My EVO ICL Toric Experience in California, 34F, -10 and -7.5 Prescription
I saw plenty of posts in this subreddit from people who had ICL surgery and their information helped me a lot when I was doing research, so I thought that I would also share my experience now that I have completed the procedure.
TLDR: it was one of the best decisions of my life and at the end of day 6 post-op here, I have 20/15 vision, better than expected and I am enjoying my new glasses-free experience.
Surgery Date
June 26, 2026
Background
I've worn glasses since I was in 3rd grade and never wore contacts, and growing up my eyes got progressively more nearsighted every year until they stabilized in my late twenties. I hadn't seriously considered Lasik because my prescription was pretty high at -10 in my right eye and -7.5 in my left, and I had family and friends who got Lasik experienced dry eyes / occasional burning sensation. Earlier this year, I learned about EVO ICL which seemed to be a better option since I heard there was minimal risk of dry eyes. I work at a desk job where I stare at a monitor all day and I'm on my smartphone a lot, so I needed to be careful that the procedure didn't negatively affect my eyes.
Evaluation of Clinics
I am in Northern California around San Jose, and there were several options for doctors with good online reviews. I booked appointments for initial consultations based on their earliest availability and what times would be convenient with my work schedule.
At the first place I went to, I didn't meet the doctor and instead met with one of their consultants & technicians. I learned that the doctor frequently flies between clinics in Southern and Northern California. This made me uncomfortable because I wanted to chat with who would be responsible for performing the surgery. Also, EVO ICL involves follow-up appointments after the surgery at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months after and with his travel schedule I wasn't sure if I would be able to see him directly at these appts. They took my Anterior Chamber Depth (ACD), my prescription, and my eye pressure, and reassured me that I was a good candidate for EVO ICL Toric. However, they required a $200 deposit to move forward and a return trip to get the sizing of the lens using their proprietary ultrasound technology, and they didn't measure my Endothelial Cell Density (ECD) count or my pupil size. Nevertheless, I put down the deposit because the proposed surgery date worked well with when I would be able to take time off of work and I wanted to hold down the date in case I didn't like any of the other 2 places I would visit.
At the second place, the doctor was very professional and thoughtful. All measurements were taken, including the White to White (WTW) sizing for the lens, Pentacam, ECD, ACD. I learned that they don't handle surgeries in-house and that they partner with a local hospital / eye surgery center. They also would put me under semi-conscious sedation. After the appointment, we drove to the surgery center to see what it would look like. Unfortunately, it looked a bit run-down and the staff was unfriendly. I also did a bit more research online and learned that it is unusual for semi-conscious sedation to be used, since patients during surgery need to be able to look directly at the bright lights and sedation can make that hard. It seems the majority of doctors use numbing drops and calming medication like Valium during the procedure.
The third place I went to was Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley and this was where I decided to ultimately get the procedure done. I didn't realize that I scheduled my appt with a doctor that doesn't perform EVO ICL, but they were able to bring me to the doctor that would be ultimately performing the surgery, even though he wasn't scheduled to meet with me. We had a nice long chat where all my questions were answered after I got my measurements taken. He was so kind and patient and shared that 2 years ago he got EVO ICL surgery himself. (Later, after the appt I googled and found the Youtube video where he recorded his experience of getting the surgery at Cleveland Eye Clinic. It was helpful and a little scary to watch him go through the process, but certainly very informative.)
A note about cost: They all quoted prices just below $10K, and where I am located in the US, this is considered elective surgery so it's not covered by insurance.
By the way, I went to cancel my appointment at the first place and get my deposit back, and they tried some high-pressure sales tactics on me to try to get me in for another consultation and to attempt to convince me to go with their clinic. It made me quite irritated to have to repeatedly ask for my deposit back and solidified my decision to avoid going there. Personally I felt that since these are private practices, if the place feels too much like a business instead of a hospital then it's probably not a good fit for me.
Pre-op
Surgery was scheduled for about a month after my consultation. The doctor confirmed that the lenses were in stock with STAAR Surgical (the company that manufactures the lens) so I was able to pick a date where I knew that I could get a week off of work for post-op recovery. I doubted that I would need a whole week, but figured that more time would be good on the safe side.
Leading up to the surgery, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary, no fasting restrictions or changes in daily habits, other than avoiding to wear eye makeup / moisturizer / sunscreen around the eye area for 3 days before, at the doctor's advice.
Surgery Day
Before surgery, my vision and eye pressure were checked again. They led me to a dark private room where they applied 3 rounds of eye drops, of 3 drops each. This was uncomfortable since I had trouble keeping my eyes open without flinching. These included dilating eye drops and anesthetic eye drops. Between each round, they checked that my pupils were getting more dilated. They also explained to me the post-op guidelines again (no exercise for 1 week, no eye makeup for 1 week, wear eye patch when sleeping at night for 1 week, no rubbing eyes for 1 month, etc). Then they gave me a 5 mg pill of Valium for relaxation.
