r/RefractiveSurgery

I am considering doing vision correction. I have consulted doctors at Narayana Netralaya and Dr Agarwals Indiranagar. I am eligible for SMILE. At Narayana Indiranagar, they have CLEAR and SILK which are different versions of SMILE. It costs around 1.5 Lakhs. I can do SMILE at other centres of Narayana Netralaya in Bangalore and the cost is 1.5 lakhs. Dr Agarwals Indiranagar suggested SMILE and the cost is 1.2 lakhs, they have offer till August 31st and can be done at 1.1 lakhs. Also checkups were free at Agarwal today for pre lasiks. I am tempted to choose Agarwals because of the huge difference in the cost, but I and suspicious of these discounts. Are discounts and marketing strategies usual for medical procedures? The google reviews looks good for both. Anyone has experience with Agarwals and these discounts ?

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Hi everyone! I wanted to share my experience with LASIK because I had been wearing glasses for almost 18 fucking years, and finally decided to get rid of them.

I’m 25 years old, and I had my LASIK surgery in mid-July. My prescription was around -6.25 in my left eye and -5.25 in my right eye.

Before the surgery, I had a consultation with my doctor. During the examination, my corneal thickness was around 472 microns. From what I understood, this made me less than an ideal candidate for standard LASIK. So my doctor suggested LASIK Xtra, which combines the normal LASIK procedure with corneal cross-linking.

The actual procedure itself was surprisingly quick around 20 minutes. During the surgery, I didn’t really feel pain, although I could feel some pressure and a few weird sensations.

After the surgery, though… that was a completely different story 😂

I could barely open my eyes. My body was reacting to the procedure and I was even shivering a bit. I came home with my friends and basically spent the entire day resting and applying the prescribed eye drops. I had bandage contact lenses placed on my eyes, which were supposed to be removed a few days later.

I ended up sleeping/resting for around 16 hours.

Then came the moment I’ll never forget.

On the second morning, I opened my eyes.

And I could see.

I could clearly see my mom’s face without my glasses.

I actually got emotional. After wearing glasses for almost 18 years, suddenly being able to see clearly with my own eyes felt fucking incredible. It’s hard to explain that feeling unless you’ve experienced it yourself.

Now I’m around one and a half months post-surgery, and overall, I’m doing really, really well.

My left eye is currently very good, while my right-eye vision is still settling and isn’t completely stable yet. From what my doctor explained, vision can continue to improve and stabilize gradually, so I’m giving it time and continuing with the prescribed drops.

One thing I’m especially happy about is my night vision. So far, I’ve had a good experience with it.

But honestly, the biggest difference isn’t even the numbers on an eye chart.

It’s the little things.

Waking up in the morning and not having to search for my glasses.

Looking at my phone without glasses.

Sitting in front of my monitor without glasses.

Looking at people’s faces and seeing them completely differently.

For almost two decades, I was used to seeing the world through a pair of lenses. Now it feels like someone put a completely new pair of eyes on me.

Everything just looks… different.

Even faces. 😂

And that feeling is amazing.

Overall, my LASIK experience has been really, really great. For me, it feels like one of the best investments I’ve made in myself.

I know everyone’s eyes are different and LASIK isn’t necessarily suitable for everyone, so definitely get properly evaluated by a qualified eye surgeon before making the decision.

But if you’ve been wearing glasses for years and you’re considering LASIK, I can tell you one thing from my own experience:

That first morning when you open your eyes and see clearly without your glasses… it’s fucking incredible.

After 18 years of glasses, I genuinely feel like I’ve been reborn.

I’m really glad I did it.

I’m thinking about getting refractive surgery, but I’m moving abroad in January 2027 for work. I might be working in fairly dusty environments, so I’m not sure if that’s something I should take into account.

If I have the surgery in October 2026, do you think I’ll have enough time to recover and complete my follow-up appointments before I leave in January 2027? Or might that be too close to my departure date?

