Physician, Heal Thyself: A LASIK Surgeon's Own LASIK Surgery Experience

Physician, heal thyself is a proverb found in The Bible (Luke 4:23)

“ 23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’

Meaning: The phrase alludes to the readiness and ability of physicians to heal sickness in others while sometimes not being able or willing to heal themselves. This suggests something of ‘the cobbler always wears the worst shoes’, that is, cobblers are too poor and busy to attend to their own footwear. It also suggests that physicians, while often being able to help the sick, cannot always do so and, when sick themselves, are no better placed than anyone else.

I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old and the number kept on increasing till I was 18 years and finally stabilized at a whopping -6.5D. By the time I was in medical school, I was totally incapacitated without my spectacles and would need to find them the moment I got up. Sometimes my younger brother would hide them for just troubling me and at other times, I would lose them and then search for them all over the house. Further, I could not go for swimming and felt limited in lot of other outdoor activities. The other option was to wear contact lenses which came with their own inconveniences.

Being a trained Cornea and Refractive surgeon for over a decade now, Lasik Surgery forms one of the most common surgeries in my practice. It has always been a source of joy and satisfaction for me on a very deep personal level to hear how this quick and painless laser vision correction surgery has changed the quality of lives of so many patients. While for some it has meant better marriage prospects, for others it has meant higher self-esteem and confidence and for still others the freedom to participate in activities which spectacles and contact lenses always inhibited them from. Surely LASIK surgery has the power to impact people lives.

Attesting to the above proverb, Physician Heal Thyself, I decided to get Lasik for myself. Though, the thought of putting my eyes under the laser machine was scary to me also just like for anybody else, but being a cornea surgeon I knew exactly what Lasik surgery procedure entails.

The biggest fear is the ‘What if’ scenario – what if something goes wrong and I am left with a residual hazy or a little blurry vision after Lasik. Being an eye surgeon, my practice involves eye microsurgeries where thin hair like threads & stitches are used under magnification. Even a bit of blur would have endangered my ophthalmology career. But it just seemed so right to get Lasik done myself and then be convinced one way or the other.

I decided to undergo the latest type of laser vision correction available at the time — Femto LASIK. This bladeless procedure uses a femtosecond laser to create a precise corneal flap before the excimer laser reshapes the cornea to correct your power. In a traditional LASIK surgery, a blade called a microkeratome is used to create the flap. The femtosecond laser is more accurate and reduces flap-related complications. When it came to my own eyes, I was certainly not taking any chances.

As a Cornea Surgeon, I knew Pre-Lasik evaluation would be needed to ensure long term safety of my eyes after Lasik surgery. I passed the tests with flying colours – jokes apart my corneal thickness, topography, eye pressures and retina all were in order and I was judged suitable for Lasik surgery. With my husband in tow, we went to the Centre. Both of us were very apprehensive but once we reached the eye hospital, the time passed very fast and everything became a blur. The Lasik procedure was very quick and I didn’t feel any discomfort during the surgery itself – and now I knew that local anesthetic drops actually work very well. Ten minutes later, I was back to the ward and asked to rest for the rest of the day.

AM I A CANDIDATE FOR FEMTO LASIK? 

The author’s own pre-LASIK checks reflect the standard eligibility criteria. Here is what the evaluation typically covers:

1.     Age 18 or above, with a stable prescription for at least one year
2.     Adequate corneal thickness (assessed by topography and pachymetry)
3.     Eye pressure within normal range
4.     Healthy retina with no significant conditions such as keratoconus
5.     No active dry eye condition
6.     Not pregnant or breastfeeding (hormonal changes can temporarily affect prescription)

If you meet these criteria, you may be a suitable candidate for Femto LASIK. A detailed pre-operative evaluation at Dr Agarwals Eye Hospital will confirm this.

Truth be told, immediately after the LASIK procedure, I had some irritation and heaviness in both my eyes. I decided to sleep through my afternoon and evening which surely helped. My dear husband who accompanied me for the procedure kept putting the drops in my eyes at the recommended times which is usually 4-5 times a day. By evening, my vision was still a little blurry as if I was seeing through a dirty glass. But I was still happy that I could see the expressions on my husband’s face from a distance without glasses.

My eyes developed some redness due to surgically induced sub-conjunctival hemorrhage a temporary accumulation of blood under the clear surface of the eye. This is a known post Lasik side effect and anyway, I was mentally prepared about it. I had two very important meetings with some top executives the next day, and I was worried about how this might impact my interaction with them! By the night I was feeling better and I got a very nice restful sleep throughout the night.

As soon as I woke up next morning, by the force of habit I stretched my hand to grab my glasses. I could not find them by the bedside. I asked my husband and he burst into a loud laughter. And then I saw him standing over my head smiling wearing my frame minus the glasses in it. And actually, that frame looked great on him! And suddenly I realized that I could see everything very clearly! That feeling was priceless, to be able to see everything clearly without my glasses! After 20 years of wearing glasses, I finally didn’t need them, I was free of them!

My post-LASIK surgery check-up on the morning of day one was great, and I was informed that everything was normal and fine. And on the side note, my meetings day one post-Lasik went great and I didn’t care in the least about the red spots on my eye. My happiness and renewed confidence were so palpable. I walked with energy and a spring in my step all day and the following week through.

It has been over 15 years since my laser vision correction, and I continue to enjoy a crystal clear vision. I have enjoyed every moment of this freedom and used it in every possible way. I tried my hand at learning to swim, sky diving and now I run on a regular basis. I do not have any difficulty or haziness when I am doing complicated eye surgeries like corneal transplants, cataracts, deep lamellar keratoplasty or limbal stem cell transplants.

To be honest I have forgotten how it was to wear glasses. Having taken this step myself, I am convinced that for suitable and motivated individuals, laser vision correction surgery is the way to go. It is safe, precise, and has an excellent long-term safety profile. Technology has advanced further since my procedure — today, options like SMILE (Small Incision Lenticule Extraction) are also available, which are flapless and can be a good option for those with active lifestyles or higher corneal sensitivity. At Dr Agarwals Eye Hospital, our refractive surgery team will guide you towards the procedure that best suits your eye profile and lifestyle whether that is Femto LASIK, SMILE, or Contoura Vision. If you have been thinking about specs removal, do not let the “what if” hold you back. Book a consultation and take the first step.