Lazik in Costa Rica: I can see for miles and miles!

I recently underwent Lasik surgery on my severely near-sighted eyeballs. In this article, I will share my experience having the procedure performed in Costa Rica. I’ve worn glasses pretty much all my life. When I was in college, I tried contact lenses but they never worked out for me.

I always felt like my eyeballs were rubbing up against sandpaper, and I ended up with severe allergies to all the cleaning chemicals. This was back in the 80s, before the advent of the one day contacts. By the time they came out, I had already given up.

Even though I’ve always worn glasses, I have never been happy to have a whole contraption on my face, blocking me from the world. And in Costa Rica, relying on glasses is an iffy proposition. I’ve purchased 4 pairs of glasses in the time that I’ve lived here, and all of them had huge problems with quality. (Wow, really? In Costa Rica? What a surprise, huh?)

Now I admit I am hard on glasses. Running a horse ranch and dealing with 1000-lb. animals every day, well, things just happen. But I never experienced lenses cracking across the middle, for no apparent reason, not once, not twice but THREE times. The first time, I took the glasses back to the optical store.

“Look at these cracks,” I said, handing the frames to the pretty girl behind the counter. “I think these lenses are defective.”

“Ummm, gee, wait here a minute,” making it clear that she had no interest whatsoever in the pissed off gringa at her counter who was trying very hard to maintain the smile and “si claro” attitude so necessary for confrontations in this country.

She brought the frames back behind the counter and consulted with every other pretty girl in the shop, none of whom appeared to have any knowledge whatsoever about the manufacture of glasses. Finally, satisfied, she returned to me, waiting somewhat patiently at the counter.

“No, señora, sorry but these are not defective. These frames are very delicate and they don’t protect the lenses enough, so you need to be more careful.”
Feeling convinced that it was definitely not my fault, I went ahead and bought another pair of frames that she agreed were “much more durable”, as they had protection all around the lens… and four months later the lenses cracked again. The second time, they did agree to replace the defective lenses at no cost to me.

By the third time it happened, I gave up and bought a new pair of glasses in the US. They were actually cheaper than in Costa Rica, and of course much better quality, more comfortable, and kind of looked good on me. I was happy — until I left them on the fender of the quad one day, forgetting they were there as I drove away. I eventually found them under my boot — crunched beyond belief. Total bummer.

That was the day I decided to bite the bullet and get the Lasik surgery I’d always dreamed about. I checked the ads in the Tico Time. I posted a request on Costa Rica Living, a large Yahoo group of expats (or wanna-bees) that is my go-to place for recommendations up in the San Jose area. I finally settled on Clinica Visualiza in San Jose, called and made an appointment.

They told me that I had to have an exam first to see if I was a good candidate for the procedure. Since I lived so far away, they were quite accommodating, and scheduled me for an exam first thing in the morning, with the surgery the same afternoon (assuming I passed the candidacy test). I booked a room at La Sabana Aparthotel, which was within walking distance of the clinic. I also coerced my girlfriend into coming up to the city with me for a couple of nights, which turned out to be a good idea.

On the day of the exam, we walked over to the clinic, took a seat and waited for my name to be called. First I was seen by a female technician. She used various high-tech-looking machines to exam my vision. I looked at the red dots, got puffs of air in the eyeballs, read (or didn’t read) the little letters on the chart on the wall. Pretty standard eye exam kind of stuff, nothing new here, but I was impressed by the very modern and high tech examining machines they used. Huge improvements over the old method of blocking one eye and deciding whether each new lens they tried was “better or worse.” Heck they all look the same to me — blurry.

After the technician did the basic exam, I had a consult with the actual surgeon. OK I gotta just say it: do you know the expression “easy on the eyes?” Yeah, he was….tall, dark and handsome doesn’t even begin to describe him. The doctor spoke perfect English in a soft, gentle and very reassuring tone. I melted, as I tried to concentrate on what he was telling me. In the end, we agreed I was a good candidate for the surgery (…what? Oh right, I’m here for surgery…) and so I went back to the hotel room to await my appointment in the afternoon.

At 2 pm, we took a taxi to a clinic in downtown San Jose, where the laser machine is located. When we arrived, I was instructed to change into hospital clothes, with a hairnet and booties. There were a few of us sitting in folding chairs outside of the surgical area, styling in our scrubs. I was surprisingly not nervous — and I’m normally a total wimp about anything that involves either dentists or doctors.

When they called my name, I took a deep breath and followed the attendant into the surgery room, muttering my mantra of the day “I can do this, I can do this…” They got me into position on the laser machine which resembled a CAT scan or MRI: metal table to lie on, put your head into this little cradle, we will move the machine up and over you, just relax and breathe and don’t move.

The next thing I know, I’m hearing the soothing voice of Doctor Yummy. He explained how I needed to look into the machine at a little red light, that sometimes the light would disappear but not to worry, it would return. It was very important that I lie as still as possible, and just relax. (Relax? This might be difficult as I am kind of thinking about anxiety attacks right now…)

OK deep breath, stare at the red dot, I can do this. Doctor Yummy’s smooth voice talked to me, telling me what to expect at every step of the procedure. The only part that was completely weird was when they cut the clear flap of my eyeball. I felt a light pressure, and then … wait is that my eyeball fluid running down the side of my face? It was. Ugh. Turns out, that was the worst of it, and it was really more “weird” than anything else. I saw some dancing lights for about a minute as the laser machine adjusted my cornea. Breathe girl. Good girl. Doctor Yummy very gently smoothed the little eyeball flap back in place and we were done — with the first eye.

We repeated the whole procedure for my second eye, but by then I was an old hat at this stuff, icky eyeball fluid and all. The most incredible part is that the entire procedure, for both eyes, took exactly 8 minutes. That’s it. Heck, even the Great Woos Woman can deal with anything for 8 minutes.

When the procedure was finished, they taped some strange plastic covers over my eyeballs, gave me some eye drops and instructions for their use, and sent me back to the hotel. I was to keep the plastic covers on until the next morning, when I would have my post-surgical exam before returning to the ranch.

Here’s where the girlfriend was important. I couldn’t see anything or really do anything with those plastic covers on my eyes. Not to mention the fact that I couldn’t really go out in public either. She led me from the taxi to our room at the hotel, brought in takeout dinner, and basically babysat my pathetic self. Good friend, love you girl.

The next morning after they removed the plastic covers I was amazed to find out that I could see forever. Right away. They even said I could drive home from San Jose. I just had to be sure to wear sunglasses anytime I was outside for the first few weeks. And wear the weird plastic covers over my eyes when I slept. My eyes were a bit sensitive to light at first, and during the first couple of weeks, they got tired easily. Within a few weeks I was completely normal, with only a bit of dryness that the eyedrops eased, and after a couple of months that was gone too.

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Overall I would say the experience was a lot less traumatic than I thought it would be — and a lot less expensive ($1500 for both eyes). I wish I had done the procedure years ago.

I like to say “Now I can see all the way to Jaco… but I can’t read my iPhone.” It took some adjustment to go from bifocals to having 20 pairs of reading glasses spread throughout my house. In the final analysis, however, it was totally worth it considering I can go horseback riding, buy sunglasses off the shelf

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.