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I’m 36 and considering ICL. I brought it up at my last eye exam and the doctor said I only have about 4-5 years left before I’ll start losing close-up vision if I get it done. (She didn’t say it in a discouraging way, just setting expectations, and did help me set up a consultation.)

I’m extremely nearsighted, and I feel like going from needing thick glasses for everything including near vision as I do now, to needing thin glasses only for near work, is still a clear win, but I’m curious how others in the same situation felt. If you’ve started losing your close-up vision, how was the adjustment to needing reading glasses? How satisfied are you with your surgery?

The doctor also mentioned monovision as an option, which I will consider—if you opted for that, how happy are you with it?

Hello.

I had LASIK done on both of my eyes. The day after the surgery, I went for a checkup and couldn't read any letters on the wall during my test. Everything was so blurry. I was told that I don't seem to be healing as fast as expected and to come back again in a week's time. It has nearly been 48 hours since my surgery and my vision is still blurry. Perhaps a tiny bit better but still blurry.

I'm freaking out. Most information I read prior says that vision gets significantly better between 24 and 48 hours. Yet I can see less that I could prior. Is this normal? What happens if it doesn't get better?

Edit: Additional info. My age is 29. Prior to surgery, my prescription was 3.00 in left eye and 3.25 in right eye.

I’m scheduled for refractive surgery soon and deciding between PRK and LASIK. I’ll ultimately go with my surgeon’s recommendation, but I’m trying to get some real-world opinions first.

My main dilemma is simple: LASIK has the faster/easier recovery, but the flap gives me some hesitation. PRK seems better for long-term peace of mind since there’s no flap, especially if I end up in a field where physical confrontation, combatives, dust/sand, or accidental eye trauma are possibilities.

Current prescription is -5.00 in one eye -5.25 in the other. I'm 28 years old.

For people who’ve had either procedure, especially military/LE/contact sport/field-work types:

Did you choose PRK or LASIK, and would you make the same choice again?

For PRK people, was the recovery worth avoiding the flap concern?

For LASIK people, do you ever actually think about the flap long-term?

Not looking to override medical advice, just trying to hear experiences before I finalize it with the surgeon.

My best friend almost got ICL, then something happened at the clinic that completely changed his mind…..

My best friend (male 31) had been wearing glasses for years and recently decided that he wanted to get rid of them permanently. We started looking into LASIK, and eventually went to a very well-known eye clinic in Delhi, one of those clinics that has a huge online presence, tons of YouTube videos, and doctors who regularly appear on major Indian podcasts.
Initially, everything seemed very professional.

The doctor examined him and told him that he wasn’t a suitable candidate for LASIK mainly because of his corneal thickness. Instead they recommended ICL

After watching all the videos and podcasts about ICL and hearing how life-changing it can be, my friend became convinced that ICL was the right option for him. The cost was around 2 lakh rupees.

They told him to come back the next day for detailed measurements.
There was one other thing that happened during the first visit. During the retinal examination, the retina specialist found a small retinal hole in his left eye and it’s not a serious thing. They told him that it wasn’t a major procedure and that it could be treated with a laser procedure (barrage laser) before proceeding with the ICL. The cost was only around 5–6k.

So the plan was basically:
Come back the next day.
Complete the ICL measurements.
Get the retinal laser done.
Pay 50% of the ICL cost.
Schedule the ICL surgery.

The next day, we went back together.
He completed all the measurements and everything seemed to be going smoothly. We were then sent to the accounts department, where they told him to pay 50% of the ICL amount and then go to the retina department for the laser procedure.

But my friend said, “Let me get the retinal procedure done first. I’ll make the payment afterward.”
The accounts person agreed.

So we went to the retina department.
And this is where things got VERY interesting.
There was a patient (young guy in late 20s) sitting outside the retina doctor’s room. He was wearing dark glasses. We initially thought he too had ICL.
The door was open, and we could hear the conversation between him and the doctor from outside.

The patient was telling the doctor that he had undergone ICL in 2017.
He then explained that he had subsequently developed a cataract and eventually underwent cataract surgery in the same clinic last year.

