Hi All,
Has anyone had LASIK done here recently? I'm going to have it done this year as my vision has gotten bad but I haven't seen any posts in a while.
If someone has a referral code that would be great too (Kansai would be best but Tokyo/Nagoya would also be ok)
Thanks!
I got LASIK at the Shinagawa Eye Clinic in Tokyo several months ago.
The information I could find online was all pretty accurate. The upsides have been good vision since doing it. The downsides were all short-term, with day-of my eyes hurting quite a bit (getting home from the clinic by train while my eyes were in pain and I couldn't really see again yet was not fun, have someone drive you if you can), and 1 month of not being able to go to onsen or exercise.
Happy to give a referral for Shinagawa Eye Clinic if you DM me, happy to give any more details if it's helpful of course, I'm just not really sure what's useful. Like, statistics say LASIK has pretty high satisfaction, and occasionally there's unfortunate side-effects afterward. I had no side effects (other than some minor haloing at night, which I had before from glasses too so I barely notice it), so I'm happy with my result.
Edit: I should also mention, there were 2 follow-up visits (after 1 day and 1 week), so I would definitely recommend going to someplace near home, unless you want to make multiple longer trips.
Can you give more details please? Could you take a bath at home? wash your face?
The advice given by the doctors was: no showers for 1 day after surgery, no direct water on face for 1 week after surgery (so showering was okay, but no pointing the stream at the face, eyes very much fully closed, and minimal washing around the eyes), no rubbing or touching the eyes for the first week including sleeping with eye-protection to avoid touching the eyes in your sleep, and no sauna / swimming / onsen / similar for a month.
The thing going on here is that there's a small physical cut made in the eye to allow the operation, and if the small flap of "skin" moves, or if any water gets in it, it could get infected and cause issues.
The caution against onsen is specifically because the water can be less clean, and thus more likely to lead to infection if some of it gets in your eyes.
I went to the Shinagawa clinic branch in Osaka, and I agree with all of this and would recommend them as well.
I went a year ago, I chose it because of the one day LASIK plan and I have perfect vision now and similarly no change in haloing.
I found the atmosphere was a little cold, they’re very much trying to get as many people through as they can. If I had taken someone with me to wait together when I went in for surgery it would have helped to ease my nerves a little and it probably would have been a more comfortable experience over all. Also as Gotsuka mentioned getting home is a little awkward so having someone around would help there as well.
But either way there were 0 issues and I wish I had done it sooner.
I want to do lasik. I was thinking about it for last 10 yrs. What are the chances the operation is botched and you go blind in Japan?
I've done Lasik 8 years ago (not in Japan but in my home country). It is a very safe and mastered operation. When I did it the doctor explained to me that the technology has made ton of progress in the recent years, where most of the negative side effects are no longer a thing. Of course as for any operations there can be risks (the table tennis pro player Jun Mizutani always wear glasses due to a failed Lasik operation).
What is a bit scary at first is that they do both eyes at the same time... :D But it was the best decision in my life! My myopia was so strong anything beyond 5cm was blurred. Perfect vision since then (I know I will probably have to wear glasses sooner or later but at least it resetted it!). I highly recommend you to do it!
The chances of going blind in Japan are higher if you're in Japan than abroad
Dont do it. No matter how reputable the place is.
It’s been a while since I got my eyes done but I’d recommend doing the operation in the evening so that you sleep through most of the negative after effects.
I had ICL surgery at Senshinkai in Osaka. They also do LASIK. I had problem eyes since I was born and now I can see (plus ICL is reversible)! Would recommend.
I'm also thinking about ICL, can you tell about your experience?
The videos I've seen look very scary and a very manual procedure compared with others where everything is done by machines. I'm worried about that, a tiny mistake or a sneeze would have terrible consequences.
Do you feel different somehow? Do you feel something in your eyes, like more pressure or do your eyes get tired?
Sure, I chose ICL because I had strong farsightedness, esotropia, and astigmatism since birth that would disqualify me for LASIK. I trusted Senshinkai for their experience and ongoing academic work in ophthalmology (both Japan and abroad). The bedside manner was also good. If I get cataracts or my vision changes, I can get the lenses removed and replaced, and my cornea is the same, so those aspects were also appealing. It is more expensive than LASIK and the cost varies depending on your vision needs. They can explain the pros and cons if you are a good candidate for both.
There are quite a few pre-surgery eye tests to ensure that your eyesight is stable before they order the lenses from overseas. They also use a laser to create small openings to reduce the risk of interocular pressure in advance of the surgery.
They have a surgeon (surrounded by multiple staff) who implants the lenses between the pupil and the iris over your natural lens. I could see blurry lights during the procedure but couldn’t feel anything as I was anesthetized with eye drops. You are still awake and can talk if you need to during the procedure. They did tell me to “stop moving” a few times, so I must have been a bit shaky, but everything went well - I just tried to think of a song.
After the procedure they ask someone to take you home as your eyesight will be a little blurry the day of the procedure. I also had to wear construction goggle-style glasses for about a week after the procedure including overnight (just remove for showers) but could go to work as usual.
After surgery my vision is very clear and natural. I don’t feel any pressure at all or that anything is in my eye - very different than wearing contact lenses. I don’t have eye fatigue or dry eye.
The only change I would say is some night “halos” (bright street lights), but it was 100% worth it for me as I had very heavy coke bottle-like glasses that fogged up in the winter that normally cost thousands to replace and no depth perception. My left eye was never able to see 20/20 even with corrective glasses, so my vision is similar to when I wore glasses (the best conceivable outcome) and the right eye is perfect. The clinic was also mindful of creating the ideal balance between vision correction and avoiding the esotropia effect, which they explained to me in advance.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
r/lasiksupport