Chris’ ICL Story

Dr. Chris has something of the inside track when it comes to vision correction surgery: he is the husband of Dr. Margaret Liu, founder and CEO of San Francisco Eye Institute. Despite this connection, like many of our patients, Chris was a bit hesitant to pursue vision correction surgery, in part, because he is a surgeon himself and didn’t want to compromise his vision. Now that Chris has had his vision nearly perfected with Visian ICL, he is so grateful to have undergone the procedure and can’t imagine going back to wearing glasses and contacts. This is Chris’ Visian ICL story.

How Does Visian ICL Work?

Visian ICL (Implantable Collamer® Lens) is a form of vision correction surgery that takes a different approach from LASIK and PRK. These procedures, most familiar to our patients, involve reshaping the patient’s cornea to correct refractive errors. With Visian ICL, a micro-thin lens is implanted into the eye to enhance a patient’s vision. These lenses can be removed any time, are fully compatible with the human body, and even offer UV protection.

Why Did Chris Choose Vision Correction Surgery?

Chris enjoys many activities that were difficult to properly participate in while wearing glasses. He says, “Before vision correction surgery, my vision was about 20/200. I needed glasses or contacts to see anything beyond about 12 inches from my face.  I lived like this my whole life and I’ve always found it a struggle.  I’m quite active, play sports, and like to exercise, and glasses have always made that difficult because they fog up and slide off my face when I sweat.  I found contacts also very difficult to wear because they made my eyes very dry and irritated.  I even had difficulty with daily disposable contact lenses as they still dried my eyes out.”

Once Chris became a father, he grew even more frustrated with his poor eyesight. “I found myself in many situations where taking care of our baby, such as changing diapers in the middle of the night, reading bedtime stories, and simply playing with him, just became too frustrating with glasses or contacts,” he says.

Though Chris was interested in eliminating his need for glasses, he had been reluctant to pursue vision correction surgery because as a surgeon himself, he depends so much on his vision. He says, “I was always worried about what might happen to my career if my vision correction didn’t work out perfectly.”

Fortunately, Dr. Liu helped calm Chris’ apprehensions. He says, “Dr. Liu is an amazing surgeon.  She is also my wife.  She did offer that I get a second opinion from Stanford just to hear all my options, but I trusted her completely.”

Chris’ ICL Experience

Before his ICL procedure, Chris felt a bit nervous, which is completely normal. “But at the same time,” he says, “I was so excited about the thought of not being dependent anymore on glasses and how life-changing that would be.”

Chris reports that his experience during the procedure was easy and comfortable. He was given mild oral sedation, and the procedure was very fast. “Immediately after the procedure,” he says, “I already had considerable improvement in my vision noticeable in the recovery room. That felt amazing.”

According to Chris, the Visian ICL recovery process was also easy, with no significant dry eye or floaters. In fact, just days after the surgery, he drove three hours for a family trip to Lake Tahoe. 

Chris’ Vision After ICL

How is Chris’ vision after ICL? “It’s absolutely fantastic!” Chris has astigmatism, and at the time of his surgery astigmatism-correcting lenses were not yet available. Because of this, his vision is 20/15 in his left eye and 20/25 in his right eye. Despite this difference, Chris says his vision is still excellent. “I am not dependent on glasses or contacts at all. Even when I operate and perform microscopic procedures I do not use glasses or even loupe magnification most times.  Best of all, I can be active with my children and play sports, swim, work out, and never have to fumble around looking for my glasses or try to put in contacts to accomplish this,” Chris says.

Interested in ICL?

When asked what he appreciates most about his Visian ICL experience, Chris says, “It’s hard to describe the single thing I appreciate most because there are just so many.  I can simply say going through with vision correction was absolutely life-changing.  Life is SO much easier. I Love being active and not having to deal with my contacts drying out and being so irritating. I can wake up first thing in the morning and see perfectly clearly. It’s truly amazing.”

Chris has one question for people considering vision correction surgery: “What’s holding you back?” 
If you are interested in learning how you, too, might be able to see clearly without glasses or contacts, the best thing you can do is to discuss your options with an experienced ophthalmologist like Dr. Liu. To schedule a consultation at San Francisco Eye Institute, please contact us today.