Even after the cataract surgery, he was still having some visual problems. He also mentioned that he had been playing sports such as volleyball/basketball and had subsequently suffered an eye injury from a basketball, which had caused further problems.
I obviously don’t know his complete medical history, what type of ICL he had, why he developed cataract, or whether the sports injury had anything to do with his previous ICL. So I’m not claiming that ICL caused all of his problems.

But seeing someone who had undergone the procedure years earlier, then developed cataract requiring another surgery, and was still dealing with eye issues genuinely scared my friend.
He looked at me and basically said:
“Maybe this guy was sent here to save me.”
He immediately decided that he didn’t want to proceed.
He collected his reports and left the clinic with me.
He was still under the effects of the dilating drops at that point, but he didn’t care. He had completely changed his mind about elective eye surgery.

What do you guys think?
I’m not saying ICL is bad or that everyone who gets ICL will develop cataracts. I know many people have excellent outcomes with ICL.
But this experience made my friend realize that this isn’t simply:

“Get ICL → throw away your glasses → problem solved forever.”
It’s an intraocular procedure, and there are potential complications that need to be considered over a person’s entire lifetime including cataract, increased eye pressure, inflammation, lens-related complications, retinal issues, and the possibility of needing another procedure later.

My friend is now thinking:
“I don’t hate my glasses enough to take an intraocular surgical risk just for convenience.”
He’s perfectly happy to continue wearing glasses or contact lenses.
So I’m curious about people here who have had ICL 5, 10, 15+ years ago:
How has your vision been?
Have you developed cataracts?
Have you needed the ICL repositioned, removed, or replaced?
Any problems with eye pressure?
Would you still choose ICL today?
And if you had the choice between ICL and simply continuing with glasses, what would you choose?
Especially interested in long-term experiences rather than people who had ICL only 6–12 months ago.

I have myopia of approximately -2.75 in my right eye and -5.00 in my left eye, with -0.50 and -0.25 astigmatism respectively.

Several ophthalmologists have told me that I am a candidate for laser vision correction, specifically LASIK or Femto-LASIK.

I'm considering the procedure, but I want to make sure I understand all the potential risks and consequences before making a decision.

For those who have had LASIK/Femto-LASIK or have experience with laser vision correction:

What questions would you recommend asking the ophthalmologist before agreeing to the procedure?

Is there anything in particular you think is important to clarify beforehand, including things that you only learned about after the surgery?

What do you wish you had asked your doctor before having laser vision correction?

Hi, I'd really appreciate your thoughts about the best lens to get during cataract surgery for a person with pseudo-exfoliation syndrome, which apparently can increase the possibility of the lens shifting over time, and early glaucoma, which will make contrast sensitivity more important over time.

My glaucoma and cataract surgeon is in a super busy clinic so I don't have time to consult with him about lens choices given my health issues. The technician advised me to get an aspheric monofocal or Eyhance, both made by Johnson& Johnson. But she also handed me a brochure for Puresee

I'd really love to hear from people with (early) glaucoma or PEX about the lens they chose and whether they were happy with it or whether there were any problems down the road, especially with shifting or loss of contrast sensitivity. I know that I shouldn't ask for a multifocal but it's tempting to try to go for an enhanced monofocal like Eyhance. But would I have more problems with vision if it shifted slightly, due to the shape of the lens?

I am 67, have been myopic my whole life and would really like to reserve near and intermediate vision rather than distance if I can and I'm happy to wear glasses. I'm pretty nervous right now and really wish my cataract surgeon were more available.

I have to go ahead with the surgery as soon as possible because a pressure reducing surgery will be done at the same time. Thank you!

I'm 32 and have been dependent on glasses since I was in preschool. Never wore contacts in my life. LASIK was never an option for me because of my thin corneas so I went ahead and had PRK. I wasn't screened for SMILE because my doctor said I would most likely not be qualified as well because of my thin corneas.

