Good Bye Glasses! My Vision Correction Journey – Travel Vietnam

I wore glasses since I was 6 years old. Now, after 27 years and for the first time, my vision is 10/10 without glasses.

Hello from me without glasses at Phong Nha Cave

This is liberating that I no longer need glasses at all meaning I no longer need to search for glasses every morning or buy glasses each year. By sharing my journey, I hope that anyone interested would consider this option to correct their vision issues.

I had wanted to have an eye surgery for a while but not until one week before I came back to Vietnam that I finally decided that this was an ample opportunity to do it.

The reason was that vision correction surgery in Vietnam is much more affordable. The clinic I was recommended was the Hong Son Eye Clinic located on Giai Phong Street which turned out to be a decent clinic with a very experienced surgeon.

I chose the laser technology called Smile Pro, costed at 46,000,000 VND with the Cross Link treatment (a Vitamin A layer on both eyes after the surgery) costed at 2,000,000 VND. This calculated to around $3,000 CAD. In Canada, this would have costed me way more, around $25,000CAD. Compared to other clinics in Vietnam, this clinic is also cheaper in comparison making it more affordable and accessible for many.

On the same day, there were about 20 others that had vision correction surgeries including many high school graduates entering university that requires 10/10 vision for admission.

The surgery took 1 full day, started at 8 am and ended at around 5 pm for myself. The timing may vary depending on the technology and the number of people that have their surgery scheduled for the day.

The day seemed long but given this whole process, one day was a godsend speed for a vision correction surgery! I went into the clinic with glasses and went home without; the next day, I started to see much clearer.

Below, I will recite what happened that day.

Pre-surgery

Morning

Check-in, testing, more eye testing, group consultation with the surgeon, blood test, payment.

The tests were done in different rooms on different floors so make sure that you get to the correct room. Bringing a family member is a must; without my aunt, I wouldn’t have made it home I think! Also, knowing Vietnamese would be a plus to navigate the rooms. Non-Vietnamese speaking patients will definitely need an interpreter to understand instructions and explanations.

During the consultation, the surgeon explained the process, risks, and recovery period for all patients.

Lunch

Free lunch at the clinic for me, but it was not free for family members. Rest in the clinic’s rest area.

I would recommend bringing a book or something to do as the wait was 3 hours long for me.

Afternoon

More rest, the seniors had their cataract surgery first, and then at around 3 pm, the youths/younger people with short-sighted surgery started our surgeries. My surgery only took 5 minutes but the waiting was long. I waited for around 1.5 hours before getting my surgery.

Surgery

The surgery was literally 5 minutes. The surgeon had performed these types of surgery for over 12,000 times with the Smile Pro technology and performed 120,000 eye surgeries over the year so he was very quick and confident.

With Smile Pro, my eyes were numb and the machine made cuts on each eye before the surgeon removed certain pieces of my eyes through the cut. I was given the removed parts in a container as a souvenir.

The removed parts from my eyes. I should have stored them in a freezer but I didn’t as I was travelling!

Recovery and post-surgery eye care

Right after the surgery, I could not see well right away. It was still very blurry.

I had a headache right after the surgery and I could not open my eyes very much right after. It was good that my aunt accompanied me; without her, I don’t think I could have made it back.

The next day, my eyes could see much clearer. I can’t say that it was 10/10 right away but over the next few days, my vision improved daily.

I didn’t have any pain but sometimes I did feel that my eyes were rigid. I used eye drops as instructed and there were no complications. They gave me antibiotic eye drops and it was important that I used them correctly.

On the 7th day, I went back for a retest, and the doctor confirmed that my eyes were all good. I was prescribed more eye drops for the next 7 days.

I could use phone and laptop right away but the doctor advised that I should use them 15 minutes at a time. I was told that my vision will stabilize after 1 to 3 months.

Overall, the experience was amazing and I thoroughly enjoy the end result—seeing life with my own eyes <3