It all started on a saturday afternoon.. I was oncall, and after my zuhr prayer, I accidentally stepped on my glasses and my lenses popped out of its frame. Luckily i managed to pop it back in and bertahan for the next two weeks with my out of shape glasses. I know this is a calling for me to get my eyes corrected, I can barely see anything without my glasses - I will not be able to function if this ever happen again - new glasses will take at least 3-4 days, and macam mana nak kerja or drive kalau tak ada cermin mata kan?
So, after massive research, I finally decided to go for it. On my last post call day, I went to Chew Eye Specialist in Ipoh, to get my eyes checked. The thing is, after I finish med school, I actually had my eyes screened and I was told conventional lasik is not for me - but I cannot recall for sure what was the reason and what was the alternative the ophtalmologist was going to offer me (looking back, I'm guessing he's offering relex smile as well). So, the staff from Prof Muhaya Eye & Lasik Centre told me, "Kalau kornea nipis, memang tak boleh buat Lasik or ReLEx smile, kalau you datang pun membazir je" as their thorough examination will cost RM600, not-refundable if you're not a suitable candidate. So, I got my eyes checked, and Dr. Chew told me, my pupil is large 7.1 mm, my cornea is thin, and I barely made the minimum requirement for Lasik. I may or may not get the outcome I desired from Lasik.
So, I got my readings, the cornea thickness, pupil size and my power and send them to PMELC, and she said, I can do ReLEx SMILE.
10.08.2015
My appointment was supposed to be at 9 am... tapi sesat pulak 10 minit, and bertolak lambat dari IJN, so by 9.40 baru la sampai dekat PMELC. Tempatnya not so busy, parking space banyak dan very accessible. Sampai situ, kita pun register dan tunggu giliran untuk buat pemeriksaan mata. Untuk ReLEx SMILE ni boleh buat pada hari yang sama, kalau Lasik pulak mungkin kena buat temujanji selanjutnya untuk buat pembedahan. Macam ni lah algorithm di PMELC.
Selesai check topograpy, corneal thickness, etc(stage II), baru lah jumpa dengan optometrist. Suzanne namanya. Very friendly and explains a lot of things to me tentang ReLEx SMILE and what are my chances. Initially she's quite worried about my right eye as my prescription was 1000, tapi what I really need was only 850 (my glasses is over correcting my shortsightedness). My left eye was very promising, and my right eye... not really... Tapi lepas dah check she found out, my eyes can function well with the lower power pun.. I will not need to wear glasses after ReLEx SMILE inshaAllah...
Last sekali baru kita jumpa Prof Muhaya. So cute my mom was star-struck, she was so quiet despite prof being so friendly. My eyes are suitable for ReLEx SMILE, alhamdulillah.
"Okay, now I will show you your eyes... Let's test your ophtalmology, see if you studied well..." Dalam hati kita ni, I was going to spurt, "Err...Ophtal ni saya minor rotation je, belajar pun 2 minggu je..." hehe... But I did not. Luckily the question was just for me to identify my eyes' fundosopic image. "Macam mana you tahu that's your right eye?" Because optic disc is on the medial side! Thank you Dr. Rashid Joumard for teaching me this, I will never forget!
Lepas tu, masuk waktu Zuhur, semua patient dan keluarga dijemput solat berjemaah ...
Selesai solat, barulah uruskan payment dan masa untuk my surgery... Kata prof, yang paling sakit ialah masa letak speculum kat mata tu - which was, tak sakit pun, but for me, masa nak remove lenticule tu was a bit more uncomfortable.. Yang paling mencabar sekali untuk prosedur ni ialah nak maintain pandang lampu hijau dan make sure the light is centralized. You have to control your own eyes, and even though you've been briefed, bila lampu hijau tu menjauh just ignore it and make sure your eye doesn't move... Once lampu hijau tu menjauh, all you see is darkness and you pun tak tahu dah anak mata you bergerak ke tak... But Prof Muhaya was very helpful as she keeps talking to you, doakan you and says inshaAllah perfect vision, perfect correction for you... I was so nervous!!!! Mata ni kalau ada kaki dah bertempiaran dah agaknya!
