Experience report: laser eye surgery in Istanbul on 21 July 2012 – report from Friday, 7 September 2012

Last winter, I decided to have my eyes lasered. With my two small children, I am often active, swimming and playing around. My contact lenses, which I had been wearing for ten years (prescription 1.25 in both eyes), frequently fell out or irritated me, especially in summer when I rubbed my eyes after applying sunscreen. I finally wanted to be free from glasses and lenses. I researched online and came across the Swisslasik website. After an initial phone call with Mr Karaagacli and seeing the clear, well-designed site, I felt confident and decided to go ahead. Nevertheless, I had a preliminary examination at an eye laser clinic in Bern to check whether my eyes were suitable for lasering and to see if monovision could be an option. This means one eye is lasered for short-sightedness while the other is only lightly corrected, allowing the use of reading glasses to be postponed. I tested this for three weeks with lenses and was not satisfied, so I opted to have both eyes lasered, which would have cost around 8000 CHF in Switzerland. On 20 July 2012, I flew to Istanbul. Thanks to Swisslasik, all preparations and information were flawless, and everything continued smoothly in Turkey. Late in the evening, I was picked up from the airport by the Acibadem clinic shuttle and taken to the Hotel Levent. The hotel is clean and cozy, and the staff are very friendly, even if not everyone speaks English. Traveling alone, I was glad to meet two other Swiss guests at the hotel in the morning who were there for the same procedure. We immediately hit it off and spent the weekend as a fun, well-functioning group. We were picked up punctually from the hotel to go to the clinic. At the clinic, we were greeted by Erkan, a Turk raised in Germany who now lives in Istanbul. He worked as our translator and accompanied us until we returned to the hotel. First came the pre-examination with the equipment, followed by a private consultation with the surgeon, who spoke excellent English and made a very competent impression. I was still glad to have our German-speaking translator to understand everything correctly. Dr Cosar explained that after the correction, I might need reading glasses, which unsettled me as I had not needed them before. Unfortunately, this had not been mentioned in Switzerland despite an expensive preliminary examination. I was allowed to consider it calmly in the waiting room and quickly decided to proceed with the lasering, knowing that at 43 I would likely need reading glasses soon anyway. After a lunch break in the clinic restaurant with a view over the city, the procedure began: first the drops, then the operating clothes, and finally the procedures in order. Mine only took about 10 minutes, as I needed only a minor correction. Our kind Erkan even held our hands during the procedure, which was very reassuring. I myself was pleasantly surprised that the operation was painless, as I had imagined it would be worse. After the procedure and a short follow-up, we were brought back to the hotel, where we kept our now burning and watering eyes closed. All of this happened between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. By 5:30 p.m., the discomfort, which I managed well with 500 mg Dafalgan, had already started to ease. I also noticed improved vision and took a short walk to test my “new” eyes. What I saw pleased me greatly and brought joy. From then on, the three of us enjoyed the weekend in Istanbul. A well-deserved dinner on the Bosporus with the illuminated bridges, as it was Ramadan at the time. A Bosporus boat trip the next afternoon after the follow-up at the clinic went ahead, only delayed by an hour due to a timing misunderstanding. Otherwise, we fully enjoyed the day without any issues. Taksim Square, Saphir Center, which is very close to Hotel Levent, just a five-minute walk. The only complaint I have is that the prescribed eye drops (cortisone and antibiotic), which I should have used until Thursday, only lasted until Monday, and despite my request, the surgeon did not provide more. Still, everything turned out fine, and Swisslasik informed the clinic for improvement. I would have the procedure done in Turkey again. Today, six weeks later and after a follow-up in Switzerland, I am very satisfied with the result, need neither lenses nor glasses, and can even still do without reading glasses. My eyes do not feel any drier than before the procedure, and light sensitivity is the same as before, likely because I only had a minor correction. What would I do differently? Spend more time in the wonderful city of Istanbul.