"” I could spend the whole day without any problems when I was wearing them. However, I always used to say that when the technology of lasers will finally get to Slovakia, I won’t hesitate to go with it. Our colleague convinced us that it is painless, and that is why I made my decision.”"
The nice quartet of colleagues (Michaela Bednárová, Silvia Karabová, Petra Kočišová and Jarmila Malik) had been inspired to have a laser surgery by their colleague Janka. “She has undergone the laser surgical method with the femtosecond laser a couple of months ago. She encouraged us and made a great promotion of this method.”
Life before SMILING
Petra used to be quite satisfied with her contact lenses. ”I could spend the whole day without any problems when I was wearing them. However, I always used to say that when the technology of lasers will finally get to Slovakia, I won’t hesitate to go with it. Our colleague convinced us that it is painless, and that is whyI made my decision.”
On the other hand, Silvia says that contact lenses were making her life really annoying. “I always preferred wearing glasses. I had them from the age of eleven and got used to them already. I had suffered from dry eyes syndrome, and the contact lenses, which I had tried a couple of times, made my eyes itchy and sleepy. They restricted my freedom and the joy I get from moving around. With minus four dioptries, glasses are not too fun to swim in a pool, or cycle with. When I was taking an aerobics class or yoga classes, most of the time I could not even see the instructor properly. Certain positions were not suited for wearing glasses at all. The problem also occurred when I wanted to wear nice make-up. With glasses on, even stylish make-up never really looked as intense as without them.” She had been thinking about laser surgery for a long time, however, she had doubts about whether it is safe to undergo the surgery before childbirth.
„The doctor reassured me that this is just a myth and that the laser surgery has no impact on the safety of the eyesight during pregnancy or childbirth.“
For Jarmila, glasses had always been a disaster: „They did not fit my appearance or my personality at all. Contact lenses were my only chance; however this was not an all-time option. I have always wished to have a surgery, but I was afraid of the pain that it may cause. I would never undergo surgeries such as the superficial methods LASEK/PRK. I said to myself that I would wait for a non-invasive method that is completely safe and will not damage my eyesight. FemtoLASIK is a verified method nowadays. I have read almost everything about the method there is to read, but the biggest assurance was our colleague that had already undergone the surgery a couple of months ago. I also appreciate the lifelong guarantee of the extra correction. I know that if anything should ever happen, our Eye Clinics will take care of it.“
Michaela had problems with glasses mainly because of aesthetic reasons. “I had very strong dioptries, at - 8, the glasses were not aesthetical at all, contact lenses felt like my only choice. I really wanted to see better. I actually borrowed the money for the surgical procedure, because I knew that this was the right time to do it.
A surgical method without any stress
Have you felt any fear before the surgery? “A good reference really helps, we were mainly calm, because we heard so many positive things from our colleague, Janka. It was also very comforting, that the operating surgeon spoke to us during the entire procedure. I am very grateful that we decided to undergo the surgery together, as a team,” summarized Silvia for all of them. Jarmila adds: “I actually wasn´t nervous at all. The surgery was painless, and it is great to have a reference from someone you know and trust beforehand, so you can be sure it is not going to hurt before you even set foot in the operating room.”
“We simply trusted our colleague, Janka, who underwent the surgery before us. I mean, she is even afraid of the dentist! When she said it was great, we had no reason to doubt it,” adds Michaela.
A perfect eye sight without waiting
What surprised them the most about the procedure? “That I could see right away!” says Silvia. “A half an hour after the surgery I looked out of the window and I could see the lake and everything surrounding us. It is amazing that I had such great vision just a few minutes after the surgery.” Jarmila became aware of the fact, that she can see more than she could with glasses, on the very next day after the surgery. “I can read clearly and see things in the distance I could never see with glasses. I am still surprised at signs and billboards along the road I have been taking to work every single day for so long.”
Concerts and saved money
What are they looking forward the most, now that they have the „smiling eyes“ in their lives? „It is a great feeling to wake up in the morning and finally see. I have had amazing feelings just a few hours after the surgery. I could see details straight from my bed that I could never see before. It´s the small, almost banal things, such as seeing the clock,“ Petra explains. The thing she is looking forward the most is Justin Timberlake´s concert in Berlin. „I can´t wait to experience this fantastic event with my new SMILE eyes.“
Silvia is already counting the days until summer starts. „When I wore contact lenses, I always had an allergic reaction to the sun and salt water. I am looking forward to a beautiful summer with HD eyes.“ It´s the same for her friend, Jarmila: „The thing I am looking forward to the most is the amazing freedom during summer on the beach. Wearing contact lenses in the water is dangerous. On holidays, I always had a pair of spares with me. I often had to take out my contact lenses in the dark, I kept losing them and it always affected the whole stay.“ They all agree on one thing: „We are all looking forward to seeing things we have never seen before.“
Michaela, however, brought a little saving into the emotional talk. „For me the best part was, when I used a calculator I found on the website of the Eye Clinics and saw, how much I was saving with the surgery when I compared it to buying new glasses and contact lenses. I saved 7000€ I otherwise would have had to invest into dioptrical accessories. Usually, you don´t even realize how much you are saving with the surgery.“
