LASIK at Shinagawa – Part 1
Public Talk on LASIK (Friday, 8th March 2013)
I attended the talk by Dr Lee Sao Bing on Friday, 8th March 2013 at Shinagawa LASIK & Eye Centre, which is located at 501 Orchard Road, #05-01, Wheelock Place, Singapore 238880. The talk is normally in the evening at about 7pm and will last till about 8.30pm.
If you are thinking of doing LASIK, I totally recommend you to attend the talk because at the end of the talk, there will be discount given to the LASIK operation. For the talk I attended, the discount given was for IntraLase Wavefront LASIK (both eyes) using the Schwind Amaris 750S Laser. The normal price is S$3,888 (S$4,160.16) and the discounted price is S$3,488 (S$3,732.16).
For some reasons, all prices quoted by Shinagawa DOES NOT include the 7% GST, so for the purpose of this blog post, the price stated in the bracket is the price with 7% GST.
Actually, I have no intention of doing LASIK after watching the procedure on YouTube. They all look scary. But trust me, it is not as scary as it looks.
Do note that, you need to have the operation latest 1 month after the talk in order to get the discount. If you can’t make it within the time frame, don’t worry, wait for the next talk. On average, they have a talk once a month by either of the two doctors (Dr Lee Sao Bing or Dr Jovina See).
After the talk, you will get to book your first appointment, which is the pre-LASIK assessment. I recommend immediately proceed to the counter to book your appointment after the talk ended. You do not want to be the last few ones because most of the timeslots will be gone (especially Saturday if you are working). And also you need to take note of the 1-month constraint mentioned earlier. It is 1 month after the talk and not 1 month after your pre-LASIK assessment.
After you have secured your appointment, then walk back to clarify any questions you have with the doctor, he or she will still be around.
Pre-LASIK Assessment (Saturday, 23rd March 2013)
I booked my pre-LASIK assessment on Saturday, 23rd March 2013 (2 weeks after the talk). As you can see, I am the last few people who booked the appointment, so I hope no one will be in my shoes after reading this blog post.
The Pre-LASIK assessment will take about 2 hours and you are recommended not to drive because they will dilate your pupil and your vision will get blurry for the next 5 to 6 hours. In Addition, your eyes will be very sensitive to light because of the dilation. So bring along a sunglass if you have one.
The check is pretty detailed and each check is if no particular order as it depends on the availability of the room and the machines.
They will do the following check:
- Visual Acuity Test
- Computerized Visual Test
- Subjective Refraction (Spectacle Power)
- Pupil Size Measurement
- Topography (Corneal Map)
After the above checks are done, your pupil will get dilated and you will be brought to a room where you will have to watch 3 videos each lasting about 8-10 minutes about LASIK. This is to give your eyes some time to react to the dilation.
You will see the doctor after watching the 3 videos and he will advise you what type of LASIK can be done depending on your corneal thickness and your degree of shortsightedness (doesn’t mean you are suitable for the most expensive one).
After your consultation with the doctor, you will be brought back to the waiting area where you have about 10 minutes to think whether you are going ahead to spend S$3K to S$4K for the LASIK operation. I am guessing most people have no time to think it through and just go ahead with the operation because of impulsion (like me).
They accept up to 12 months 0% interest free installment for a few credit cards. For me, I used my Citibank Credit Card.
After booking my LASIK operation appointment, they brought me to do one last round of tests, which are:
- Cyclo Refraction (spectacle power with dilated pupils)
- Pachymetry (Corneal Thickness Check)
- Tonometry (Eye Pressure Check)
And basically after that, you are free to return home! Remember to wear your sunglasses before going out because your eyes will be very sensitive to sunlight.
Based on the doctor’s recommendation, he recommended me to do the IntraLase Wavefront LASIK (for both eyes) using the Wavelight Allegretto Laser which cost S$2,888 (S$3,090.16) and top up S$1,000 (S$1,070) for LASIK Xtra as my cornea is slightly below average.
The reason he opted me to use Wavelight Allegretto Laser instead of the more expensive Schwind Amaris 750S Laser is because the later burn more tissues and is not suitable for people with thin cornea.
The LASIK Xtra is an addition to the normal LASIK procedure, which seeks to minimize the weakening effects of LASIK on the cornea by strengthening it with cross-linking treatment. After your cornea has been reshaped during a LASIK procedure, a small amount of vitamin B2 called VibeX is applied for 1 minute to the surface of your cornea. The LASIK flap is then replaced and the VibeX is thoroughly washed off the eye. The Avedro KXL system is then positioned over the cornea and ultraviolet light is shone onto the cornea for 90 seconds.
My degree is about 800 with 150 astigmatism on the left eye and 725 with 100 astigmatism on the right eye.
LASIK at Shinagawa
