Lasik eye Surgery

[mabelbelbel88]

For ICL, which clinic is the most cost effective if I need toric lens (have quite high Astig but average degree)?

 

[mabelbelbel88]

Hello, I decided to register as a member here as I realised there isn't much information about ICL here and would like to share some of my experience.

I have always had terrible eyesight since young (started wearing glasses at K1) and my eyesight would deteriorate at an alarming rate of about -1.00 every year. By the time my eyesight stabilized, I was about -10.00 for both eyes with astig of around -2.00 each. My spectacle lens are so thick that it affected my confidence. My parents would not let me get contact lens so I had to seek an optician secretly and paid for them myself when I was 16. Bioinfinity Toric by coopervision is a really good brand by the way, if you experience dry eyes after wearing contact lenses for a few hours, it really saved my life after switching over from Biomedic Toric.

About 2 years ago, I went to Shinagawa Eye Centre to do a pre-lasik assessment and consulted Dr Lee. I was told that as my degree is too high, and most of the cornea would have to be shaved away if I were to do lasik, and that would leave me with a cornea that is too thin and weak. Dr Lee recommended me to do ICL but Shinagawa did not provide that service. I looked up the price of ICL and decided it was too costly.

Just two days ago, I went to do another pre-lasik assessment at SNEC as it was stated on their website that the ICL surgery fee is S$6,131.10 to S$6,837.30 (I think it's for one eye). I went through all the various tests, eye pressure test, cornea measurements etc (it took about 2 hours for the tests) and consulted Senior Consultant Dr Rosman. He told me that ICL is more suitable for me than LASIK too but he told me that the distance between my cornea to the lens in my eye just fell short of about 0.13mm from the recommended distance (3.00 mm). The minimum distance required for ICL is 2.8 mm and mine was 2.87 mm. He told me there is a risk of cataract etc and didn't seem very confident of doing the surgery for me.

I told the Dr I would think about it and asked for the full results report but was only given the refraction report (just measurement of my eye power with and without the cycloplegic eye drops). Also, I was quoted an estimate of S$14,059.80 to S$15,172.60 of surgery fee for ICL for BOTH eyes. The total consultation fee at SNEC was more expensive than I thought too - $299 for a senior consultant. I decided to look for another specialist for a second opinion and immediately made an appointment at Eagle Eye the following day.

I chose Dr Val Phua, a consultant, but specializes in ICL. He was previously from SNEC too. I still had to go through all the pre-lasik assessments even though I showed them the report from SNEC. It was really crowded at the clinic at King Albert Park and the wait was really long. I went there at 1pm and left at 5pm. When I met Dr Val Phua, he asked about my concerns and he said the distance between my cornea to lens is about 3.10 mm and said I was suitable for ICL, although he did mention my cornea is slightly irregular shaped. He showed my the surgery fees which was about $8.5k for BOTH eyes(not incl other assessments post surgery) and I was thinking this should be the right amount that I read in the forums!

I was appalled as to why SNEC had higher rates than a private clinic.. and it's a significantly higher rate (almost 2 times!) Is it because SNEC specialises more on medical conditions pertaining to the eye and not that much on cosmetic surgeries?

Anyway, I felt like Dr Val Phua was more confident and reassured me that the side effects like cataract only happens to very few people and I am going ahead for the surgery! Will update my recovery process when the surgery is completed

Thanks so much for sharing!!! Why didn’t you go with Dr Theng at EEC? Also, can you pay by instalments?

 

[mabelbelbel88]

Thanks! Mine is 600-700 with 200+ astig. I called Dr Natasha Lim’s clinic and was quoted around $7000 for both eyes. How was your experience with her and do you have a referral code pls?

Was also wondering the difference in treatment offered by SNEC vs private clinics for ICL. SNEC is general anaesthesia and operating on one eye at a time while private is local anaesthesia and both eyes can be done together. Also the significant price difference. Appreciate if anyone could shed light on this.