During the Surgery
My left eye was done first because the doctor explained it had more astigmatism (I guess he wanted to get the harder one out of the way first?). During the procedure, there was a constant flow of water into my eye. This caused everything to look blurry. The doctor told me to stare at the center of the bright light and it was very bright indeed since I was quite dilated. His voice was comforting and walked me through every step of the procedure. One thing I wasn't prepared for was that the cut and subsequent rotation of the Toric lens actually hurt quite a bit. I understood that there would be pressure but the pain was unexpected (despite all the numbing fluid they put in my eyes). But it was very brief, under 5 minutes and then my left eye was done! I was led out of the operating room and a scan was taken of my vault to confirm the placement looked good. Then I was led back into the operating room for my right eye. This one also hurt but now I knew what to expect and it seemed to take even less time. At the end I was very relieved it was all done and that the worst was over.
Immediately after Surgery
They gave me an orange pill called Diamex to lower my eye pressure and gave me another pill in a bag and told me to take it in exactly 4 hours. I relaxed in the same dark private room as before for about 30 minutes. During this time I kept my eyes mostly closed underneath the sunglasses they gave me, because I was nervous to open and use them. My right eye was still hurting a bit and they both felt swollen. Then the staff checked my eye pressure and one eye was 25 while the other was 27. They told me this was normal post-op and that the orange Diamex pill should help.
They checked my prescription and it was 20/30. I was a bit disappointed because I read the stories on here about how patients were able to see 20/15 quickly after surgery, but my vision was still a lot clearer than it had been before and I was optimistic that it would improve in the coming days. The staff gave me a patient card that has the date of surgery, my prescription, and size of lens (12.6mm) which can be used for reference at any future optometrist appt.
Lastly, my doctor gave me a tip to put the artificial eye drops inside the refrigerator so that they would give a cooling sensation when I use them, because the antibiotic eye drops to use right after would give a stinging sensation so using the colder artificial eye drops first will help with that. I suppose this was a pro tip from when he did EVO ICL himself. The guideline was to use the eye drops 4 times a day: when I got up in the morning, at lunch, at dinner, and before bedtime.
Post-op Days 1-2
When I got home, after eating a snack I slept for about 2.5 hours and when I woke up I would see around my bedroom clearly and it was quite an experience to do that without having to reach for my glasses first. My right eye was uncomfortable though because it felt like there was a huge eyelash in it and I knew from my research that I would feel that for a few days while my eyes were healing. I was still quite dilated so I also kept wearing sunglasses.
Distance vision was sharp, and I could also read nearby text without any issues.
At my first follow-up appointment, my eye pressure returned to normal. My left eye was at 20/30 and my right eye was at 20/20. Together, they were at 20/20 vision.
On the second day after surgery, I was still very sensitive to light. When I tried taking sunglasses off, I would get an immediate headache and have to squint in the light, so I kept them on even indoors and we kept the lights off in the house for most of the day.
Days 3-6
Day 3: I have an eye chart I ordered off of Amazon at home so I was able to self-test. My left eye finally caught up and was able to see 20/20. My right eye was at 20/15. I was also able to stop wearing sunglasses indoors.
Day 4: Both eyes are individually at 20/15 now :) I spent most of the day at the mall doing some shopping. I noticed that there were halo rings from lighting at certain angles in stores, but this was in the minority and if I put on sunglasses, they went away. Also at home, I get halo rings from the recess lights in the ceiling. These aren't very disruptive however and I am able to get around it by not looking too far up at the ceiling.
Day 5: I spent at least 5-6 hours in front of the computer playing a video game and my eyes felt fine.
Day 6: When I woke up, my right eye felt very dry and I immediately put in many drops of artificial tears. Most of the day, it still felt like there was a big eyelash in it due to the dryness. Oops, I should have been more mindful about limiting screen time on Day 5 :) I took a nap later in the day, which helped make the sensation go away.
A couple other notes: when washing, I was extra careful to not get soap or water in my eyes and to have a tissue ready to wipe in case it happened. I also had instructions to use the eye shields at night, but the sticky tape used to hold them in place was so uncomfortable that I would be unable to reach the places to scratch it, so after day 5 I stopped using them at night. I am a heavy, restful sleeper so I was pretty sure I would accidentally rub or touch my eyes at night.
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I am extremely grateful to my doctor and happy about the decision to have EVO Toric ICL. Honestly it feels like a miracle of modern science. Having worn glasses for over 25 years, I'm still getting used to what I look like in the mirror without them. Tomorrow I'm going to watch a 3D movie and it'll be my first time being able to use the 3D glasses without awkwardly laying them over my prescription glasses. I can't wait to venture forth and do sports, go dancing, and ride roller coasters without being hampered by my glasses.