"The Writer Girl Notes"

Although popularly we know it as lasik eye surgery it is also known as refractive this surgery or vision repair surgery. The last name describes the surgery best as it actually repairs one’s vision. What does is that it reshapes your cornea thereby allowing you to have normal vision without any external aid like glasses or contact lens. And recently there has been a lot of advancement in the field of this operation.They has been embraced by many a patient over the last decade to correct some specific eye defects. It has caught the imagination of people and has been gaining popularity every year. But this surgery does have its own effects and it varies from one patient to another. So before you actually decide on getting an operation done, you should always consider the pros and the cons.Basically this is used to cure three main types of eye conditions - myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. Myopia, also know as nearsightedness is the problem of not being able to see what is far away without glasses. Hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, is the other way round. Astigmatism is something different where the patient has irregularities in his cornea which as a result distorts the image formed on the retina of the eye. After this surgery the need for glasses or contact lens will either be negated, or your dependency on them will be significantly reduced.But eye operation comes with its own set of risks and they should always be considered seriously before you actually sign-up for an operation. First of all, you will not be eligible for the operation if you are suffering from diabetes, glaucoma, cataracts, arthritis, and lupus. Even pregnant women are not eligible. With these conditions, undergoing surgery can cause permanent damage to your vision. Other problems that might be caused due to surgery are double vision, glare, and halo. One’s nighttime vision can also be affected, especially for certain operation procedures. Even permanent blurry vision and diminished contrast may be the effects of the surgery. We are not trying to imply that surgery is something that involves a lot of risks. All that we are saying is that you should properly educate yourself about the risks also so that you can take a considered decision.Some patients experience discomfort in the first 24-48 hours after surgery. Other side effects, although rare, may include:Glare, Seeing halos around images, Difficulty driving at night, Fluctuating vision, Dry eyes. The FDA has found no long-term side effects from laser eye surgery.Lasik surgery is too new to know if there are any long-term ill effects beyond five years after surgery.Before the surgery, your surgeon should explain to you the risks and possible complications, and potential side effects, including the pros and cons of having one or both eyes done on the same day. This is the “informed consent” process. If you experience aggravating or unusual side effects, report them to your doctor immediately.

Opting for the right LASIK surgery to correct your vision today is not the same as it was a decade ago. This is comparatively a recent medical breakthrough. It was only in 1994 that the first eye surgery was performed. Back then surgeons didn’t have much option on how to go about the entire procedure. All they had was a microkeratome, a small mechanical blade which helped to create a flap on the cornea. Once the flap was created, conventional excimer laser was used for reshaping the tissue underneath. That would allow the cornea to focus light directly on the retina exactly as it happens in a normal eye. This is all the option that an optometrist had about a decade ago. Since the this surgery has gone through a sea change and amazing advancements have been made in the technology that is being used. Lasers have become much smoother and precise which has allowed patients to have better vision than they could have ever imagined before. One of the newest addition to this opertation technology is the machine called Intralase. This machine makes the metal blade redundant during a operation. Here flap creation is also done with the help of laser. So with the help of Intralase one can actually complete the entire surgery only using lasers. This makes the operation an all-laser surgery .The greatest USP of Intralase is that it significantly reduces the risks of flap complications. When one is using the microkeratome to create the flap on the cornea there are risks of complications. These would include a flap being cut too thin, that the flap can tear, or may be it will not cut completely. Once you start using Intralase, such possibilities are almost done away with. As the level of accuracy increases with the use of Intralase, the cases of re-operation also drop. That way it is a much safer option compared to microkeratome. But it must be understood that Intralase is not completely risk free. Flap related wrinkles and other similar problems are still a possibility eve with Intralase around. But it is also true that Intralase will bring down the actual cases of complications. There are detractors to Intralase whose man line of argument would be that it is too new a method to jump to conclusions and that there is no substantial evidence that prior risks are negated. Also Intralase increases the length of an operation thereby increasing the opportunity for other complications to be introduced.

With much enthusiasm for our native countries, Bengi Korkmaz, MBA 2, Christos Stergiou, MBA 2. and I organized a trip to Turkey and Greece this past summer. While we wanted the trip to give an opportunity to GSBers to explore the history, culture, food, nightlife, and beaches of both countries, our only constraint was time. Of course this was nothing new to GSBers, so we planned an itinerary that covered Istanbul, Bodrum (a popular summer destination on Turkey’s West Coast), and Patmos (the famous Greek Island where Sir Christos Stergiou renews his soul.
On the 3rd of September, the official start date of the trip, I was very excited. Nonetheless, the idea of hosting 25 curious, hyperactive GSBers in my country made me nervous. The first day of the trip, Bengi and I were bombarded with questions about the history of every building, stone, or dish we ran into. We then decided to memorize the guidebook. However, realizing that some people on the trip, like Abbas Hasan, MBA 2 actually knew more than the guidebook, we decided to hire a guide who, unlike us, actually knew what he was talking about.
In the limited time we had in Istanbul, we tried to see most of the “must see” places including the ancient grandeur of Ayasofya (Hagia Sofia); the Ottoman architectural piece of Sultanahmet Camii (the Blue Mosque); the lavish home of the Sultans, Topkapi Palace; the Middle-Eastern atmosphere of Kapali Carsi (the Grand Bazaar) and Misir Carsisi (Spice Bazaar); the Byzantine mosaics of Kariye Camii (Church of St. Saviour in Chora) and Reina, Angeliquebuz and Pasha (the must visit clubs of the city).
During our stay in Istanbul, people were most surprised by the followings startling facts:

* The number of mosques in the city (yes, there are about 6000 mosques but given 99% of the Turkey’s population is Muslim this should not be so surprising)
* One meal in Istanbul can be equivalent to three meals in other places (or five Arbuckle meals)
* People in Spice Bazaar can say “Turkish Viagra, 5 times a night” in 10 different languages in 30 seconds
* Good negotiation skills are required in the bazaars (Turks should teach Negotiation Class at the GSB)
* People are good looking. I guess the trip members were not convinced by the Turkish representation in our class.

After three hectic days in the city, we set off to Bodrum. As summer was coming to an end, Bodrum was relatively empty. So we chose to relax on the beach, eat a ton, and swim a lot. One day we took a boat trip, which really excited the male members as they made friends with the topless women on the other boats in the bay.
After two peaceful days, the moment of truth hit Bengi and me, as we had to hand the reigns of our 6-day hegemony to Christos. While we were on the boat on our way to Patmos, Christos delivered a touching speech, which can be summarized as “from now on, do what I tell you to do.” During our two days in Patmos we pretty much did what he told us to do.
What we learned in Patmos:
* The scenery is amazing, especially its sunsets and its moonlit nights
* Jeff Kuo is an amazing singer. We recorded him singing so wait to see it yourself
* Christos’ mom is a great cook, hence his growing stomach is well-justified
As our wonderful trip came to a close, I left Patmos with a heavy heart, but not without a promise to return. On my journey back to Istanbul, I thought to myself how wonderful it was to have shared my country’s culture and landscape with my friends.

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