The Operation

A few things occurred before I entered the operating room. First, the clinic staff  guided me through some paperwork (consent forms regarding the risks revolving around the procedure) and explained that local anaesthetic and a sedative would be administered to me before the surgery. They mentioned I would be “awake” during the procedure, but I would feel relaxed and slightly dazed due to the sedation.

At this point, I also was given the option to purchase some postoperative de-swelling/bruising cream (Auriderm XO). It retails for 30 million korean won (~$30 CAD) per box and the active ingredient is Vitamin K oxide. I decided to purchase a few boxes as the staff seemed to recommend it.

I was originally scheduled for a 2 pm appointment but the staff was able to slot me into an earlier time around 12:30 pm. I was escorted to a room to change into the clinic dressing clothing (similar to pyjamas), then they accompanied me into a room for some bloodwork to test for HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis. The needle prick hurt going in but it didn’t hurt when they drew the blood.

Shortly afterwards, they accompanied me into the operating room where there were 2-3 nurses. They asked me to lie down and I tried to make small talk with one of them using my horridly broken Korean while they swabbed my eyes, clipped a heart rate monitor onto my big toe, and covered my body with a heavy tarp like sheet, exposing only my face.

Before Dr Seo arrived, Elizabeth (my English translator) came into the operating room to provide me some reassurance. She literally held my hand and explained that it’s perfectly normal to be nervous but that I was in good hands. I really appreciated that she dropped by before the surgeon arrived.

When Dr Seo entered the operating room, he re-drew small guideline dots onto my eyelids to pronounce the crease we had agreed upon. He re-measured the dots, then I heard him instruct a nurse to administer the medication to me.

The following 40 minutes passed by in a blur. They had catchy k-pop and ballads playing in the background and although my eyes were closed, I saw a pretty funky array of different colours swirling about as the procedure occurred. I felt virtually no pain during the entire process. In fact, I could almost say that I felt more relaxed during these operative moments than I had during the entire day beforehand. It’d odd, but I found the actual surgery to be a somewhat soothing, enjoyable experience (haha)! Maybe it was the k-pop + all the pretty colours I was viewing. Haha!

My surgery only took approximately 40 minutes. Afterwards, I was accompanied to my recovery room, where I was instructed to lie down, but propped up onto several pillows so I was inclined about 45 degrees. I was hooked up to an IV (for electrolytes) and I was brought a warm takeaway container of pumpkin soup (a dish which is known to assist with post-operative de-swelling). I was also provided some cooling eye gel packs medications, and some postoperative instructions.

The clinic gave me three oral medications, and two topical medications to take/apply three times daily. The oral medications are Tylenol, an antibiotic, and an antacid.