Visian ICL Surgery

Today was the big day. My dad picked me up at home and dropped me off at the doctor's office around 9:45 a.m. The pre-op staff of nurses quickly had me sign some forms, then ushered me into a room. They had me change into a hospital gown, but I got to keep my pants on at least so there was no mooning going on. They took my temperature, blood pressure and measured my oxygen intake. They also stuck a sticker on my forehead, above the eye that was getting operated on. That's a good thing because you don't want them messing with the wrong eye. Once that was over, they took me back to the waiting room.

They had magazines on the table (lots actually), but hello, most people aren't able to read them. They're there for eye surgery you know? Luckily for me I brought my iPod with me so I listened to '50s and '60s doo wop tunes. Around me sat numerous old people and their spouses. I swear I was the only one under 70 in the room. Then again, I was also blind as a bat without my glasses so I could be wrong.

Next the nurses started me on all kinds of drops. Every 10 minutes, they'd come by to drop more drops into my eye. I'm not sure what they all were. Sometimes they'd use two bottles. Sometimes there'd be four bottles. They weren't too bad though. There was even one that was supposed to burn a little, but I didn't really feel much.

When a seat opened up in the surgery lounge they moved me. There were about five La-Z-Boy-like chairs in this area. They gave me a blanket to keep me warm and some surgical booties to wear. I was wearing slippers so next time I'll be sure to wear shoes. It was a little hard to keep the booties on my feet. The nurses continued with the drops and also started the IV line.

I don't know about you, but I've never been to the hospital and rarely go to the doctors. I've only had blood taken from me a handful of times in my life. I was a little apprehensive about the IV needle. However, they did it right because one nurse worked on the IV and one continued with the drops. I kept as still as possible when the drops went in because I didn't want to get pricked by the needle. In the end, it wasn't that bad really.

I sat around a while longer and then it was my turn. I met the anesthesiologist who asked me a bunch of questions and then was led into the operating room. Again, because I was blind I have no clue what the drug doc looked like. I know he was Japanese because of his last name, which seems to have escaped me now. That's about it though.

Once in the room, they had me sit on a chair. They covered me with a heated blanket and reclined the back of the chair. I felt like one of those people who claim they've been abducted by aliens. There were about three or four pairs of hands around me. One lifted my arm to attach a blood pressure wrap. One hooked me up with drugs, I assume. I couldn't really see anything. One stuck that oxygen reader onto my finger. One taped my eyelashes back and covered me with one of those plastic operating sheets. Then a hole was cut around my eye so I could see out of it.

More drops went into my eyes. I assume they used some kind of plastic ring to hold my eyelids open and stabilize my eyeball. All I could really see were three bright lights above me. I could feel pressure on my eye but no pain. The doctor moved in and did some poking with the needle. Of course, I didn't feel anything at the time. I just visualized it from the vids I saw on YouTube. I couldn't feel anything when he inserted the lens. It seemed to take him a while to get it in place though. Every once in a while he would flush my eye out with saline or whatever. He said I'm a good bleeder, so apparently the blood vessels around my eye bled easily.

I gotta admit these were some tense minutes. I felt a little anxious but not too bad. I suppose it's just a natural response. It's not like there was any pain or discomfort during the process. It was probably all psychological - like I knew I was getting poked so my body tensed up. When everything was said and done, they taped a clear patch to my eye to prevent any contact. I'm supposed to wear it all day and night. Tomorrow I can take it off and only wear it when I sleep. I was wrong about it being a pirate patch though. It's more like half a racquet ball goggle.



The total procedure was about 15 minutes, maybe less. Afterward, they led me outside to a chair and offered me somethng to eat and drink. They had pb&j and juice or water. That was nice considering I hadn't eaten since midnight. They gave me brief instructions about what I could and couldn't do.

I got done around 12:15 p.m. and decided to wait for my 1 p.m. follow up appointment instead of going to lunch. I hung out at the doctor's office for my appointment but they were running late. They didn't see me till 1:20 p.m. or so and I was examined for about 10 minutes total. What a waste of time. I should've just worn the Terminator glasses they gave me and went out to eat lunch.



They tested my vision, which was still blurry at this point. My eye pressure seemed to be okay though. Apparently the vision is supposed to clear up as time passes. The doctor said I could start the antibiotics and anti-inflamatory drops today even though the instructions I got said to wait till tomorrow. I guess my eye seems to be doing okay and can handle the meds. Who knows?

Right now it's about three hours after surgery. My vision is still blurry but since the time I started writing this I've noticed that it's gotten a bit clearer. If I close my right eye (the good one with the contact in it), I can at least make out the letters on some lines that I type. When I started, it was all blurry.

I hope my vision clears up over the next 24 hours. It'd suck if after this surgery my vision didn't get any better. At this point I can't even tell if it's better or worse than before surgery. I think it's probably better but it's hard to tell with this patch on one side and the contact on the other.