Laser eye surgery in Russia: anyone done it?

So, I’ve finally decided to pull the trigger on laser eye surgery. I was originally thinking about going to Stambouk, but honestly, I've heard way too many horror stories from people who were totally unhappy with the results—not to mention some rumors about his laser equipment failing right in the middle of a procedure! That was a huge red flag for me. Instead, I've decided to go see this specialist from Russia who flies into the States once a month. If the initial exam goes smoothly, I'm planning to fly out to have the actual surgery done in Russia, specifically in Saint Petersburg. A buddy of mine just went there last week and he is absolutely thrilled—he went from a -7 prescription down to zero. The whole package deal is about $2,700, which covers both eyes plus the flight. Has anyone here actually been to Saint Petersburg for medical stuff? How was the experience for you?

Here is the link for the agency that handles the trips to Russia

www.mayoclinic.org

Give them a call and pick their brains about the surgery. Honestly, I bet they'll give you the straight talk on what you're actually looking at.

Anyway, hit me up once you've made a call and let me know how everything turns out.

Good luck!

A friend of mine used to wear heavy bifocals. He actually traveled over to Russia for that surgery, and now he’s just wearing regular glasses! He mentioned that his vision feels absolutely fantastic now..

He says the whole procedure only takes about 30 seconds per eye...

www.bilicvision.com

I caught this segment on TV last week all about getting LASIK surgery to ditch glasses.

I remember Dr. Bilić from her days working over at Mount Sinai—she’s always been incredibly thorough and dedicated.

Maybe check in with them first? Personally, I wouldn't feel totally comfortable leaving my eyes in the hands of some Russ.

Basically, those kinds of procedures tend to work better when your prescription is higher.

Look, I can't speak for Russia, but I can tell you that Dr. Stambouk is top-tier. My sister actually had both of her eyes done by him about a year and a half ago, and she nailed it. She hasn't touched glasses or contacts since.

At the end of the day, everyone's situation is different.

Anyway, good luck with everything.

My coworker is sitting at a -12😢
The only silver lining is that she wears contacts, because according to her, she basically hasn't stepped foot outside without them since forever—contacts are her lifeline, since nobody actually knows just how blind you really are without them.😢

So... I was chatting with her and brought up LASIK, but she’s running from the idea like it's the plague. Her whole mantra is: "I can still see something this way, and I'm not risking total blindness."

Is it actually possible that the surgery is that sketchy, or is my colleague just dealing with a massive amount of fear?
Money isn't even an issue here.

I’ve consulted with several ophthalmologists, and I noticed they are all quite cautious regarding vision correction surgery. From their perspective, the procedure is still somewhat unpredictable since results vary so much from person to person: while some see permanent results, others find their prescription returning or even worsening over time. The biggest drawback, however, is that you might lose the ability to wear contact lenses afterward. That’s what they told me, anyway. I personally wear soft contact lenses and am very happy with them, so I wouldn't want to risk losing that option by undergoing surgery.

Chloe Nguyen3 said:A coworker of mine is at -12 vision.😢
The only silver lining is that she wears contacts, because as she puts it: she hasn't even left the house without her glasses, and contacts are her saving grace—nobody actually knows how blind you really are without them!😢

So... I was chatting with her about getting eye surgery, but she’s running away from the idea at full speed. Her motto is basically: "At least this way I can see something; I don't want to risk seeing nothing at all."

Do you think the procedure is genuinely that risky, or is my colleague just dealing with a massive amount of fear?
Money isn't the issue here.

Honestly, even with my own -7 vision and -1.5 astigmatism, I’d find it hard to pull the trigger on that surgery myself.
It would be absolutely wonderful to wake up in the morning and see everything clearly instead of frantically hunting for my glasses first!
Since the method is relatively new, we still don't have enough long-term data on what happens as people get older.
In reality, the surgery itself is pretty affordable when you compare it to the cost of glasses, contacts, and solution over several years.

But hey, there's something so classic about wearing cute glasses or popping in contacts for a stunning look!

Peter Morris58 said:[

I’ve heard rumors that women shouldn't get surgery if they're planning on having kids—apparently, all those contractions could cause your vision to return to normal?[/COLOR]

I have done so much reading and talked to so many people about this procedure, but this is definitely the first time I’ve ever heard that!

jadesailor14 said:With my own astigmatism at -7 and -1.5, I’d honestly struggle to pull the trigger on that surgery.
It would be freaking amazing to wake up and actually see clearly instead of fumbling around for my glasses first thing.
The tech is still pretty fresh, though, so we don't really have solid data on how it holds up for older folks yet.
The procedure itself isn't even that pricey when you factor in the cost of frames, lenses, and solution over the next few years.

Plus, those cute glasses and contacts look great while giving you that sharp vision.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to downplay what she's dealing with—far from it.
Her prescription just keeps climbing every single year, and right now she's hovering near -13.
In my opinion, she really needs to do something about it before she hits a point where she can't even hold down a job.
That's why I'm so curious about anyone who's actually gone through this surgery with such a massive prescription.

Btw, I've been rocking glasses since I was eight, but my prescription is basically nothing and it's actually getting better; I think by the time I'm 35, I might finally ditch the specs for good.

Peter Morris58 said:

I heard women shouldn't get the surgery if they plan on having kids—apparently all those contractions cause your vision to drift back to where it was before?