I PM ed you with some questions on ICL!

 

[MerryAri]

Wow congrats on your clear vision! How much did you pay in total?

Thanks! =D I paid slightly over $3.5k for bladeless with a referral discount. The subsequent follow up reviews so far cost $60 per session.

 

[extremepower]

Seems common for 50yo above to get cataracts.

Whats the best way to get cheapest?

Go poly get referrals to snec?
Can use insurance?
Which method best? Mono? Bi tri?

Whats best for lau hua yen? Night time bad vision. Afternoon is ok.

Tq.

 

[sweeping]

Thanks! =D I paid slightly over $3.5k for bladeless with a referral discount. The subsequent follow up reviews so far cost $60 per session.

Just to check, did you do ICL? Or just bladeless lasik? Because from your original post it sounds like you did ICL

 

[MerryAri]

Just to check, did you do ICL? Or just bladeless lasik? Because from your original post it sounds like you did ICL

I did the bladeless lasik procedure! Sorry if it was confusing.

 

[ashleytoh]

I did the bladeless lasik procedure! Sorry if it was confusing.

Hi! So everything was done on same day from consult to procedure? Do you have any vision issues like halo/glare after the procedures? Anyway noted that u paid $3.5k after referral. Will u be able to share the referral?

 

[mrpnut]

Did TransPRK. This is my journey so far:

Day 1: Scratchy and watery eyes. Kept tearing as though someone was cutting onions. Instilled my eyedrops and went to rest while listening to podcasts.

Day 2: Pain greatly reduced. Vision is blurry and extremely sensitive to light.

Day 3: Went back to the clinic for first review. The optometrist says my exterior skin is 60% healed. Recovering well.

Day 4-6: Not much difference in vision, still blurry. Eyes are dry sometimes and I am starting to feel uncomfortable with the bandage lens. Still following the medication regime.

Day 7: went back to the clinic for bandage lens removal. Vision still blur with no improvement. Eyes still dry.

Day 8: felt uncomfortable with the dry eyes. Went back to see the doc and he assured everything is fine although he observed there is some dryness for the eye. Told me to increase the dosage for Cationorm.

Day 9-10: Continued to instill eyedrops regularly per schedule. Vision started to fluctuate with clearer vision before regressing back to blurry vision.

Day 11: Vision continues to fluctuate. Observed some improvement in the average clarity.

Will continue to update as it goes..

1 month: vision largely clear. Went back to check my eyes. Doc says everything is fine. Just that it is still healing and fluctuations still occur. Anyone had fluctuations greater than 1 diopter?

 

[oldleo]

Seems common for 50yo above to get cataracts.

Whats the best way to get cheapest?

Go poly get referrals to snec?
Can use insurance?
Which method best? Mono? Bi tri?

Whats best for lau hua yen? Night time bad vision. Afternoon is ok.

Tq.

For lao hua, you can try monovision which will undercorrect one eye. Do talk to a doctor for more options depending on your degrees.

 

[mirage_16]

Hello, I decided to register as a member here as I realised there isn't much information about ICL here and would like to share some of my experience.

I have always had terrible eyesight since young (started wearing glasses at K1) and my eyesight would deteriorate at an alarming rate of about -1.00 every year. By the time my eyesight stabilized, I was about -10.00 for both eyes with astig of around -2.00 each. My spectacle lens are so thick that it affected my confidence. My parents would not let me get contact lens so I had to seek an optician secretly and paid for them myself when I was 16. Bioinfinity Toric by coopervision is a really good brand by the way, if you experience dry eyes after wearing contact lenses for a few hours, it really saved my life after switching over from Biomedic Toric.

About 2 years ago, I went to Shinagawa Eye Centre to do a pre-lasik assessment and consulted Dr Lee. I was told that as my degree is too high, and most of the cornea would have to be shaved away if I were to do lasik, and that would leave me with a cornea that is too thin and weak. Dr Lee recommended me to do ICL but Shinagawa did not provide that service. I looked up the price of ICL and decided it was too costly.

