Record of SMILE Myopia Surgery Process and Recovery

Categories: Life 2023-05-17

I had a SMILE myopia surgery in mid-May. I’m recording my feelings on the day of the surgery and after the surgery here, hoping to provide some reference for curious friends.

Day of Surgery 2023-05-13

Long story short, the actual surgery process took 2 minutes.

In April, I had a sudden idea that it would be great not to wear glasses, so I went for an examination to see what kind of surgery was suitable for me. My eyes were checked by many machines, and finally I was given 2 bottles of eye drops to start using 3 days before the surgery.

On the day of the surgery, I first went to pay, get an eye examination, and then waited in line to be called. I changed into a surgical gown and was not allowed to bring my mobile phone, glasses or other external things. My eyes were washed for 10 minutes with a constant stream of medicinal solution, which was quite a tingling experience. Then my face was fully disinfected with alcohol, and I sat at the door of the operating room waiting to be called.

After being called, anesthetic eye drops were first instilled in my eyes, and then I was led in. I lay on the machine, and the surgery was performed on one eye at a time. The process was to stare at the green light for 20 seconds, and then I was told that it was great. Finally, the cut tissue was removed with tweezers for a few seconds on each side. Finally, the doctor observed it with a machine, and if there was no problem, I could leave the operating room.

After coming out, my eyes didn’t hurt, but I started to tear up. I held the eye drops in my hand and instilled them 4 times in total every 5 minutes. At the beginning of this process, it felt like I wanted to cry, and then it felt like I was sleepy and wanted to cry. Finally, I was very sleepy and my eyes were a little sore and swollen. I slowly found that my vision for distant objects was 50% better than when I was wearing glasses, but basically there was a hazy beauty, and I couldn’t see things up close clearly, like presbyopia. After the eye drops were finished, the doctor checked them, and if there was no problem, I could go home. I was told that I would gradually recover tomorrow.

On the way home, I found that all the lights had a layer of mist, like a background after the rain. I was also very sleepy. After I got home, I lay down but didn’t want to sleep. But I didn’t want to and couldn’t see my phone clearly. I listened to Lao Guo’s “The Legend of Jigong” for an hour, laughed, and then went out to eat.

When I got home, I found that I could see my phone clearly, but a layer of atomized beauty was added to the frame. I went to bed before 10 o’clock tonight, looking forward to the world being bright when I wake up tomorrow, Hello World!

The First Day After Surgery 2023-05-14

I went to bed early last night and woke up at 7 o’clock in the morning. I squinted my eyes and turned on a small light and found that everything in the room was clear, and I could even see the title of the book “JavaScript: The Definitive Guide” on the bookcase in the distance. It was amazing, like a blind person regaining their sight.

I immediately got up and opened the curtains. I saw a person in the distance carrying a black backpack slung across his body, hunched over and looking at his phone while walking. A sanitation worker was wearing a yellow hat and orange clothes and sweeping the street. On the other side of the small river, a person wearing a light yellow hat, a white top, black pants, and white shoes was running. I should have been able to see this when I was wearing glasses before, but I didn’t care much and just let it go. In the morning, my distant vision should have returned to the preoperative level, but when I look at my phone up close, there is still a faint halo around the text of self-luminous objects. I’m not used to it, but it looks good.

In the morning, I drove for the first day of follow-up examination. I will need to have follow-up examinations in a week, a month, three months, and half a year. I can synchronize the status with you at this time. When I arrived at the hospital, I had my vision checked, and it was 1.0 in both eyes. I couldn’t imagine that I could see such a small E without glasses. Then the doctor checked it and said that the recovery was good. He arranged the eye drops I needed to use for the next week, a total of 3 bottles, 4 to 6 times a day, and then I left.

The precautions are that I need to wear sunglasses when I go out during the day, but it doesn’t matter indoors. But I thought about preventing myself from rubbing my eyes, so I bought a pair of goggles yesterday. They are quite comfortable to wear and I can also wear them to sleep. After leaving the hospital, I didn’t want to look at my phone, so I went to Jiuxi Yanshu for a hike. It was hot outside but cool and windy inside. I went in at 11 o’clock and walked for about 4 kilometers, then found a coffee shop on the top of the mountain and sat for a while, reading a book. Today, reading paper books and non-luminous Kindles feels no different from when I was wearing glasses before. I didn’t look at the glowing text on my phone much because of the halo. In the evening when I got home, I found that there was still some halo around the traffic lights on the road, but it was much weaker than yesterday. It should be normal in a few days.

That’s about it for the first day, but there is one thing that is very troublesome, that is, my eyes can’t touch water for 7 days. I can only go to the barbershop to wash my hair. Other than the eye drops, it is quite comfortable and no different from normal. I should be able to go to work normally tomorrow, but I can’t look at the computer or code for a long time. It’s okay to take a day off and work from home.

The First Week After Surgery 2023-05-20

Today I went for the one-week postoperative follow-up examination. My vision was 1.2 in both eyes, and they said the recovery was good. My overall vision is similar to when I wore glasses before the surgery, but I still can’t look at the computer screen for a long time. I need to take a break from time to time to relieve it. In addition, there is still a little halo when I look at the traffic lights, but these are all normal conditions, and it is expected to be normal after a month.

I took a day off this week. I handled simple things at home. The moment I turned on the computer, it felt like a concave mirror, and I couldn’t get used to it. At the same time, I couldn’t look at it for a long time. It was much more comfortable to wear sunglasses, but it was a bit funny. On this day, except for the discomfort with luminous objects, everything else was normal.

