My Z-Lasik Experience at Shinagawa: A Life-Changing Decision

March 10, 2017 — the day I took a leap of faith to undergo Z-LASIK after years of indecisiveness. What kept me holding back? The tormenting idea of cutting my eyes open which assassinates my sanity. But with the advances of medical technology, relationship breakups can be more painful than a corneal refractive surgery. The overnight recovery process is not an illusion anymore. Hence, having a poor eyesight nowadays is not an option. No amount of fear will succumb me to step back again. It’s now or never.

My Arrival

Signing the waiver form and reading the things not to do after the LASIK procedure.

As told by my LASIK consultant, I arrived around 2pm at Shinagawa Ortigas Branch. A waiver form was waiting for me with a piece of paper about the things not to do after the operation. I have never expected that reading the waiver form would give me a second thought. Gambling the chance to correct my vision is risky, ba-blah-blah! I signed it anyway.

I sat on a couch where I met the six patients who would also undergo the Z-Lasik procedure. We waited almost two hours to prepare the machine — an hour in the lobby and another one in the sterile room.

The Sterile Room

Nurse Pinkie orienting all the patients about the procedure.

In the sterile room, we were asked to take off our shoes and wear the slippers, medical gown and hairnet. This time the real tension is on. We sat down listening to individual stories and how each of us mustered our courage to finally go under the knife.

Nurse Pinkie oriented us on what will happen during the surgery. A speculum will be inserted on our eyes to prevent ourselves from blinking as we follow the green light. We need to answer in verbal and stick our hands on our lap during the surgery. Then she started to drop topical anesthesia on our eyes in three dosages.

The Medical Kit 

The medical kit was distributed next. It consists of the following:

1. Protective Glasses – this must be worn all the time; may it be indoor or outdoor. However, if one cannot tolerate the light outside, sunglasses can be worn provided that you will put back the protective glasses once you have entered an establishment.

2. Eye Shield and Medical Tape – a pair of eye shield has to be taped around the eyes at night. This is to avoid scratching off the eyes unconsciously while sleeping.

3. Anti-Infective, Anti-Inflammatory and Artificial Tears – these eyedroppers must be religiously put into the eyes every three hours for the first 24 hours. And four times a day on the second to seventh day after the operation.

4. Pain Reliever Tablet – the nurse advised me to take it as soon as the anesthesia has worn off. If not, I might look like a desperate loser crying over a lost relationship. My ex should be choking at this moment.  

The Surgery

I never thought that the operation will just take me 7-8 minutes.

Now that the anesthesia has taken effect, it’s surgery time! Announced to be third in the queue, my knees began to tremble. My heart pounded like someone is about to devirginize me at last! Oh I can tell.

Until I heard, “Next is Sir Emmanuel. Let’s proceed to the operating room.” I followed the nurse immediately. I gently laid on the surgical bed, and the other nurse covered my body with a blanket. Since we are not allowed to raise our hands, this is to determine any hand movement right away.

They put a tape close to my superior and inferior eyelids before inserting the speculum to my right eye. The metal is really cold that I have almost compared it to my ex, for the record! It was bothersome and uncomfortable at first, until the nurse put another drop to my eye.

Dr. Francis Guerrero instructed me to focus on the green light no matter what happens. I did my best to do so. Sucking my eyeballs was the next part. The sound of the machine is like an on-going printer, it was totally eerie. Then I saw a thin-like plastic lifted (which I believe is my cornea) and the red light started to laser my eyes. It smells like something is burning. When the red light disappeared, the flap was put back and another drop was put into my eyes.

After while, the nurse filled my eyes with water repeatedly before removing the speculum. And it was over! The same procedure was done to my left eye. I couldn’t believe the surgery lasted in just eight minutes for both eyes! It was absolutely painless.

After The Surgery

Wearing my protective glasses and eye shield.

