Personal Experience Share | Complete Record of SMILE LASIK Procedure at Gangnam Myeongmok Eye Clinic, Seoul
Ariel
9 hours ago
LASIK surgery day in Korea: a more meticulous examination process than expected
When I actually arrived at the ophthalmology clinic in Korea, what reassured me most was the very comprehensive translation and accompaniment services.
From registration and examinations to the doctor's explanations, staff accompany you the entire time, so even people who are more cautious about medical details can take their time confirming things without worrying about language issues.
At Jiangnan Tomorrow Eye Clinic on site, we also saw many patients coming for consultations; from observation most were local Koreans. That day a companion translator sister accompanied the whole time, which made the entire process feel warm and reassuring.
Same-day surgery procedure
1️⃣ A series of precise eye examinations
2️⃣ Doctor assesses whether the procedure can be performed
3️⃣ The consultant explains the surgery details and costs again
4️⃣ Confirm the surgical plan, sign the consent form, and make payment
5️⃣ Proceed with surgery
Actual details before, during, and after surgery
Before surgery：
The doctor will insert a collagen tear duct plug through the punctum into the tear duct to help improve dry eye symptoms
During surgery:
SMILE laser surgery with simultaneous corneal cross-linking
Postoperative:
Provide moisturizing eye drops and schedule warm compress eye care at follow-up visits
Before entering the operating room, the doctor will repeatedly confirm all data. When you enter the 17th-floor operating room and undergo the procedure, simply follow the instructions of the doctor and the translator and stare at the green light dot in front of you; even after the green light disappears you should keep staring and your eyes must not move!
The whole process was completely painless; I was only a little nervous. It felt like less than five minutes, and the surgery on both eyes was done.
Afterward I went to the lounge chairs to rest with my eyes closed for about half an hour; so far my eyes haven't felt uncomfortable.
Why do I feel the inspection is 'really thorough'?
Compared with Taiwan Ophthalmology, Jiangnan Mingri Ophthalmology offers noticeably more examination items.
In addition to the basic checks for nearsightedness, astigmatism, corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, and dry eye, it also includes advanced tests such as pupil size measurement and corneal topography
Although I'm not a professional and can't list the differences item by item, it felt like the inspection process was at least twice as extensive as in Taiwan, and the whole thing was inspected twice.
Only after completing all examinations and confirming that surgery can be performed will you move on to the stage of discussing the type of procedure with the counselor, and Korea’s classification of surgeries is more detailed and clearer than what I encountered during consultations in Taiwan.
Postoperative recovery status record:Overall recovery is faster than I originally expected.
30 minutes after surgery: rest in the reclining chair area
1 hour after surgery: left the ophthalmology clinic, some watery/blurry feeling, but can already see letters fairly clearly; eyelids a bit heavy, can't keep them open for long (but not constantly tearing)
2 hours after surgery: after administering the eye drops, the hazy vision cleared, the eyes felt noticeably more open, and the right eye recovered particularly quickly
First day after surgery: instill eye drops every 2 hours
Starting the next day: apply the medicated eye drops 4 times daily at fixed times, and use artificial tears as needed
The next-day follow-up showed my vision reached 1.0, which made me really happy
The post-op clinic also provides a complete kit of small items: sunglasses, warm compress eye masks, artificial tears, lutein supplements, and more, which are very helpful for postoperative care.