I went to work normally the next day, which was the third day after the surgery. I deliberately adjusted the computer and mobile phone systems to a larger size. I was basically able to adapt in the morning. In the afternoon, my eyes still couldn’t look at them for a long time. In addition, the reflection of the office lights on the screen was more distracting. Fortunately, there were a few technical solution reviews in the afternoon, and I got through them. To prevent myself from not adapting tomorrow, I specially bought a pair of anti-glare night vision goggles for driving from JD.com, and they arrived the next morning.

For the next 3 days of work, with the filtering of strong light by the night vision goggles and the gradual recovery of my vision, by Friday, I was finally able to reach the state of wearing glasses at work before. However, I will deliberately not overuse my eyes. My eyes will still get tired after looking at the computer for a long time. I also specifically asked a friend who had the surgery before, and he said it was a normal situation, so I will continue to wait for recovery.

Regarding myopia in young people, in fact, if you use your eyes normally after you become an adult, the degree of myopia will basically not increase much. I talked to the doctor and he said that most of the deterioration of the degree is due to watching dramas and playing games on the mobile phone at night, especially after turning off the lights and forgetting the time. Looking at the computer for work is a long distance and will not hurt your eyes too much.

In this recovery process, three things helped a lot. The first must be night vision goggles. I highly recommend that friends who drive get one. During the day, they can filter strong sunlight, and the leaves you see are comfortable with a filter. At night, they can filter the dazzling car lights of the other party. For a city with serious light pollution like Hangzhou, it is simply a神器.

The second is an eye drop called Hylo. In fact, a total of 3 eye drops were prescribed. The other two are for anti-inflammatory purposes. This Hylo is for relieving fatigue and dry eyes. It is very comfortable to use. Friends who wear glasses or contact lenses can try it, but you need to find the type that suits your situation.

The third is sunglasses. I replaced my previous prescription sunglasses with flat lenses. They are a must-have for strong light or going out during the day. Before I wore glasses, I went to an optical shop to get a pair of prescription sunglasses (in fact, Taobao is cheaper with data). It is much more comfortable to play in the sun outside than wearing ordinary glasses.

Basically, this is the experience. Recently, I have also been thinking about developing a habit of going to bed before 11 pm to see how long I can stick to it.

The First Month After Surgery 2023-06-24

A record of the 40th day after SMILE myopia surgery. I went to the hospital for a postoperative follow-up examination last weekend, and I am recording my visual experience for the past month here.

Overall status, vision examination is 1.2 in both eyes. Currently, looking at distant scenery and the computer up close has returned to the effect of wearing glasses before. The obvious difference from a week ago is that “my eyes are no longer tired after looking at the computer for a long time, and I am used to not wearing sunglasses when I go out if it is not a big sun.” However, there were 2-3 times when I woke up in the morning and my eyes still felt a little dry. About a week ago, my eyes would get blurry after looking at the screen for a long time and I needed to rest, and I needed to wear sunglasses when I went out.

This month, I still use eye drops 4 times a day, Hylo and Rires, to moisturize and prevent dry eyes. Later, I only need to use Hylo. Hylo is very comfortable after use, and I should probably keep it on hand to replace daily eye drops in the future.

However, there is also a concern with good vision. Since there is no discomfort, it is easy to get addicted to coding as before, and I will be fearless to face the computer for 9 hours a day. I need to pay attention to this later. I will remind myself to rest every hour through my watch and need to exercise restraint.

Life without glasses is quite cool. My body feels lighter without an external device. However, I still can’t swim for half a year. I’m waiting for the next update to share my feelings after half a year.

Answering Friends’ Questions

1. Why did you have the surgery? In fact, I am a person who likes to try new things. At the same time, I learned that the equipment was already very advanced at that time, and the doctor was also very skilled. I wanted to go surfing and do exciting sports later, and wearing glasses was really inconvenient. I have been wearing glasses for 10 years, and I feel that I am still young and don’t want to have regrets when I am old.

2. Can you recommend a hospital and a doctor? I’m sorry, this is a risky thing. It’s good if it’s safe, but it will be troublesome if something goes wrong. I strongly suggest that those who want to do it go to the hospital for an examination. The doctor will give professional advice on whether it can be done and what plan to use. At the same time, it is not that the more expensive the better, but the more suitable for you the better. The technology of each plan is actually very advanced now.

3. Are you not afraid of sequelae? I will post the sequelae at the end of the article. It is generally dry eye and so on, but it can be slowly relieved and improved by using eye drops. At the same time, I don’t care too much about short-term problems, but more about the long-term experience of not wearing glasses. At the same time, there will definitely be sequelae, but the benefits will outweigh the risks and the cost of money.

4. Ma Huateng doesn’t do it, so I don’t do it? In fact, ophthalmic surgery is not something you can do just because you want to. It also depends on many factors such as age, corneal thickness, and the health of the eyes themselves. There will be a relatively comprehensive preoperative examination. In addition, in fact, myopia surgery is not defined as a kind of surgery to treat diseases, but is defined as a “medical beauty type,” just like plastic surgery. Not all plastic surgeons will go for plastic surgery themselves.

Be Cautious in Everything

Friends with similar needs can go to Xiaohongshu or YouTube to do some research first. Here I found a few pictures for analysis and comparison of the surgery, advantages and disadvantages, sequelae, and precautions. I will post them below. But be cautious in everything. There is still a very low probability of risk in this thing.