After the surgery we were advised to go home and sleep it off. Since it was Friday, I almost gave up in life looking for a cab. My friend took 30 minutes outside Hanston Square Building while I dreaded to get my eyes exposed to polluted air. Duh?

In the taxi, I still had a hard time opening my eyes since it gets easily tired. Although hazy, I was able to see things on my phone for the first time without my prescription eyeglasses. I was able to see the signages, plate numbers and small letters written on billboards clearly.
However, as much as I want to do so, again, my eyes get strained easily so I rested it way home. I also took the pain reliever so I won’t experience the pain anymore.

As instructed, I put my medication religiously every three hours. Thank God my alarm clock worked for me.

The Next Day

Post-operation check up a day after my surgery.

The world in my eyes is in high definition quality! Looking into the mirror, I even noticed a white strand of my hair from afar. Although my eyes are extremely light sensitive that moment, I could tell that everything was doing perfect.

I went back to Shinagawa. Dr. Guerrero scanned my eyes through a machine that has a vertical light again. He said that I can resume to my normal activities and instructed me to have the medication four times a day — morning, noon, evening and before going to bed. Except the artificial tears which I have to put every three hours; but not anymore when sleeping.

After A Week

I couldn’t be happier to have 20/16 visual acuity. This is my photo exactly one week after my surgery.

After seven days, I went back for my another post-operation check up. The same doctor who had my LASIK screening was there to check my visual acuity. From 675/675 with almost 100 astigmatism to 20/16. How was that? I can see better than the normal human eyes can!

Then, Dr. Guerrero scanned my eyes with the same machine he always uses. He informed me to stop putting the anti-infective and anti-inflammatory anymore. But because my eyes are indeed dry, I still have to put the artificial tears every three hours.

Recommendations

Two weeks after the surgery, I have attended a ball without the hassle of wearing eyeglasses and contact lenses.

It has been two weeks and I felt like I never had a surgery; except that my visual acuity is now 20/16. It works like magic and I admire how Shinagawa Lasik and Aesthetics stayed true to their words. No doubt why it is the world’s largest eye surgery provider. Z-LASIK is the most advanced refractive corneal procedure that is proven safe and effective. It has an overnight recovery process which is a huge factor.

Human eye is the organ of vision. We use them in almost every activity we perform, whether reading, watching television, and in other countless ways. Having these things said, vision is not solely what we see but how we see the world that matters most.

I hope you take care of your eyes.

My LASIK Screening at Shinagawa Ortigas Branch

I wake up each morning pleading myself that I am contented to be a slave of my eyeglasses forever. Why not? I spent my whole teenage looking nerd.

Romanticizing pessimism won’t help me, I certainly know that. But the idea of getting one’s eyes cut open cringes the hell out of me. 

Can you not think of these questions? Is LASIK really too good to be true? Can my vision be really restored to 20/20? Will my eyes be really a good candidate? Is it really painless? What would I really feel during and after the operation? What if I really get blind after the operation? 

I fondly abused the word REALLY because of the fear and doubt devouring my brain. LOL. 

But I have to take the risk, I have to live above my fears if I want to gain back my 20/20 vision. I decided to give a message to Shinagawa’s Instagram account last March 5, 2017. Surprisingly, it replied faster than my lame ex! How cool was that?

I sent my full name, mobile number, preferred branch (Makati or Ortigas). They informed me to expect a message or phone call from a LASIK consultant. Around 3pm when I received a text message from David of Ortigas Branch. Basically he discussed the three LASIK procedures — the Traditional, Intralase, and Z-Lasik which is the most advanced among the three. Convinced enough, I made an appointment on Thursday afternoon (March 9, 2017).

The screening costs P2,500 but if you decide to undergo the operation, it will be free of charge. I arrived at the 21st floor of Hanston Square Building, San Miguel Avenue Ortigas at 3pm. Staffs are really welcoming. They asked if I have an appointment. I told my name and they hand me a form to fill out. 

