We had the opportunity to meet with Bertilla Wong, co-founder of popular local blogshop The Closet Lover, when she came down to Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre for her eye evaluation. Arriving in oversized rounded spectacles and casual comfy wear, the lively petite girl boss shared about her years of contact lens woes and frustration with wearing spectacles.
Going by her Instagram handle
@bertillawong, she also shared that she was afraid to opt for traditional LASIK which involves cutting of her cornea as she was already suffering from dry eyes. Thus, she opted for the surface-based TransPRK treatment in the hope of waking up with 20/20 vision every day!
During her evaluation at our clinic, she had a few queries about her TransPRK procedure and we have compiled her questions into a FAQ below:
1. Is there a maximum degree for the TransPRK procedure?
In general, the maximum degree TransPRK can correct is about 1,200 per eye. But this is really dependent on how thick your cornea is as cornea thickness differs for each and every person. Hence, you need to go for the evaluation for the detailed eye tests first before the clinic can advise exactly how many degree they can correct for each individual!
2. How long is the recovery period?
You’ll be given 5 days of MC after the surgery. Try to stay at home and recuperate! As each day goes by, your vision will become clearer. Full recovery to perfect eyesight can take up to 3 months.
3. Does TransPRK surgery hurt, will there be any pain and what are the side effects?
It is painless during surgery because numbing eye drops are applied to the eyes before. There may be post op discomfort for some, such as watery eyes, especially right after the surgery. Side effects include halos and light sensitivity, but these are temporary during the recovery period if experienced. It is recommended to go home and sleep for at least 2 to 3 hours immediately after your surgery so that your eyes can heal faster.
4. Is the price of the surgery dependent on how high your myopia is?
The pricing is a standard flat pricing, regardless of your myopia degree. The price package costs $4,188 inclusive of GST, surgery for both eyes, initial medications and post op reviews for one month. It is not dependent on your myopia or astigmatism degree.
5. Can I pay by instalments?
Yes you can an opt for 6 or 12 months instalments if you pay by the following Singapore credit cards: UOB, OCBC, Maybank, Citibank, Standard Chartered.
6. What is TransPRK Xtra and when do you need to add-on?
TransPRK Xtra is an add-on treatment procedure to strengthen the cornea. It’s for people with weaker, thinner corneas and/or people who have suffered from cornea injury or damage. For more info, you can
read it here.
Bertilla did TransPRK with us for both eyes, with an add-on of TransPRK Xtra on one eye due to high astigmatism in her left eye.
7. Will your myopia come back again? Or will you have perfect vision for the rest of your life?
It’s quite difficult for your myopia to come back again because the laser has permanently reshaped the cornea curvature. But if you strain your eyes a lot over time, you may experience regression in low degrees i.e. 50-200 degrees. However, it will never bounce back to the initial high myopia of 600 degrees!
If you take good care of your eyes, TransPRK can allow you to have perfect vision for the rest of your life until presbyopia (lao hua) sets in. Everyone gets lao hua at some point in life because our eye muscles get weaker as we age and loses its focusing power, resulting in difficulty with near vision activities such as reading.
8. Will my dry eyes get worse or better after the surgery?
If you have dry eyes, you may be rejected for the cut and flap LASIK surgery because it may cause your dry eye problem to worsen. This is mainly because inLASIK, the surgeon has to make a large circumferential cut (3/4 circumference) on your cornea to open up the flap, and this damages corneal nerve endings which may result in LASIK-induced dry eyes.
However, if you opt for surface-based procedures such as TransPRK, there is no cutting of the cornea involved so your dry eyes will not worsen. That said, if you already have dry eyes, going for TransPRK will not cure your dry eyes problem.
9. After the surgery and for whatever reason that our degree comes back, are we allowed to put on contact lenses again?
Yes you can! After your eyes have fully healed, you may even wear your cosmetic or colored contact lenses without degree after the surgery.
10. What do you do to avoid getting water into your eyes after surgery?
There will be cleansing wipes provided for you to cleanse your eye area. For the first 3 days it is best not to wash your eye area so you can just use a wet towel or cloth to wipe your face gently and close your eyes while doing so!
11. The recovery period requires you to wear sunglasses when you are outdoors, in direct sunlight. What if your job, for example modelling, doesn’t allow you to do so?
You only need to wear a cap and sunglasses while you are outdoors in the sun! For indoors, you don’t need to. So you may still resume your normal indoor activities, such as modelling indoors. However, if you have a job that is based outdoors, it will be best if you can take a one to two month break to prevent your eyes from being exposed to strong, direct sunlight. The harmful UV rays from the sun can cause cornea scarring, which may affect both your recovery and vision.
12. What is my degree before surgery?
Your myopia degree was 550 on the left and 400 on the right eye.
Safe Sight TransPRK (transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy) is a laser eye surgery procedure performed at Clearvision. Unlike LASIK, TransPRK is a minimally invasive surgery that does not involve any surgical instruments touching the eye. TransPRK also preserves the integrity of the cornea as it does not require any cut and creation of corneal flap. As such, with TransPRK, there is no risk of flap complications and minimized risk of permanent dry eyes.
If you have any questions about TransPRK or laser vision correction, get in touch with us here and we’ll be happy to help!
With love,
The Clearvision Team
