Until now, even very experienced ophthalmologists cannot say with accuracy up to 100% what all the same leads to a decrease in the visual acuity, but the result is on the face (or, if you want, on the face - in the form of glasses), more than one third The world's population - bespectacled. Someone is shortsighted (that is, does not see what is far away), someone is far-sighted (and cannot see what is close), someone develops astigmatism or other eye diseases. Maybe this is ecology, or the wrong lifestyle, or nutrition ... I can’t say, I’m not a doctor. I only know that all my life I was personally harassed by the word “bespectacled man”, and at a romantic young age quite tactless requests from fans to take off my glasses (because my eyes are so beautiful are not visible). They probably wanted to look into the "mirror of my soul." And I wanted not to trip over the nearest curb and not miss my tram, whose numbers I did not see already at arm's length.
Some psychologists say that myopia in children develops as a result of a reluctance to clearly see the world around us, caused by some deep psychological trauma. Maybe so, but for some reason I think that everyone, without exception, wants to see the world clearly, in all its colors. And hardly anyone likes to hear peers ridiculed by themselves, such as a "nerd" or a "znayka", and even more offensive - a "bespectacled man." Those who still wear glasses will understand me.
Ideal patient
The glasses on my nose first appeared in the fifth or sixth grade. I don’t remember exactly. The most terrible impression was on the frame - a heavy, plastic one with metal arms and thick glasses (in those days there were still no thin lenses made of plastic, although my frame from the whole assortment presented was the most decent). But now is not about that. These glasses, under their own weight, constantly slipped from my nose and by the end of the school day bothered me so that I wanted to quickly push them into the case and bag, or better, throw them away. There was no need to wear them constantly, as this device was called "glasses for distance", that is, for watching TV, reading in class from a whiteboard, and so on. The second problem was finding points in the bowels of the school bag during breaks between lessons. The portfolios of all the girls in the class were directed to the increased attention of classmates, who strove either to sit on the "girl's bag" during the game, or with the help of someone who had turned up a portfolio by the arm to take revenge on the offender by heating the latter on the back. In a word, almost every week, one glass of my glasses always turned out to be cracked in the middle and required replacement. Glass in optics was scarce and expensive, which constantly upset my mother. Years passed.
The choice of frames and all kinds of lenses in optics was simply fantastic, and the glasses seemed to fit tightly to my nose and became part of my own "I". The vague reflection of a face without glasses in the mirror did not give me a clear picture of myself, and I seemed to myself a stranger to someone. However, I got so used to it that I stopped paying attention to my myopia. I was even pleased to choose sunglasses in stores, which, as I understood, I could only wear in combination with contact lenses, which made me uncomfortable. And if it were not for the invitation to interview one of the American ophthalmologists in Dubai, I would hardly have become an ideal patient and did not write this article.
It all started with a regular conversation with a professional ophthalmologist and laser surgeon Dr. Farouk Ashraf, founder and director of the Atlanta Vision Clinic in Dubai, a member of the American Council of Ophthalmologists. He told me about his clinic, which had been operating in Atlanta (USA) for many years, its Dubai branch, about the latest achievements in the field of laser vision correction, as well as about thousands of his patients and the consequences of operations, about the latest equipment and much more. And then he unexpectedly offered me to undergo an examination and try to do a laser correction of my (!) Vision. To say that my first reaction was shock, to say nothing. A thousand reasons went round in my head for which I don’t need any operations - “these are still eyes, not a hand or a leg”, “what if it will be worse”, “I’m not of that age, and soon I’ll need them anyway reading glasses "and so on and so forth. But either the charm and confidence of the doctor did the trick, or my journalistic curiosity leaped up ("why not try, after all, not me first"), but I agreed to the examination. Until. And then we'll see.
Irrational fear
When it is not known exactly what to be afraid of, fear sets in instantly. My fear was from a breed of irrational. The first thing that scared me was the different machines with eyepieces, similar to microscopes, only with chin holders, and which you had to look at without blinking or moving. Under the light buzzing of the scanning device, the fear disappeared, there was only an unpleasant sensation of wide eyes, tired of the inability to blink for several minutes.