Just two days ago, I went to do another pre-lasik assessment at SNEC as it was stated on their website that the ICL surgery fee is S$6,131.10 to S$6,837.30 (I think it's for one eye). I went through all the various tests, eye pressure test, cornea measurements etc (it took about 2 hours for the tests) and consulted Senior Consultant Dr Rosman. He told me that ICL is more suitable for me than LASIK too but he told me that the distance between my cornea to the lens in my eye just fell short of about 0.13mm from the recommended distance (3.00 mm). The minimum distance required for ICL is 2.8 mm and mine was 2.87 mm. He told me there is a risk of cataract etc and didn't seem very confident of doing the surgery for me.

I told the Dr I would think about it and asked for the full results report but was only given the refraction report (just measurement of my eye power with and without the cycloplegic eye drops). Also, I was quoted an estimate of S$14,059.80 to S$15,172.60 of surgery fee for ICL for BOTH eyes. The total consultation fee at SNEC was more expensive than I thought too - $299 for a senior consultant. I decided to look for another specialist for a second opinion and immediately made an appointment at Eagle Eye the following day.

I chose Dr Val Phua, a consultant, but specializes in ICL. He was previously from SNEC too. I still had to go through all the pre-lasik assessments even though I showed them the report from SNEC. It was really crowded at the clinic at King Albert Park and the wait was really long. I went there at 1pm and left at 5pm. When I met Dr Val Phua, he asked about my concerns and he said the distance between my cornea to lens is about 3.10 mm and said I was suitable for ICL, although he did mention my cornea is slightly irregular shaped. He showed my the surgery fees which was about $8.5k for BOTH eyes(not incl other assessments post surgery) and I was thinking this should be the right amount that I read in the forums!

I was appalled as to why SNEC had higher rates than a private clinic.. and it's a significantly higher rate (almost 2 times!) Is it because SNEC specialises more on medical conditions pertaining to the eye and not that much on cosmetic surgeries?

Anyway, I felt like Dr Val Phua was more confident and reassured me that the side effects like cataract only happens to very few people and I am going ahead for the surgery! Will update my recovery process when the surgery is completed

Hi! I was in a similar situation as you and have similar poor vision. I went to SNEC and consulted with Dr Rosman and was told the distance between cornea and lens (anterior chamber depth/ACD) is lower than the minimum required (3.0mm) by the manufacturer of ICL lens. However I did not proceed with ICL in the end as I felt Dr Rosman was v honest and took more precautions, which I personally veered towards as I didn't want to be at risk of developing cataracts early.

Curious why you decided to proceed with the surgery with Dr Val, when the ACD reading you got the 2nd time round is much higher? My understanding is that the ACD reading should not differ this drastically even with different measurement machines.

Also, where did you make the bioinfinity toric lens as I've been looking for a stable, toric lens for some time.

 

[MichealScott]

As I have pretty high astig, ~ 500 degrees, I don't want to spend so much on the first consultation / assessment since I am most probably won't be suitable for lasik but still wanna try. So anybody knows the cheapest trustable pre-lasik assessment there is now?

Heard that Shinigawa has it for $22??

 

[Belial]

hi, i am going for my first assessment at Dr Natasha Lim Eye Centre, does anyone have any referral code if i want to do my lasik there?

 

[elleimnidaa]

About 500 for eec

hello hello how do i get the $500 discount they only told me $300 IF i can produce a name of a friend who was their patient.

thanks in advance!

 

[elleimnidaa]

recently i read about SMILE technology anyone got feedback?

 

[MichealScott]

hi, i am going for my first assessment at Dr Natasha Lim Eye Centre, does anyone have any referral code if i want to do my lasik there?

