Lasik/ laser eye surgery

can anyone recommend an excellent doctor in Central for this please? At the moment thinking of going to HK Laser Eye Center but happy to hear suggestions! Has to be in Central or on HK island not too far from Central... Thank you

I would always use Dr. Iain MacRobert and his team - 1419 Prince's Building

thanks docboat - good to know - I booked an appointment with him - someone else told me about him - he is quite a bit more expensive than most tho.. nevermind

There was an article about the pros and cons of doing laser eye surgery in the SCMP post a couple of months ago. I found it very informative.


There are some people who have really regretted doing it.


Some of the comments were:


The doctors will promise that that your eyesight would be "better" than it is now.

However, you might still have to wear glasses because even though your eyesight is "better than it was before"....there is a good chance that you will still need to wear glasses because your eyesight is not 20/20...

hence, everyone's eyesight is different.

you might go for the operation and think that you WILL NEVER have to wear glasses again.

But you might come out of the operation with "improved" eyesight and STILL have to wear glasses.


There is also the age factor, the younger you are...the better the success of the operation.


I've also have friends who have experienced the "halo" effect.

they are sensitive to light and see rings.


However, I also have a friend who had the operation done in her late 20's and is so happy with the results.


Do your research and READ the fine print.

I had mine done at the Quality Healthcare Centre in Worldwide House just over a year ago. I was 42 at the time and had about -2.5 short sight and a bad astigmatism in one eye. The results are great and I do not regret it one bit.


I am a bit long sighted now but I had been told around age 38 that the signs were there then so not unexpected plus its not bad enough for reading glasses yet!


The procedure is not painful at the time but it got bad waiting for a taxi in the bright sunlight to come home so I wish I had a lift pre-arranged. They gave me a sleeping tablet and once I woke up it felt so much better.


As said by F100 make an informed decision - I too have heard of people who have been disappointed or their expectations not met. You have to weigh up what it means to YOU currently vs. any issues that may arise after. No surgery is risk free after all.

I had mine done 3 years ago for my 40th birthday at Opalvision. Best thing I ever done, the joy of not wearing glasses is wonderful even if its for a limited time. The Doc did say that there's a chance that I could need glasses again as Igot older, not because of long or short sightedness but because in you 40's your eyes have a tendancy to change shape, something that they cannot cure. The day after I had mine done I had them tested and one eye was 20/15 the other 20/10 so better than 20/20.

I also went to Quality health care in worldwide house and thought they were

Brilliant. Explained everything to me every step of the way and i now enjoy glasses free vision for the first time in 16 years. I was nervous about it all but they helped me through that. I have had a slight problem with dryness in one eye but i received free appointments for a year to keep a check on it untill it was ok.

It doesn't really hurt at the time but is not a pleasant experience, i was 41 when i had it done 18 months ago and have very good vision now. I am thrilled with the results and feel like a new person without glasses.

yup i got mine done at hong kong sanitorium. i read that that is the best place in HK and i used the head surgeon there. i am also happy with my results. the surgeon was definitely very good although i am not crazy about his bedside manner. i felt he could have volunteered more information than he did without me having to pry it out of him every time. the clinic is always super busy and i sometimes felt like being treated like cattle. however all in all, i am happy with the result (vision) so that is the main thing. i also went to see dr mac roberts however he did not use the intralase way of cutting the cornea so i went elsewhere. personal choice so it's really up to you. good luck! :)

I have a question for those who are interested in laser eye surgery for sight correction. Have you noticed most eye surgeons wear glasses? If laser surgery is so good and safe, why don't they have the surgery themselves and get rid of those slippery glasses?

livinology - I think it is like having a mechanic/electrician/etc in the family - they always prioritise you last because they are so busy with everyone else and it's easier to ask a family member (or yourself) to wait, so often will still be driving the worst, falling-down-car, or have dodgy wiring in their home etc.


I also wear glasses and am interested in the surgery... does it cost very much?

I wanted to add a post on LASIK because I recently had it done and I valued all the opinions that I could find on these boards.....


I went to the HK Sanitorium. I had to have an eye check-up first. No contact lenses for 5 days prior - just glasses. The check-up took about 2.5 hours - they measure everything to do with your eyes - myopia, eye health, shape, colour contrasts, etc. Cost is about $1200. I had to add a few hundred to do an extra scan (wave-something). In the tests, they are working out whether you are a candidate (cornea thick enough, etc). I was told that I have slightly below average thickness of cornea but that I was still a suitable candidate 'within range'. I didn't choose my doctor - they used the computer to choose my doctor, Dr Joan Wu. This would ultimately save me about $10k++.


I decided to go ahead with the surgery - which I booked about a month later. I’m a female, mid-30’s Asian, short-sighted to minus 6. Again, couldn't wear contact lenses and also couldn't wear make-up for 5 to 7 days prior (harder than you think!). I was the first patient of the day at 9.30am. I arrived at 9am, paid $22k for my package and then they prepped me for surgery. Prep involved drops in the eyes, wearing a surgical gown, taking some painkillers, etc.


The surgery took about 20-30 mins. I was allowed to take my ipod in and listen to 1 ear... it was great to help me think about something else. There are about 5 or 6 people in the room (couldn’t really tell as didn’t have glasses on!). At first, you look at a ring of light and the flaps are cut in both eyes (at separate times). The pressure is great on the eye and everything blacks out. The doctor talks to you constantly to tell you what is happening, and what is going to happen. They then spin me on the bed to another machine and the doctor lifted the flaps on my eye and then did the LASIK surgery. She constantly squirted my eye with water and used a paintbrush to wash off the dead cells. She put the flap back again and did the same with the other eye. They taped eye shields over my eyes and I had to keep them shut until the next morning. Before leaving, the doctor took a look at my eyes. When they took the shields off, I could see clearly past her (exciting!). All looked good so they sent me home where I just rested and took the painkillers (ate with my eyes shut). It was so tempting to peek out b/c everything was v clear. I went back the next day for a check-up and they told me to take care with wearing sunglasses to avoid glare and squirting eye drops in my eyes several times daily for a month. I went back at the 1 mth mark and they said I have perfect vision in my right eye and slightly far-sighted in the left eye. Went back again for my 3 mth check up recently and it hasn’t changed.


Doctor was good. I was surprised at how much manual work is required during the surgery – that is, it’s not all machines. She had to wipe away the dead cells etc and control the machine. If any of you are tempted to go to a cheaper place, I would recommend against it. Go to a place that really has experience. The sanatorium have done something like 67,000 LASIK surgeries.... that’s a lot of experience. Whilst my surgery went smoothly, I can see how, if anything went wrong, you want to be in a place that can deal with any bad outcome.


Overall, fantastic - highly recommend it. My vision was slightly unstable in the first month (eyes would get tired, fluctuating vision) but after the first month, vision has been great. No halos, good night vision after the 1st month. After about 6 weeks of dryness in the eyes, that has gone too. Doctor said the nerves had to grow back, which clearly they have. I can now live without glasses, contact lenses, etc and my vision is better than with lenses (I had lots of dryness issues in a/c places and halos).