Tests, Tests, & More Test... ICL Pre-Surgery Visit

I'm a bit late in posting...so I'll catch up with these next posts.

I went in for my Pre-Surgery / Make Sure I Qualify Appointment a couple weeks ago.  As I stressed in my last post, I was hesitant about the whole thing.  The appointment took about 1.5 hours of tests, measurements, and even a ultrasound (something like that) of my eyes.  It was the most thorough eye exam I've ever received. 

You receive all the regular tests you typically get during an eye exam, then extra tests to count cells, pressure, take measurements, etc.  The ultrasound was the most interesting.  I had to lay down on the 'surgery' roll-away cot.  They put lots of drops in my eyes to numb them and then held them open with some clear plastic thing (that went between my top & bottom eyelids).  It wasn't painful or annoying at all (surprisingly).

The nurses were great - explaining everything that they were doing so that I knew what was coming.  (Nothing worse then a doctor or nurse just moving you around without explaining what to expect.)  Once the plastic (I'm actually not sure the material) thing was in my eye, they poured sterile water on top (careful to try to catch any water before it ran down my face) and then had me hold still and look in certain directions while they took pictures with the ultrasound camera thing.  (I believe this was to get precise measurements of the eye to order the implantable contact lens.)

Then they dilate your eyes and do all those tests, as well as some kinda of camera shot for a cell count.

Nothing was uncomfortable and in fact, everyone was so informative and nice that I started feeling a little better about the whole thing.

One of the things I was unclear about is the VISION & STAAR are the same thing.  STAAR Surgical Company is the company name and Vision is the brand of the Implantable Contact Lens.  Just in case anyone else is confused. 

Apparently, unlike Cataract Surgery, there aren't a bunch of options for different brands of Contact Lenses for ICL. 

Okay, to wrap up, the nurse said that things looked really good when she ran preliminary numbers, but that Doctor Schneider would let me know within a few days if everything was okay for me to have the surgery.