Did you see the $5 nett promotion that's why you going there? I am also scheduled to do my assessment there..But I doubt it will be $5 haha

 

[crlsberg]

oh then maybe i hear wrongly

hello hello how do i get the $500 discount they only told me $300 IF i can produce a name of a friend who was their patient.

thanks in advance!

 

[cxhcxh]

Hello, I decided to register as a member here as I realised there isn't much information about ICL here and would like to share some of my experience.

I have always had terrible eyesight since young (started wearing glasses at K1) and my eyesight would deteriorate at an alarming rate of about -1.00 every year. By the time my eyesight stabilized, I was about -10.00 for both eyes with astig of around -2.00 each. My spectacle lens are so thick that it affected my confidence. My parents would not let me get contact lens so I had to seek an optician secretly and paid for them myself when I was 16. Bioinfinity Toric by coopervision is a really good brand by the way, if you experience dry eyes after wearing contact lenses for a few hours, it really saved my life after switching over from Biomedic Toric.

About 2 years ago, I went to Shinagawa Eye Centre to do a pre-lasik assessment and consulted Dr Lee. I was told that as my degree is too high, and most of the cornea would have to be shaved away if I were to do lasik, and that would leave me with a cornea that is too thin and weak. Dr Lee recommended me to do ICL but Shinagawa did not provide that service. I looked up the price of ICL and decided it was too costly.

Just two days ago, I went to do another pre-lasik assessment at SNEC as it was stated on their website that the ICL surgery fee is S$6,131.10 to S$6,837.30 (I think it's for one eye). I went through all the various tests, eye pressure test, cornea measurements etc (it took about 2 hours for the tests) and consulted Senior Consultant Dr Rosman. He told me that ICL is more suitable for me than LASIK too but he told me that the distance between my cornea to the lens in my eye just fell short of about 0.13mm from the recommended distance (3.00 mm). The minimum distance required for ICL is 2.8 mm and mine was 2.87 mm. He told me there is a risk of cataract etc and didn't seem very confident of doing the surgery for me.

I told the Dr I would think about it and asked for the full results report but was only given the refraction report (just measurement of my eye power with and without the cycloplegic eye drops). Also, I was quoted an estimate of S$14,059.80 to S$15,172.60 of surgery fee for ICL for BOTH eyes. The total consultation fee at SNEC was more expensive than I thought too - $299 for a senior consultant. I decided to look for another specialist for a second opinion and immediately made an appointment at Eagle Eye the following day.

I chose Dr Val Phua, a consultant, but specializes in ICL. He was previously from SNEC too. I still had to go through all the pre-lasik assessments even though I showed them the report from SNEC. It was really crowded at the clinic at King Albert Park and the wait was really long. I went there at 1pm and left at 5pm. When I met Dr Val Phua, he asked about my concerns and he said the distance between my cornea to lens is about 3.10 mm and said I was suitable for ICL, although he did mention my cornea is slightly irregular shaped. He showed my the surgery fees which was about $8.5k for BOTH eyes(not incl other assessments post surgery) and I was thinking this should be the right amount that I read in the forums!

I was appalled as to why SNEC had higher rates than a private clinic.. and it's a significantly higher rate (almost 2 times!) Is it because SNEC specialises more on medical conditions pertaining to the eye and not that much on cosmetic surgeries?

Anyway, I felt like Dr Val Phua was more confident and reassured me that the side effects like cataract only happens to very few people and I am going ahead for the surgery! Will update my recovery process when the surgery is completed

Hihi was wondering if you or anybody else can share their experience on ICL? I just went for a pre-lasik assessment with dr lee from shinagawa and he said my case is a yes or no.. it wasnt a straightforward yes as I have more risks than others but not a straightforward no. My deg is 750 and 650 and cornea thickness is fine. But my cornea is steeper than average corneas and combined with my high deg, theres higher chance of post op ectasia. But he said it still can be done and I've to decide. He mentioned that I could possibly explore ICL as that doesnt weaken the cornea as theres no removal of cornea tissue but his clinic doesnt offer that.