I was so anxious of the PRK recovery period and spent most of the weeks leading up to the surgery reading PRK experiences here. And thank god for this subreddit, I'd say I was able to power through the post-op days because I knew roughly what to expect.

Day 0 (day of the surgery):
I was scheduled in the morning and had my prescription measured again both by the machine AND manually by my ophthalmologist. He made sure all the numbers were correct, let me know what they were, and tested them twice to make sure I was okay with how the vision will most likely be post-op. He told me that, on average, the painful, light sensitive days will last 3 days and full vision isn't expected until 1-3 months. He did warn me that since I'm a high myope, my vision will recover slowly but that each day will be better than the last. He told me I would get glares, halos, and ghosting for the next 3 months but that these will eventually go away.

Right before I went into the OR, I set my phone to the biggest font size and reduced white point (through the accessibility options). I read some people advise these here and it was pretty helpful.

The surgery itself was painless. The machine sounds made me a little anxious but the kind nurse who prepped me was so reassuring and before I knew it, I was done within 20 minutes. Vision was still blurry right when I got up from the table but was already MILES BETTER than my vision pre-op. I was told to rest at home especially for the first 3 days.

I was given steroid and antibiotic drops every 4 hours and lubricating sodium hyaluronate drops every 1-2 hours.

The pain started 30 minutes after the surgery. It was like having a drill behind your eyeballs and like shampoo mixed with chili powder have been injected into them haha. I was super light sensitive and could not open my eyes long enough, even to eat. I couldn't sleep very well that night even with painkillers.

Day 1 Post-Op:
I was still in 10/10 pain, super light sensitive, and was quite miserable. Vision was okay though, still better than pre-op. I spent most of the day in bed with my eyes closed listening to podcasts. But as someone who is normally pretty much glued to a screen for entertainment, my biggest gripe this day was that I was sooooo bored. I still had a hard time sleeping that night.

Day 2 Post-Op:
The pain was a lot less, I'd say it fluctuated from 4-7/10. Vision was the worst this day, couldn't see/read anything no matter how close. Still couldn't watch TV because it was too bright and the glare was too much. I could scroll a little on my phone but my eyes would close on their own so I went back to laying in bed listening to podcasts. By that night, pain was down to 1-2/10 but the light sensitivity was still there. Surprisingly, I slept through the night.

Day 3 Post-Op:
Pain was gone! Eyes just felt dry and felt like an eyelash was in them but nothing as bad as the days prior. I was still super light sensitive in the morning but that suddenly disappeared around lunch time! I played on my ipad that afternoon on the lowest brightness and was able to watch TV that night. There were halos around the people on TV though which made them look like they were glowing lol and vision was still pretty blurry but I could see their faces and could make out the subtitles so yay!

Day 4 Post-Op:
One of the bandage lenses got displaced while I was sleeping so I took it out. My doctor said it was okay as long as I wasn't in pain. I wasn't and it's the first day since the surgery that I finally felt I was starting to really go back to normal. Light sensitivity was gone and I was able to reduce my phone font size by half. I watched TV and scrolled on my phone like normal. My eyes do get very dry but I just remind myself to blink every so often and put the lubricating drops every hour.

Day 5 Post-Op:
I woke up to a very red and painful right eye and had to go to the doctor and get the bandage lens removed on that side. I was quite relieved to have them both out at this point. I was tested 20/60 on both eyes which was such a big win for me!

This was also my first time outside and I was surprisingly not sensitive to the sun at all! I did wear sunglasses though but still, I expected it to be bad outside, but it wasn't. Went to the mall and did some dress shopping too but I felt like the AC made my eyes dry quicker. Nothing too bad though. By that night, I had moments when I blinked, felt like I had very crisp vision for like 10s, then I would blink again and it's back to being blurry hahaha. Reduced my phone font size further, now I'm just 4 notches away from the smallest. Phone brightness a little higher too. The TV is back to how it looked like before. Glares are gone and the people's faces are a looot clearer. Subtitles still wonky but better.

