From The Straits Times    |

Fed up with your glasses or contact lenses? Then why not get Lasik surgery? A couple of minutes under a clever machine and off you go, throwing your glasses into the bin, right? Maybe.

While Lasik eye surgery is a commonplace occurrence in Singapore, there can be dangers involved in just willy-nilly dropping by a surgery. It’s best to have some idea of what you’re about to do to the most precious part of your body after your brain.

Singapore has the highest rate of myopia in the world; this means that around 85 per cent of the population is shortsighted. In other words, they wear glasses or, if they can afford it and their eyes are the right sort, they get it fixed with Lasik surgery.

The average price for the cutting back of your cornea to repair you ability to see long distances without glasses – what’s commonly called Lasik – is about $2,000 per eye. So it’s no wonder that many people undergo this type of operation in order to fix something that has often been with them from childhood.

According to Dr Natasha Lim (pictured above),  the medical director of The Lasik Sugery Clinic @ Wheelock, the Asian eye shape is very “tight” which means the eyelid exerts substantial force on the cornea, unlike the Caucasian eyelid which sits above the cornea.

Couple this genetic predisposition with the huge amount of close work that Singapore kids do – study, computer games, music lessons – and you have the reason why myopia is rampant. And, correspondingly, this is why so many people in Singapore undergo surgery to have the problem “fixed”.

Dr Lim knows an enormous amount about eyes, and how to fix them. After she completed her medical training at the University of Nottingham Medical School in the UK she undertook advanced surgical training at Moorfields Eye Hospital – generally considered the world’s best eye hospital.

She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in London, was Specialist Fellow in Oculoplastics, and Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital and was most recently a Consultant at the Cataract and Comprehensive Ophthalmology Service, Singapore National Eye Centre. Dr Lim is also a registered VISX excimer laser and IntraLase™ femtosecond laser practitioner in the UK and in Singapore.

All those qualifications and experience mean this doctor really knows what she’s talking about when it comes to surgery on the most delicate part of the human body.

The newly opened The Lasik Sugery Clinic @ Wheelock is where she is now practicing. A subsidiary of Singapore Medical Group, the new surgery has the look of something from a glossy magazine.

It’s full of elegant lounges, discrete and polite staff, great views and nice artwork. There is a complete eye surgery set up here. You can come in for a consultation on whether or not you are eligible for Lasik surgery and then have the procedure the same day in the surgery operating room.

The consultation, in fact, is the most important part of the whole procedure says Dr Lim. She emphasises that at her clinic they do an extremely detailed and very thorough examination of the patient’s eyes before they go anywhere near a laser.

On top of that, this surgery has the absolute latest in top of the line machines for testing your eyes, and then fixing your problems.

The “Wavefront-Guided Custom IntraLASE” machine is so precise in its measurements of the surface of your eyes that it is the only type of technology allowed to be used on US Navy aviators and NASA astronauts. 

Dr Lim uses the “WaveScan Wavefront” imaging system to get a “map” of your eye in minute detail. Then, if you’re suitable for the surgery, she will use a femtosecond laser and a excimer laser. 

The femtosecond laser is used to create a “flap in each cornea at individually programmed depth and position with great precision”. The excimer laser is applied under the corneal flap created by the first laser. This machine uses iris-recognition technology to make sure the treatment goes to the right spot and saves more cornea tissue. It can apparently create “tailor-made vision for each individual eye”.

According to Dr Lim, it’s the development of these newer, better and more exacting machines that has led to better outcomes for people getting Lasik surgery. While she agrees that some people do have negative outcomes from the surgery – for instance people get Lasik done and then see their clarity diminishing after a couple of years – this is due to less precision or skill in the original job.

The doctor is very careful to not point fingers, but it’s clear that as with anything, some eye doctors are better as Lasik than others. Which makes sense. After all, everyone knows that some cosmetic surgeons are better at noses, while others are better with implants.

Still, Dr Lim emphasises that patients need to be comfortable with their surgeon, they should ask for referrals and they should also carefully consider why they are getting their eyes done.

“If you’re a pilot or a NASA astronaut, or your profession needs you to have very good eyesight and night vision,  you need to get the most precise reading and the use the most precise laser to ensure you get a good outcome,” says Dr Lim.

But, she admits that this type of technology can be expensive. At The Lasik Sugery Clinic @ Wheelock, for example, prices range from $1,050 per eye for “basic” Lasik surgery – VISX Custom LASIK (Microkeratome) – to $2,050 per eye for the most advanced option, the VISX Wavefront-guided LASIK (IntraLase) (iLASIK). However, other options like Implantable Contact Lenses (ICL) – often used if your eyes aren’t suitable for Lasik – can cost up to $9,000 for both eyes which is double that of Lasik surgery.

However, if your profession or hobbies don’t need this extremely precise type of vision, then you can safely have “normal” Lasik says Dr Lim. It’s cheaper, and she says as long as you look after your eyes, it will last.

Another reason why people sometimes have bad outcomes with Lasik surgery is because there are complications explains Dr Lim. 

Astigmatism, where your eye doesn’t focus light evenly to one point, can be an added complication for people with myopia – short-sightedness – and hyperopia – long-sightedness. Then, as you age, you get Presbyopia, or “Lao Hua”, which is basically just old eyes. The older you are, the less elasticity you have in your eyes so your range of vision reduces. Even if you have normal sight you will eventually need reading glasses by around your mid-40s. 

But, if you’re fed up with wearing glasses or contact lenses, it’s nice to know there are options available. The best thing is to do your research and then see a reputable eye surgeon. You may finally be able to throw your glasses away.

Dr Natasha Lim practices at The Lasik Sugery Clinic @ Wheelock, #04-11 Wheelock Place, Tel: +65 6735 3000; open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm and Saturday, 9am-1pm. For more information on this surgery, go to: www.smg.sg/wheelocklsc. For more information on Lasik surgery in Singapore, go to www.lasiksurgery.sg – this is a non-profit website, that was created as a free guide to familiarize potential candidates with the basics of LASIK and the treatments available in Singapore. You can also go to the website of the Singapore National Eye Centre, the Singapore government’s designated national eyecare centre.

Coach ID Lanyard
Now $75
Original price: $168
Shop Now
Jabra Elite 4 Wireless Earbuds
Now $88
Original price: $162
Shop Now
BaByliss Air Pro 2300
Now $63
Original price: $144
Shop Now
Abib Collagen Eye Patch
Now $19
Original price: $35
Shop Now