Shinagawa’s Front Desk plus my shameless mirror selfie beside the toilet room.

When done, my screening was started right away. There were two rooms for the test — the dark room and the bright room. As far as I remember there were like 10 machines used to assess the shape and thickness of my cornea, the tolerance of my eyes to pressure, etc. Then I had to read the notorious Snellen chart to check my visual acuity. 

Unfortunately, I was only able to get a photo of the bright room where the first part of the screening was done.

The last part of screening was the dilation. The doctor dropped a solution in three dosages to paralyze the focus of my eyes. Even when I wore my eyeglasses my vision was still blurry. It was totally annoying so you have to make sure you are with someone; going home alone might be a trouble for real. After an hour they checked my eyes again to see its accurate grade. 

Dr. Francis Guerrero, the doctor who performs the surgery in Ortigas Branch, was the last to check my eyes. He scanned my eyes through another machine that has a vertical light. All along I pray that my eyes will be a good candidate. Thank God, my eyes were qualified despite all the abuses I’ve done. 

David, my LASIK consultant, announcing the grade of my eyes after dilation are 675.

I waited for my LASIK consultant excitedly to inform him that I will pay for the surgery that day. My surgery schedule was supposedly next month, but for unknown reason I trusted my LASIK consultant to have it done the next day; so I would be able to enjoy the full benefit of my clear vision immediately. Anyhow, Z-LASIK has the fastest recovery time as flagged in their advertisement. 

He informed me not to put any cosmetic products and have someone accompany on the day of the surgery. I went home gushing to my parents about an impulsive decision I made. 

There you have it! The rest is history. My experience during the surgery will be my next writeup. Thanks for reading! I 

My Z-Lasik Plan at Shinagawa Lasik and Aesthetics

My first visit at Shinagawa Lasik and Aesthetics Ortigas Branch. March 9, 2017.

I am happy to announce that Shinagawa Lasik and Aesthetics will be performing Ultra Z-LASIK to me tomorrow!

To tell you a boring story, I started wearing eyeglasses at the age of 13. Because of my failing vision, I had no choice but to quit playing sports. In school, people expect I am one hella smart — when in fact wearing glasses has nothing to do with intelligence. At times I couldn’t read the visual aids, I sit on the floor near the chalkboard to see them clearly. But still, nothing beats the bonus of getting painful jokes of having four eyes from my disgusting classmates. 

There were no perfect words to describe the frustration. You wake up in the morning fumbling for your eyeglasses. You have a hot drink and your lenses get fogged up. You step out from an air-conditioned room and your lenses get moistened. Wearing sunglasses too can be dangerous and agitating since your vision is almost close to being blind. You never know if your next step will lead you to fatal accident, but you have to play it cool. Glad that contact lenses were invented. 

I look older when wearing eyeglasses obviously.

I managed to embrace the inconvenience of contact lenses for seven years. I can list all the awkward situations I faced when I needed to put an eyedropper in the middle of doing something. I got allergies and complications consequently. The bitchiest part is — the grade of my eyes soar high from 250 to 650. Impressive!

Needless to say, going under the knife may sound terrifying. Yet this could be the wisest investment you will do for yourself; if you really are exhausted with your poor eyesight. Shinagawa Lasik and Aesthetics is the world’s largest eye surgery provider that offers the latest technology in refractive corneal procedures. 

Cutting your eyes open with the most advanced procedure won’t sound bad at all.

It will only take about 10 minutes to perform for both eyes, and your vision will be restored back to 20/20! Z-Lasik has also the fastest recovery time since you can go back to work the next day! 

My journey to 20/20 vision will be blogged from the screening to surgery and post operation checkups. The screening procedure will be posted in my next writeup. And if in case you have inquiries, I would love to answer them as long as I can. You may also want to schedule an appointment since Shinagawa Lasik and Aesthetics offers a special promo for the month of March!