Day 6 Post-Op:
No pain, no light sensitivity. Vision a tad better than yesterday. Small win was that I could somehow use my laptop. Font size was small (default) but I was already able to make out the words. Vision noticeably improved right after placing the lubricating drops so I held on to that haha. Anyway, this is when I think I hit the "plateau" in terms of vision recovery. I could see, but it was so hazy and unstable. I did feel a little frustrated this day because of the still less than perfect vision but my doctor reassured me that it was normal and that it should stabilize by 1 month.

Day 7-10 Post-Op:
Vision was pretty bad most of these days. I got back to work around this time and I work with screens and fine detail and texts, so I had a pretty tough time. Lubricating drops helped very little. Magnified my laptop to 150%.

Day 11-13 Post-Op:
Shifted to combination steroid + antibiotic drops and continued the lubricating drops as much as I needed. Vision still fluctuated from morning to evening but improved everyday. Sometimes it would be so clear, often it was still hazy and a little blurry. The lubricating drops helped tremendously. I was able to watch a movie in the cinema without any problem. The glares of the emergency exit lights were more noticeable than before though but not enough to bother me. I started noticing that it's a whole lot harder to see my way through the dark but that wasn't too bothersome for me.

2 Weeks Post-Op:
Right eye 20/30 and left eye 20/20! With so much time and room for improvement according to my doctor as he expects vision to become crisper by 1-3 months. So already achieving this level of acuity at this point was already a big win. By this time I was already able to use my phone without much ghosting and glare, just blurriness that comes and goes. Laptop font size also back to my usual pre-op. Eyes are still quite dry though and I've been using the lubricating drops every 30 minutes. My doctor switched me to preservative-free ones given how frequent I was using it.

3 Weeks Post-Op:
Vision became worse and blurrier compared to the past weeks. Near vision was okay but far vision was bad (still not as bad as pre-op). It's like an unfocused camera most of the time. I felt really frustrated but kept telling myself I'm still so early in the recovery period. I was functional and able to work but my eyes would get tired really quickly. It's like being sleepy all the time.

4 Weeks Post-Op:
Each eye was 20/25 alone and 20/20 together. I told my doctor that he tested me while my vision was "bad" (it was clear in the morning before the appointment). He said it was okay and reminded me again that it would take 3 months before we expect everything to be perfect. Vision is still better now than at 3 weeks. Now it's like having an unfocused camera for eyes lol. No ghosting on gadgets, a little ghosting with subtitles, and with glares from lights at night and relatively dim night vision. Eyes still get tired but I just learned to give them a break from screen time and have spent more time on my feet now than before surgery to exercise my far vision. Lubricating eye drops make vision clear for a few seconds then blurry again haha. I did notice that I had a migraine for 2 days which could have worsened my vision at that time (I got visual auras even pre-op) so that could be the case.

I'll probably come back to update in a month's time to update since that's when my next appointment is.

Overall, I'd say that my doctor telling me about how my vision won't be perfect right away and being given a rough estimate of how long my recovery period will be really helped me remain positive throughout the whole process. And since my vision was pretty poor pre-op, I felt like any amount of improved vision (even if not perfect) is already a huge thing for me. No regrets. At this point I'm just keeping my eyes well lubricated, avoiding rubbing them, and minimizing screen time when I can and spending more time outdoors so I can look at far objects and lessen eye strain.

Toric EVO ICL - one eye blurrier 3 days post-op

I had Toric EVO ICL 3 days ago. My left eye is basically 20/20, but my right is still slightly blurry at distance, although it has improved a lot.

One thing I'm overthinking: my first optometrist overcorrected my left-eye prescription (I had to point out the significant difference compared to my glasses prescription) so a second optometrist retested it and changed it. She didn't retest my right eye. Was this a mistake of mine not to ask her to retest my right eye?

I asked about this after surgery and was told my right-eye prescription matched across the machine measurement, my old glasses and the original eye test, so there was no reason to retest it.

Could the right eye still have been slightly over/undercorrected, or is uneven vision between eyes completely normal only 3 days after Toric ICL?

