Laser eye surgery in Istanbul? Skeptical? I was too…definitely unfounded!! – Report from Monday, September 19, 2016
I first heard about Swisslasik at the Züspa trade fair in autumn 2015. I also had a test done there, and shortly afterwards I received an email with the full report in my inbox.
Since I was unsure, I also went to a “neutral” ophthalmologist in Zurich who also offers LASIK. From then on, I started planning. Of course, I read a lot about SwissLASIK and also about the clinic in Istanbul. Once I decided to have my eyes lasered in Istanbul, not even the coup attempt and the attack at the airport could deter me from booking my trip. (An employee who grew up in Istanbul recommended that I stay longer, as the city is huge and there’s so much to see.)
On September 5th, 2016, my partner (who also booked everything) and I set off. Upon arriving at Atatürk Airport, we had to wait in an extremely long line at passport control. This was the first time I’d ever sent a WhatsApp message to Switzerland, as it took us more than 30 minutes to contact the Acibadem Help Point. Shortly afterward, I received a text message confirming that Swisslasik had immediately informed the hospital. Once we finally had our luggage, we quickly went to the Help Point and were greeted very warmly. We were even offered water upon request and didn’t have to wait long for our trolley.
Upon arriving at the hotel, we were warmly greeted and quickly shown to our room. After freshening up and getting some information, we headed to the Sapphire shopping center. It’s not a must-see, but the height and the view from up there are definitely impressive. Since we’d forgotten our sunglasses, we went to the shopping center closer to the hotel. We quickly found several opticians there.
On September 6th, we were picked up at 9:00 AM. After a slight detour, the bus was full, and we headed towards Acibadem Hospital. There, we were immediately met by our translator, who took us straight downstairs to the correct department to undergo the initial tests. He was very friendly and always nearby. The tests themselves were quick, but unfortunately, there was a lot of waiting time in between. In the afternoon, we were quickly prepared, and the procedure could begin. However, it was all so rushed that there was no time to ask questions or even prepare ourselves, which made it quite uncomfortable. The procedure itself was quick, and while I waited for my partner, the sedative took effect.
A short time later, we were sitting in the “taxi” back to the hotel, equipped with protective goggles. At the hotel, we noticed that everything was bright and glaring, so we closed the curtains and made sure to set an alarm every hour to use the eye drops. No one told us that we could barely open our eyes; we suffered for a good four hours, it’s inexplicable. With great difficulty, we managed to order food to our room, after which we went to sleep. Whenever we woke up during the night, eye drops were administered.
On Wednesday, we went to breakfast wearing sunglasses, then went to the hospital for a follow-up appointment. From there, we were given directions on how to get to the Grand Bazaar and back to the Levent Hotel. P.S. We were glad we had a smartphone with GPS with us.
We were picked up around noon on Thursday and taken to the airport. It’s been a good two weeks since then, and I still occasionally have trouble seeing clearly in the dark, and less frequently during the day as well. I’ve found a few exercises to train my eyes.
I’m glad I made that decision and would definitely do it again.
Nadine Helbling
