Wow! If you want to see like an eagle, come here! I was quite nervous, but as soon as I met Dr. Basak Bostanci, all my fear and worries were blown away. She is not only extremely professional, but also warm and empathetic. ♥️ I cannot recommend her enough - she got the magic touch :) (Plus she is fluent in English)
In the end the procedure was much less dramatic than what I made it to be in my head. So here is my experience:
Prep:
2 month before surgery I arranged my appointment super simple and easy via WhatsApp. (communication was bit choppy, as they had to wait for the English speakers to get on the chat, but once I had a contact, they were informative and helpful)
Day of surgery:
10:00: pre-examination with a lovely team, despite some language barriers, everybody was helpful and friendly. Nothing that Google translate couldn't fix. I felt well taken care of. Nathan and Hassan led me from one testing room to the next, and were absolute stars.
12:00: I met Dr. Basak Bostanci the first time with my results of the tests in the hand. We had a chat and agreed on SMILE procedure later that day. Nathan took me to the next room to settle the bill. (German debit card and credit cards worked fine)
13:00: made a stop at the pharmacy next door to get 2 types of eyedrops and goggles.
16:30: I came back to to the clinic after some chill out time by the sea and some amazing cafes/restaurant in the area. Nathan was there to bring me to the laser rooms. They gave me a Xanax 30 min. before procedure. The team was great, smiley and making me feel safe.
17:00 I went in, layed down, 15 minutes later I walked out. Quick, easy, zero pain, I barely felt a scratch. The whole thing was much less stressful than any dentist visit. Dr. Bostanci talked me through every step she was taking, from dabbing the eyes, washing them out, placing the laser, removing the lenticule. I pretty much just saw a light and trusted her to do the rest. It was amazing! Right after, my vision was foggy, but surprisingly clear.
17:30 I ordered an Uber (looking at the phone was uncomfortable, but possible) and went home. I kept the goggles on till the next morning.
Post-Op:
The following morning I could SEE! Only very bright lights/reflections were a bit challenging, but I went out with my sunglasses for breakfast. I had no star bursts, and only very slight halos around lights in dark rooms. The rest was crystal clear. I had no scratching in the eyes, no soreness or that feeling of a grain in the eye, that many experience. In fact, my eyes felt absolutely normal - as if I never had any surgery. I continued the drops as prescribed.
Not even 48 h after surgery, I was confident to drive and didn't even need sunglasses really. (outdoors I kept them on anyway, just in case) I was able to use the phone and laptop.
Day 3 after surgery:
I'm back on my normal working routine working on the laptop. (with enough breaks in between sessions to relax the eyes every 30 minutes or so)
Massive thanks to Dr. Bostanci and her whole team! This was a life changing experience! 👀 🦅 ♥️
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