So I'm really considering ICL but I'm a bit worried cos its more invasive plus theres a chance of increased pressure in the eye or early cataract if not done properly.

Currently considering having another opinion for ICL but there are so many options: thinking of Dr Natasha Lim, Dr Lynn Yeo from EEC, Dr Jerry Tan, Dr Leonard Ang from Lang eye centre, dr lee hung ming from gleneagle and Dr Cheryl Lee from The Eye Centre. Has anyone gone to Dr Cheryl Lee before? Seems like shes experienced in ICL but her website seems very commercial too.

 

[Belial]

Did you see the $5 nett promotion that's why you going there? I am also scheduled to do my assessment there..But I doubt it will be $5 haha

it is $5 nett for assessment, $65 if you want doctor consultation. i was given the option of doing monovision due to my astig and presbyobia, now considering getting second opinion from other clinics, anyone have any recommendations?

 

[catwhisperer]

Hello, sharing my experience on ICL with Dr Lynn Yeo at EEC yesterday.

I have always wanted to correct my eyesight but I had a bout of corneal ulcer in 2006 which was so bad I landed in the hospital. One of the doctors offhandedly mentioned I would not be able to do LASIK, and I thought that ICL was prohibitively expensive so I had not pursued it.

Now with one kid, I have decided to get it - she loves to grab my spectacles even though she knows she can't. She will even tell me seriously "no no" and wag her finger, then try to grab again. And you know children, the oily mark they leave on glasses is so hard to clean off!

I waited 2 months until after I stopped breastfeeding, as pregnancy and lactation produces hormones which affect eyesight. Dr Yeo said that 2 months is fine if my eyesight had not fluctuated during pregnancy, if not the recommended wait time was 3-6m.

I went for both LASIK and ICL assessments as I was still hopeful of doing LASIK since it was cheaper, but Dr Yeo said my uneven corneal surface (due to corneal ulcer scar) would make LASIK correction challenging. She highlighted that the ICL will be able to correct as well as spectacles could but minus the downsides of dry eyes and downtime.

As I was already mentally prepared that I was not suitable for LASIK, I agreed to ICL. For that, I had to travel to Royal Square branch as they need to do a cell count to verify my suitability for ICL. As one of my lenses was toric, I had to wait about a week before my surgery.

Prior to surgery, I had to start administering dilating and antibiotic drops. While surgery was fast, I felt that I had not mentally prepared myself sufficiently for the surgery. I was supposed to stare at 3 white lights above while my eye was flushed, then the cut and insertion of the lens. It was important not to move as toric lens, especially, required a particular rotation. While I felt no pain, there was so sensation of pressure, and the stress of having to stare at the white dots while the lens was inserted (which was disorienting as it made it feel like I was moving, when I was not), led to my heart rate racing and the machine was beeping annoying while I felt like I was close to hyperventilating. However, the whole procedure was over in probably 20 mins.

What was amazing was even during the procedure, once the lens was inserted, I could see the white lens sharply. After surgery when I sat up, I could read the clock on the wall, though my eyeballs felt sore. I took a short nap after the procedure, and went home about 1 hour plus later. I kept reading out road names excitedly to my husband - people with perfect eyesight will never understand what it feels like. Everything was hazy but still visible.

While my eyes were sensitive to light, I could read my phone after another 2 hours or so. In fact, I could play with my child immediately - we played bubbles in the corridor and read a children's book (large text). I went to sleep early.

This morning, I woke up and felt great! I could see everything clearly. There are halos (like lens flare) around light sources, but honestly I don't feel affected. I could use the computer, and honestly could have just returned to work today.

Going for a checkup with Dr Yeo later. Total procedure cost is estimated to be about 9.5k (1 toric and 1 non-toric lenses).

Hope this helps. To me, I love the absence of downtime.