It’s the fact my left eye is already perfect which is making me think my right eye is already “perfect” and this is the vision I’ll be left with from now on 😂

I feel a sandy gritty feeling in my right eye 1 week after surgery.
My doctor said it usually lasts 24-48 hours so I'm not sure why it still persists even 1 week after the surgery.

Should I be worried this will be a permanent thing that will require a touch up surgery to fix or should I assume this will still recover but just take longer?

Surgery got me 20/15 vision with some occasional halos so everything else is fine.

Hi!

I'm a candidate for both femto lasik and smile with myopia -1.75 right eye and -0.25 astigmatism and -1.25 for the left eye with -0.5 astigmatism, so which one to consider and which one would give me better overall eyesight and sharpest vision?

Hello!

So I’m in a scenario here and I wanna see if anyone else has been in this situation before.

Wearing monthly contact lens gave me Aponeurotic ptosis. Essentially the muscle in my eyelid has weakened and now my left eye droops slightly. Because of this I can no longer wear contacts.

I may have to get surgery to fix this issue, and I’ve been thinking ‘if I hate glasses so much and have to have surgery on my eyelid to fix an issue contact lens caused, should I just get laser eye surgery?’

Here’s my big issue. I’ve heard the horror stories, seen the stuff people have to do online to deal with chronic pain and dry eye from lasik. I’m terrified of my eye being cut open etc.

My prescription is -2.25 in both eyes.

Any advice? Thank you!

Edit: I should add I’ve also been considering Ortho K for a non invasive option.

My eyesight vision is
Left \[ -6 spherical, -2.25 cylindrical \]
Right \[ -6.25 sperical, -3 cylindrical \]

I had checked it 8months back. I think the number has increased now.

I was thinking on to Lasik, but i thinking I am not a fit candidate for it. I know may of you’ll are going to suggest ICL. But I have seen may risks of it. Many people say its very dangerous. Need your help on this.

I have SmilePro surgery coming in a week but I think I did a bad disservice to myself. I read the horror posts of blurry/worst vision post op and it didnt recover. I dug myself in a rabbithole reading them. Now I am scared and wanting to cancel my surgery and just wear glasses.

Am I overthinking this?

I imagine a lot of patients make appointments, only to chicken out last minute. Or people complain about pricing. What are some problems you commonly run into? I think it's important that we understand your side of the story.

Hey all, I'm 25 and trying to get a read on which direction to push toward before my consultation. Current prescription is -6.50/-0.75 OD and -6.50/-0.75 OS (my left eye actually crept up from -6.00/-0.50 to -6.50/-0.75 over the last ~21 months; right eye's been rock stable).

Central corneal thickness came in at 535 microns on a screening, which is just under the population average, so nowhere near "thin cornea" territory but also not giving me a ton of buffer. I also got diagnosed with blepharitis recently and I'm doing the whole warm compress / lid wipe routine twice a day to get my ocular surface calmed down before anyone will even consider operating.

Given the corneal thickness and the blepharitis, I'm leaning toward ICL or TransPRK since they're the least dependent on my cornea being pristine, but I know TransPRK's recovery week is supposed to be rough (blurry vision, real discomfort for several days vs 1-2 days for SMILE/ICL) and ICL is a lot more expensive and comes with lifelong endothelial cell count monitoring since it's intraocular.

LASIK's obviously appealing for the fast recovery but I keep reading that it's the least tissue-conserving option and carries the highest dry-eye risk of the bunch, which worries me given I already have blepharitis. SMILE seems like a reasonable middle ground but I don't have much info on it.

Has anyone here been in a similar boat (moderate-high myopia, average-ish corneal thickness, and needing to deal with blepharitis first) and can share how their surgeon actually ranked these options once they had the real tomography/topography numbers in hand? Also curious about real-world experiences with TransPRK's recovery week specifically, and whether anyone regretted going ICL vs. laser given the extra cost and monitoring requirement. I'm in the Toronto area if pricing comparisons are useful.

Appreciate any input!