Alhamdulillah after 23 seconds for each eye, she removed the lenticule and told me to look at my parents behind the glass door... SubhanallTI can see it's them walaupun tak clear sangat lagi. I was so silly I asked"Err...tapi memang normal kan saya nampak blur-blur lagi ni". Nasib baik Prof tak cubit je kite atas ketaksabaran ini... then she told me to look at my hands, and yes I can see my hands!
Lepas dah selesai, kita pun keluar, and I noticed I can read the writing on the mat, exit sign - which used to be a blob of colour je before this without my glasses.. Alhamdulillah.. After a while baru mata rasa pedih-pedih macam baru lepas potong bawang tu..
Selesai ambil ubat, jumpa prof balik.. This time abah pun masuk and Prof showed both my parents how my sight used to be and how well I can see now alhamdulillah.. "Sebelum ni, dunia dia dua kaki je..lain semua dia tak nampak...sekarang... semua ni dia boleh baca..Alhamdulillah.."
Lepas tu kita pun balik...on the way I was so excited about things i can now see, mashaAllah.. As for now, I'm still seeing some glowing effects, my vision is at least 75% of what I used to see with my glasses on... Masa ni memang very uncomfortable sebab kita rasa tak selesa tak sharp, tapi kalau pakai glassess lagi la kabur.. The night vision, mmg silau, but bear-able, macam pandangan bila lens dah berminyak kita malas nak lap je..
Ok macam tu lah kiranya cerita ReLEx smile kita ni...
Kesimpulannya : I would recommnd ReLEx smile ni kalau : power you tinggi, kornea nipis dan pupil you besar.. Also if you're pressed for time, sebab kita dari Ipoh macam mana nak ulang alik kan.. Cuti pulak begitu berharga... go for ReLEx smile.. Kalau so-so je, you can always do the Premium Lasik... no problem...
Okay untuk soalan-soalan cepumas.. nanti tengok dekat entry ni pulak...
ReLEx SMILE FAQ
So, after massive research, I finally decided to go for it. On my last post call day, I went to Chew Eye Specialist in Ipoh, to get my eyes checked. The thing is, after I finish med school, I actually had my eyes screened and I was told conventional lasik is not for me - but I cannot recall for sure what was the reason and what was the alternative the ophtalmologist was going to offer me (looking back, I'm guessing he's offering relex smile as well). So, the staff from Prof Muhaya Eye & Lasik Centre told me, "Kalau kornea nipis, memang tak boleh buat Lasik or ReLEx smile, kalau you datang pun membazir je" as their thorough examination will cost RM600, not-refundable if you're not a suitable candidate. So, I got my eyes checked, and Dr. Chew told me, my pupil is large 7.1 mm, my cornea is thin, and I barely made the minimum requirement for Lasik. I may or may not get the outcome I desired from Lasik.
So, I got my readings, the cornea thickness, pupil size and my power and send them to PMELC, and she said, I can do ReLEx SMILE.
10.08.2015
My appointment was supposed to be at 9 am... tapi sesat pulak 10 minit, and bertolak lambat dari IJN, so by 9.40 baru la sampai dekat PMELC. Tempatnya not so busy, parking space banyak dan very accessible. Sampai situ, kita pun register dan tunggu giliran untuk buat pemeriksaan mata. Untuk ReLEx SMILE ni boleh buat pada hari yang sama, kalau Lasik pulak mungkin kena buat temujanji selanjutnya untuk buat pembedahan. Macam ni lah algorithm di PMELC.
