LASIK – Experience Report May 2009 Istanbul – Report from Thursday, May 28, 2009

Eye laser treatment in Istanbul on 22 May 2009. Since the beginning of the year, I had been playing with the idea of having my eyes lasered. I had astigmatism and corrections of -1.75 and -2.00 dioptres. My husband suggested the operation to me. I was a little anxious and searched for experience reports in online forums. When I finally felt brave enough to look for clinics, I was somewhat disappointed. The clinic closest to where I live in Olten charged over CHF 6,000 to laser both eyes, which is a lot of money for me. For a while, I put the project aside, but I could not stop imagining what it would be like to live without glasses. That led me to search online for other clinics in Switzerland. By chance, during one of these searches, I came across swisslasik.ch. After reading a great deal on swisslasik.ch, I wrote an email to Mr Karaagacli asking when a trip would be possible and how much it would cost me. I was particularly interested in the company because of the price, as I would pay roughly half for the operation, the hotel and the flight. I received a response very quickly, and just one month after making contact I travelled to Istanbul. Swisslasik.ch organised everything for me; all I had to do was say when I wanted to go and pay. In a small booklet that was sent to me, all the necessary information was included, such as the addresses of the clinic and the hotel, flight details and the telephone number of the person who would pick me up at the airport. When I arrived in Istanbul, everything worked perfectly. I was picked up at the airport together with another person from Germany and taken to the hotel. The next morning, I was collected from the hotel and taken to the clinic, which was just around the corner. There, my eyes were examined. After two hours, I was already finished and was told to return again in three hours. Slightly blind and sensitive to light from the eye drops that had been administered, I walked to the Dolmabahçe Palace on the Bosphorus and back again, and then went to eat something as instructed. Together with three other patients, I was taken to the upper floor of the clinic. Two other patients went in before me. While the second patient was being operated on, I was allowed to sit in the famous massage chair. The operation itself was over very quickly, and despite my doubts, the numbing eye drops really did numb my eyes so that I felt no pain. Following the instruction to keep looking at the green light shown to me was also not difficult. The laser made some noise and there was a smell like burnt hair. Once both eyes had been operated on, I was taken into a dark room. After a while, I was collected and brought to the lower floor of the clinic. The other patients and I were given eye drops and allowed to return to the hotel. Everything looked foggy, and at first I had some difficulty finding my way back to the hotel. As instructed, I went straight to sleep once I arrived at the hotel. The next morning, I was already able to see clearly. I had another examination with the ophthalmologist in the morning, but after forty-five minutes I was already allowed to leave again. I therefore still had a whole day to explore Istanbul. The following day, I was picked up from the hotel again and taken to the airport. I have now been back from Istanbul for four days, and I truly no longer need glasses. I can even see better now than I did with glasses. At home, I was amazed to see my familiar surroundings and people – everything was now so sharp and full of colour. I can also judge distances and depth much better. I had not expected such a good result at all and simply wanted to get rid of my glasses. I am very satisfied with the operation and the entire organisation by swisslasik.ch and hope that my eyes continue to heal well. P. Lutz