Eye Surgery Korean Style

A couple of weeks ago the vision in my left eye became blurred.  This was surprising since I'd had cataract surgery a few years ago that gave me a new lens in each eye and great vision.  A trip to our friendly Korean optometrist we met in the English Club in Pohang deepened the mystery.  Her equipment could not read the vision in my left eye.  She reassured me that it was probably a minor problem with the implanted lens from the cataract surgery and suggested I see an ophthalmologist.  We got a recommendation from the optometrist and dropped into his office today without an appointment (one of the things I love about the Korean medical system is that appointments are often unnecessary to see a physician the same day.)

The ophthalmologist examined my eye and told me I had a condition the often occurs 2-3 years after cataract surgery.  Eyesight becomes blurred due to conditions in the back of the eye that need correction.  The new implanted lenses were fine, but I would need to have a laser procedure to correct the problems in the back of my left eye.  Ouch!  Another surgery.  Where am I going to find the time with finals coming in 2 weeks and what will it cost?  The ophthalmologist (his name is Kim, but that describes 20% of the people in Korea) told me I could have the procedure today if I was willing to wait another 30 minutes for them to dilate my eye with the necessary drops.  The laser treatment would take less than 5 minutes.  TODAY?  What is it going to cost? (as I considered our depleted budget for the month)  He told me it would cost fifty dollars.  I almost fell out of the examining chair.  I think the doctor enjoyed the shocked look on my face.  I spend thousands of dollars on laser cataract surgery in the US with insurance.  This was unbelievable.  I said let's go ahead and returned to the waiting room for the nurse to administer the necessary drops in my eye.  I also started thinking, "What am  I doing?"  "This can't be right, what do I know about this doctor?".  Still, it had every appearance of a very professional office and the doctor acted as though this was a pretty standard office procedure.

After the eye was dilated, I went back in for him to reexamine the eye.  He took a picture and projected it on a screen to show me the source of the cloudiness and blurring in my vision.  He explained the process he would use to correct the problem.  I was then led into another room where he performed the procedure.  It reminded me of the cataract surgery though shorter and no sedation.  In 5 minutes it was over.  I'm at the office now working on grading student papers.  I am already seeing a dramatic improvement in the vision in my left eye.  Words are already much clearer with my left eye.  The doctor told me it would take a day for the medication to wear off and see the full benefit of the surgery.  I am already delighted and can't believe all this was taken care of in an impromptu stop by the doctor's office.  Only in Korea!