Before allowing surgery according to the Lasik method, the doctor needs all the data regarding your general state of health - blood pressure, sleep disturbances, the presence or absence of pregnancy, colds. You will also be asked if you are currently taking antibiotics, vitamin complexes or other medications. Then the eyes are carefully examined. Everything is checked - the thickness of the cornea, the state of the retina and fundus, visual acuity and many other parameters. All these data are recorded by a computer and stored on a special chip, which is subsequently inserted into the laser machine, and it carries out the operation itself with an accuracy of a fraction of a millimeter and under the guidance of a surgeon acting as a conductor at the console. The most amazing thing in the study is the fundus scan, when in the light of a special device and under the influence of special eye drops, you can see with lateral vision the inner surface of your eye and its thinnest capillaries, while the doctor looks at your eye through the device from the back. My examination was conducted by Dr. Uda Al Hassani, an ophthalmologist and assistant to Dr. Ashraf. As a result, after spending about an hour and a half in the clinic, I left the center with the verdict that I was an ideal patient. The thickness of the cornea (this depends in many respects on whether Lasik will allow you or not) I have more than 650 units (I don’t remember which ones, but, in my opinion, these are some thousandths of a millimeter, I won’t lie), and the necessary minimum for the operation is 500! The second joyful, from the point of view of Dr. Uda, message was that my operation was scheduled for tomorrow, at 10 am. This I did not expect. I thought that after the examination they would let me think for a week or two, make a decision ... But there was no time to think. And I cheerfully said: "Yes, see you tomorrow!".
Now I understand that if the operation was scheduled for some other day, then it is not a fact that I would again appear in the clinic. Still, fear, albeit irrational, is a serious thing. A lot of doubts and conclusions caused by ignorance could stop me. But…
Instant operation
Morning. Five minutes before the operation. The Lasik operation itself in both eyes lasts 10 minutes. Its essence is simple - with the help of a laser, an incision is made around the cornea, the thinnest layer of the cornea, like a peel from a grape, is removed, then the surgeon makes the necessary vision correction using the same laser, and the cornea (very similar at that moment to a soft contact lens) is placed on place, acting as a natural dressing. The patient at this moment needs to look at the red dot, which blinks on top of the laser apparatus and listen to everything the doctor says. During the operation, the eyeball is fixed using a special rubber ring, and eye movement is impossible. Anesthesia - special eye drops. Therefore, the patient sees everything that happens (as far as possible) and hears. At first, my eye saw only a red dot, then for a split second there was complete darkness (but the doctor said that it was normal), then when the laser started working, the spots became multi-colored - yellow, blue, purple. In general, the entire rainbow spectrum flashed before the operated eye, and then when the doctor returned the cornea to its place with the help of special brushes, the spot that again became a point returned its former red color and continued to blink. I’ll tell you honestly, it’s very funny in some fog to see the doctor’s manipulations, as if from the inside. Somewhere out there, on the surface of your eye, he conjures with various tools and drops. Everything. Five minutes later, the same thing was done with the second eye. The doctor said that the operation went well and sent me to the treatment room for a final examination, which took a couple more minutes. Then I was given eye drops - two types of antibiotics and an “artificial tear” and amazing plastic glasses, like the astronaut’s glasses, in which it was recommended to sleep during the first three hours after the operation, as well as a couple of subsequent nights, so as not to scratch my eyes intuitively.
By the way, during my operation, it was attended by a “support group” consisting of my husband and our desperate marketing director Olga. Having operated on my eyes, the doctor gladly informed me that during the operation no one from the support group was injured, there were no fainting. I can imagine what they saw enough there. I looked at everything from the inside, and they saw the broadcast of the operation on the big screen. In general, thanks to them. One would be much worse for me.
Summary
As it turned out, "the devil is not so terrible as he is painted." The doctor told me that already three hours after the operation, I can return to my usual activities - working, driving a car, watching television programs and so on, without forgetting to use the prescribed drops in due time. Preoperative and postoperative rules are the same for all patients - you need to take a shower on the eve of the operation and then refrain from water procedures for two days, you can not visit the pool and beach for four weeks, the same term applies to all sorts of makeup and facial treatments. And a prerequisite - sunglasses always and everywhere, outdoors! Everything!
Getting up from the operating chair, for the first time in my life, I clearly saw the opposite corner of the room, and after the first three hours - in a light fog I was able to examine my entire apartment. The next day, the doctor conducted a follow-up examination of my eyes, the next meeting is scheduled in a week. After Lasik surgery, ophthalmologist surgeons “guide” their patients for one year, appointing appointments in a week, then in a month, then in three more, and finally in six months. Vision reaches "set power" within two to three weeks and up to a month, and is fully restored in a year. All patients have different experiences. All postoperative services are included in the cost of the operation. If a correction is needed (in some cases it is shown), it is carried out free of charge.
Now, a month after the operation, I see everything - road signs and advertising banners, texts in books and captions on the TV! Moreover, I see in the darkness, in which I used to orient, like all myopic people, very badly. There was only a long-standing habit - to correct glasses on the nose. No, no, and a hand will reach for the bridge of the nose. But for now. Yes, and you still need to decide where to put on a whole collection of now expensive and unnecessary branded frames, which I’m unlikely to return to ...