That is total nonsense! What on earth does giving birth have to do with eye surgery?
Honestly, I’m hearing about this "vision returning" thing for the first time right here on this forum.

Look, if you go through with the procedure and it works—and let's assume we're talking about a 100% success rate here—your vision isn't just going to snap back to being blurry. The only thing you’ll deal with is the standard age-related decline that every single human on this planet eventually hits. No way around that one.
Plus, even if things don't hit that perfect mark the first time, you can usually get a correction done after a year... which should be baked into the initial cost anyway. I'm pretty sure follow-up checkups are included too.

If my prescription was hovering around a 13, I wouldn't even hesitate. There's basically nothing to lose at that point.
My sister had a 3.5 in one eye and maybe a bit less in the other... she says getting it done was a total game-changer for her life.

Nymph said:So, I’ve been chatting with a few different eye doctors lately, and honestly? They’re all being super cagey when it comes to LASIK or any vision correction surgery. From what they're telling me, the whole thing still feels pretty experimental—like, results are all over the map. One person gets the surgery and their prescription vanishes forever, totally fine. But then you’ve got others where the vision regresses after a while, or even worse, their prescription actually gets higher... The biggest headache for me, though, is that they said once you go through with it, you can't really wear contact lenses anymore. At least, that's the word on the street. I use soft contacts and I am loving them right now. I just can't bring myself to risk losing that option by jumping into surgery.

I mean, what else is an eye doctor gonna tell you? Once you get the surgery, you aren't their patient anymore, and those docs make their living off patients. Just think about it for a second and don't let anyone sell you a dream.
The surgery is, in my book, basically a 95% to 100% success rate.

Chloe Nguyen3 said:Don't get it twisted, I'm not trying to downplay what she's going through. Honestly,
her prescription just keeps climbing every single year—she’s basically hitting the -13 mark right now.
If you ask me, she needs to step up and do something about it, because at this rate, she won't even be able to hold down a job soon.
That's why I'm digging for info from people who actually went through laser surgery when their vision was already that shot.

BTW, I've been rocking glasses since I was eight, but my prescription is peanuts and actually getting better. I reckon by the time I hit 35, I might finally ditch the specs for good.

Look, your friend could at least sit down and have a real talk with a doctor. Every situation is totally different. There are some patients out there where there just isn't any fix. You gotta go through all the tests first, then the doc tells you what's actually happening and what can be done, and *then* you make the call.

Honestly, I think sticking with a major public institute is a much smarter move than wasting money on some private clinic!
I heard that when you deal with Stambouk, they make you sign a waiver just so they can dodge any responsibility if things go sideways!
Besides, even over in Russia, they’re already using the latest laser tech!

Charles Hayes said:Honestly, I feel like sticking with a major public institute is a way better bet than some random private clinic!
Word on the street is that if you go to Stambouk, they make you sign some crazy waiver basically saying "if we screw up, it's not our fault!"
Plus, I heard they’ve got those cutting-edge lasers over in Russia!

Sounds like you've already made up your mind about heading to Russia. You even speak Russian?
You're gonna need it just to understand the paperwork... and you'll have to stay there for at least two days if you're just doing one eye. Nobody's operating on both eyes the same day, obviously—you'd need follow-ups after that. Have you thought about how you'll handle the check-ups there? Like, you'll probably have to fly back for a follow-up right after a month.

Chloe Nguyen3 said:Don't get me wrong—I wasn't trying to downplay what she's going through! On the contrary,

Oops! It looks like we weren't on the same page there!

I mentioned earlier that there was actually a TV segment about Bilić Vision featured on Đorđič's expertise—it seems like both the doctor and the show share the same name!
They were honestly so great that I’ve been thinking about heading back there myself. Not necessarily for surgery right away, but maybe just to get a really thorough checkup!
Everyone knows that finding a great eye doctor can be such a mission! I remember hunting around Chicago for months before finally finding my go-to specialist.

Hey, tell your colleague to check out the WowWow website—she might just find enough inspiration to book a trip there herself!
If her prescription is that high, she’s definitely seeing things through a total blur!

I saw this on TV where they showed the actual surgery footage along with a really detailed breakdown of how it's done.
It was actually pretty fascinating to watch.
But honestly, after seeing all that, I’ve definitely decided against going through with it!😁

polly, what site?

please don't send me to pet websites😁

do you have the website for that clinic in Russia?

Does anyone have the link for that clinic? The doctor's name... some info, for heaven's sake!

jadesailor14 said:She was on TV showing the actual surgery footage along with this super detailed breakdown of everything happening.
It’s honestly pretty wild to watch.
And it definitely makes me lean towards saying "nope, I'm good" 😁

Wait, seriously? How does it even work??

I haven't really had the chance to see what they actually do
Or rather, I'm not even sure if what I saw before was an actual "laser eye surgery" thing or just some other eye procedure... but man, it looked absolutely terrifying (it was on some German channel, so uh... yeah, I had zero clue what they were rambling about).

Like, do they just peel back the cornea, blast it with a laser, and then just patch it all back up? Do they use stitches? I can't even begin to imagine how weird your eye feels after something like that—if a single eyelash falls in there, it feels like a freaking scratchy nightmare! Imagine if there were actual stitches or if they were cutting things around in there.

Some people are trying to convince me that you don't even have to peel back the cornea part...

Does anyone here actually know the deal?