Selesai check topograpy, corneal thickness, etc(stage II), baru lah jumpa dengan optometrist. Suzanne namanya. Very friendly and explains a lot of things to me tentang ReLEx SMILE and what are my chances. Initially she's quite worried about my right eye as my prescription was 1000, tapi what I really need was only 850 (my glasses is over correcting my shortsightedness). My left eye was very promising, and my right eye... not really... Tapi lepas dah check she found out, my eyes can function well with the lower power pun.. I will not need to wear glasses after ReLEx SMILE inshaAllah...
Last sekali baru kita jumpa Prof Muhaya. So cute my mom was star-struck, she was so quiet despite prof being so friendly. My eyes are suitable for ReLEx SMILE, alhamdulillah.
"Okay, now I will show you your eyes... Let's test your ophtalmology, see if you studied well..." Dalam hati kita ni, I was going to spurt, "Err...Ophtal ni saya minor rotation je, belajar pun 2 minggu je..." hehe... But I did not. Luckily the question was just for me to identify my eyes' fundosopic image. "Macam mana you tahu that's your right eye?" Because optic disc is on the medial side! Thank you Dr. Rashid Joumard for teaching me this, I will never forget!
Lepas tu, masuk waktu Zuhur, semua patient dan keluarga dijemput solat berjemaah ...
Selesai solat, barulah uruskan payment dan masa untuk my surgery... Kata prof, yang paling sakit ialah masa letak speculum kat mata tu - which was, tak sakit pun, but for me, masa nak remove lenticule tu was a bit more uncomfortable.. Yang paling mencabar sekali untuk prosedur ni ialah nak maintain pandang lampu hijau dan make sure the light is centralized. You have to control your own eyes, and even though you've been briefed, bila lampu hijau tu menjauh just ignore it and make sure your eye doesn't move... Once lampu hijau tu menjauh, all you see is darkness and you pun tak tahu dah anak mata you bergerak ke tak... But Prof Muhaya was very helpful as she keeps talking to you, doakan you and says inshaAllah perfect vision, perfect correction for you... I was so nervous!!!! Mata ni kalau ada kaki dah bertempiaran dah agaknya!
Alhamdulillah after 23 seconds for each eye, she removed the lenticule and told me to look at my parents behind the glass door... SubhanallTI can see it's them walaupun tak clear sangat lagi. I was so silly I asked"Err...tapi memang normal kan saya nampak blur-blur lagi ni". Nasib baik Prof tak cubit je kite atas ketaksabaran ini... then she told me to look at my hands, and yes I can see my hands!
Lepas dah selesai, kita pun keluar, and I noticed I can read the writing on the mat, exit sign - which used to be a blob of colour je before this without my glasses.. Alhamdulillah.. After a while baru mata rasa pedih-pedih macam baru lepas potong bawang tu..
Selesai ambil ubat, jumpa prof balik.. This time abah pun masuk and Prof showed both my parents how my sight used to be and how well I can see now alhamdulillah.. "Sebelum ni, dunia dia dua kaki je..lain semua dia tak nampak...sekarang... semua ni dia boleh baca..Alhamdulillah.."
Lepas tu kita pun balik...on the way I was so excited about things i can now see, mashaAllah.. As for now, I'm still seeing some glowing effects, my vision is at least 75% of what I used to see with my glasses on... Masa ni memang very uncomfortable sebab kita rasa tak selesa tak sharp, tapi kalau pakai glassess lagi la kabur.. The night vision, mmg silau, but bear-able, macam pandangan bila lens dah berminyak kita malas nak lap je..
Ok macam tu lah kiranya cerita ReLEx smile kita ni...
Kesimpulannya : I would recommnd ReLEx smile ni kalau : power you tinggi, kornea nipis dan pupil you besar.. Also if you're pressed for time, sebab kita dari Ipoh macam mana nak ulang alik kan.. Cuti pulak begitu berharga... go for ReLEx smile.. Kalau so-so je, you can always do the Premium Lasik... no problem...
Okay untuk soalan-soalan cepumas.. nanti tengok dekat entry ni pulak...
ReLEx SMILE FAQ
