseeing the evening before (still with glasses), dinner, and getting used to the friendly but somewhat pushy sellers of all kinds of goods. On Friday morning, after breakfast, I was picked up again by a clinic employee. Once all patients had been collected, we reached the clinic within a few minutes. The morning there was characterised by waiting, examinations, calculations and discussions with the doctor. It then became clear that my cornea was slightly too thin to achieve a 100% correction. According to the doctor, around 0.5 dioptres of astigmatism would probably remain. Of course, I was a bit shocked at first, but for me the motto was: as long as it’s better than before. Whether I might occasionally still need glasses will only become clear in a few months or even years anyway. By the way, this also confirmed for me that choosing the standard package was the right decision, since another operation would hardly be possible later on.
After these examinations, it was time to regain some strength with lunch – after all, you shouldn’t go into surgery undernourished. Later in the afternoon, everyone met again at the clinic. After a few burning eye drops (which, by the way, were the only thing that was really painful), we were taken one floor up and could now mentally prepare ourselves for the operation.
As I was about to enter the operating room, I could still see the last “victim” through the window; however, I didn’t hear any screams or anything similar, so it couldn’t be that bad. A quick face wash, cap on, and I was ready for the operating theatre. I was then called in, lay down on the table, and one eye was taped shut. The film was opened again and the ring that keeps the eye open was mounted. From that moment on, the instruction was simply to keep looking at the blinking green dot. Incidentally, a mesh-like pattern of red dots was also visible, which were probably used to measure the eye during the procedure.
First, the cut in the cornea was made – a bit uncomfortable due to the vertical and lateral pressure on the eye, but thanks to the anaesthesia, it wasn’t particularly painful. After the flap was folded back, the way was clear for the laser, which removed the excess corneal tissue point by point within a few seconds. The eye was then rinsed, the flap folded back into place and pressed gently. I could already see much more sharply than I was used to. The same procedure was then carried out on the second eye.
After about 15 minutes, I was able to walk on my own to the recovery room, where my eyes could rest a little. Shortly afterwards, I returned to the general area of the clinic, where I was already able to read the subtitles on the TV. After an initial follow-up check and discussion with the doctor, I went straight back to the hotel, where I ordered dinner through room service. Afterwards, I tried to sleep, carefully taking the prescribed eye drops, and after about six hours things were already largely pain-free.
The next day, another check-up was scheduled, which revealed nothing unexpected. I was then finally discharged from the clinic and was able to stroll through Istanbul a bit and enjoy my new vision. On Sunday, it was time to return to Switzerland, which also went smoothly as usual.
Now, at the age of 42, I am finally rid of my glasses and enjoy every day – even if my vision is not always absolutely perfect. For some time, the various eye drops are still required, and certain activities should be avoided. The first week after the operation was very exhausting, especially working at the computer or focusing on small objects at close range, which was very demanding for the eyes. By Friday I was completely worn out. Otherwise, however, things are going well – when screen work becomes strenuous again, I briefly look out of the window to relieve my eyes.
Driving a car or riding a motorbike is also very pleasant, and at night I am dazzled much less than before. Now I should probably have the note “must wear glasses or contact lenses” removed from my driving licence record – or I’ll wait until it becomes necessary again due to age.
My conclusion: I should have done it much earlier. Every day without glasses is worth more thanks to the increased quality of life, and I constantly enjoy the sharper vision. I can highly recommend the care provided by Swisslasik – affordable yet very professional. Great attention was always paid to German-speaking support: during transfers, at the hotel, and of course in the clinic, there was always at least one German-speaking person present.