解疑释惑
The questions that decide it
Anything else? The refractive desk answers personally within one business day.
SMILE or LASIK — which one should I want?+
Neither, until your scans say so. Broadly: LASIK recovers fastest and costs least; SMILE avoids a flap, suits contact sports and drier eyes, and is the procedure China’s centers are world-famous for. The diagnostic workup — corneal thickness, topography, tear film — makes the call, not marketing. Send your prescription and we will give you the honest starting point.
What prescription range can actually be corrected?+
As working ranges: LASIK to about −10 D with astigmatism to −4; SMILE to about −10 with astigmatism to −5; EVO ICL from about −3 to −18 and beyond with toric options. Mild farsightedness is treatable with some laser profiles. These are candidacy ranges, not promises — stability over the last year matters as much as the number.
Can astigmatism be corrected at the same time?+
Yes — astigmatism is corrected within the same laser profile or, for ICL, with a toric lens. It changes the treatment plan and sometimes the price band, which is why we ask for your full prescription (sphere and cylinder) up front.
I’m over 45 — what about reading glasses?+
Laser correction fixes distance vision; it does not stop presbyopia, the age-related loss of near focus. Some patients choose monovision profiles, others accept readers for fine print. If you are in your 50s with early lens changes, the honest conversation may point to lens-based surgery instead — we will say so rather than sell you a laser.
How soon can I fly home?+
Cabin pressure is not the issue — dry cabin air is. LASIK and SMILE patients routinely fly 24–48 hours after the day-one check with a bottle of preservative-free tears in hand. ICL patients wait for the pressure check, typically day 3–4. We schedule your flights around the checks, not the other way round.
When can I use screens, train, and swim again?+
Screens in moderation from day 1–2 with lubricating drops; gym from about day 7; pools, saunas and open water from about week 4, surgeon willing. TransPRK stretches each milestone by several days. The full hour-by-hour rhythm is in the recovery timeline above.
Will I get halos at night?+
Early halos and starbursts are common in the first weeks and fade for the large majority as the cornea settles. Large pupils and high corrections raise the odds — which is exactly what the diagnostic workup measures before anyone commits you to a laser.
What if my corneas are too thin for LASIK?+
Then LASIK is off the table, and that is a good outcome — you learned it before surgery. The workup pivots to TransPRK (surface ablation spares tissue) or EVO ICL (no corneal tissue touched at all). Roughly one in five laser inquiries ends up matched to a different procedure than they asked for.
Why does ICL cost more — and is it really reversible?+
The lens itself is custom-manufactured to your measurements, which sets the floor. In exchange: no corneal tissue removed, excellent quality of vision at high corrections, and yes — the lens can be surgically removed or exchanged later, which no laser can offer.
Do you handle documentation for pilots and aviation medicals?+
Yes — refractive surgery documentation is a standing request. We arrange the file your examiner expects: pre-operative refraction, procedure record, uncorrected and corrected acuity, topography, and the surgeon’s statement, all in English. Tell us your authority (FAA, EASA, CASA, CAAC) when you write.
Are the machines the same as at home?+
The platforms are the same hardware Western clinics advertise: ZEISS VisuMax for SMILE, WaveLight EX500-class excimers for LASIK, STAAR EVO for ICL. The difference is throughput — surgeons here run them at volumes most Western clinics never see.