Visiting surgeons from Germany asked us again and again what medication we use to keep patients so calm under the laser. There is no medication — there is Ave Treier, a procedure nurse who has been at KSA for 21 years, who can hear your fear in the way you breathe down the phone, and who, in her free time, rides hundreds of kilometres on her bike despite broken bones. A story about the person who makes you believe, just before eye surgery, that everything will be fine.
The clinic's quiet backbone
There are people without whom no system would hold together — and very often they are the ones who make the least noise about it. Ave Treier has been with KSA from the very beginning, since 2005. More than 21 years. She joined us before KSA even had its own clinic.
Ave is the person who meets every Flow patient before the surgeon does, and that short conversation with her changes everything. Visiting surgeons from Germany have asked us, again and again: "What medication do you give your patients to keep them so calm under the laser?" Our answer is always the same: Ave.
I knew Ave before KSA existed. I was a resident at the East Tallinn Central Hospital eye clinic, and she was already an experienced operating-room nurse there. When I set out to build my own clinic, she was one of the first people I wrote to. I decided to ask her honestly now what it means to carry, for 21 years running, the calm of an entire team and every single patient on your shoulders.
— Dr Ants Haavel
Twenty-one years: from the beginning to today
Dr Ants Haavel: You've seen this whole journey from the start — the first day of surgery, every crisis and every high. What has changed the most in that time? And what has stayed exactly the same?
Ave Treier: The biggest change is, without a doubt, the technology and the scale. We began at a time when laser surgery still felt like science fiction to most people. Today we have a world-class Flow method, ultra-fast lasers and an entirely different tempo.
But what has stayed exactly the same is the heart of KSA and its values — that unique teamwork where we all speak one language, and the fact that the patient always comes first. For me, the wish to give every single person a sense of safety has stayed the same. In 21 years that hasn't gone anywhere.
Dr Ants Haavel: You were already an experienced nurse in East Tallinn, with a stable job. Then a young resident wrote to you and invited you to a clinic that didn't yet exist. Was that a risk? Were you a little crazy?
Ave Treier: I saw in a job portal that a soon-to-open eye clinic was looking for a nurse, and I decided to apply. When it turned out the clinic was yours and you invited me to a team that, on paper, didn't really exist yet — of course it was a risk. At East Tallinn I'd had excellent training under experienced nurses, and I had secure work.
But your offer held something a large hospital simply couldn't give: a vision to build something completely new, where the focus was the patient's real wellbeing rather than treating illness on a conveyor belt. Was I a little crazy? Maybe a bit! But I trusted my gut and that young, ambitious doctor. That leap into the unknown turned out to be the best decision of my life.
Calm as a method
Dr Ants Haavel: That question from the German surgeons is the loveliest compliment we get. What do you actually do with a patient in the five minutes before they meet the surgeon? Is it a pattern, a way of breathing, a way of holding their gaze — or something you simply radiate?
Ave Treier: I don't slip them any secret medication. My "medication" is a calm tone of voice and a shared rhythm of breathing. When a patient sits down in front of me stiff with fear, the first thing I do is consciously slow everything down. I don't rush. I look them in the eye and speak in a calm, low, steady voice.
Fear always comes from not knowing. So I explain exactly why they might feel discomfort, what sounds the laser makes and what they will feel. Once a person knows what happens in the next second, the fear disappears and is replaced by trust. That's the "hypnosis" — my own inner calm is contagious.
Dr Ants Haavel: Picture the moment — someone is anxious, their eyes darting, their heart pounding. What is your first move?
Ave Treier: It's often a light, reassuring touch — a hand on the shoulder, or taking their hand. Physical contact eases anxiety enormously. And my first words are always: "We'll do this together, you are in safe hands, and we're in no hurry."
I remember one very frightened man who was trembling. We simply sat and breathed together for a couple of minutes before he went to the laser. Afterwards he told me my voice was the only thing that kept him anchored to reality. Moments like that stay with you.
24/7 support
Dr Ants Haavel: For over 20 years you've been the voice of patient support around the clock. A patient calls at two in the morning. What do you hear in their breathing before they've said a single word?
Ave Treier: That skill has come purely through years of experience and thousands of calls. When the phone rings at night, the person's breathing gives everything away before they even begin to speak. I can hear that shallow, rapid breathing — that's fear and anxiety, not physical pain.
Often it's enough for me to say: "Hello, I'm listening, everything is all right." And you feel the deep exhale at the other end of the line as the tension drops. I never learned this consciously — it's professional intuition. You learn to listen to a person without words.
Dr Ants Haavel: They say 90% of problems are solved in your hands, before a doctor or optometrist ever has to step in. When do you know it's time for the doctor?
Ave Treier: It means being a bridge between the patient's peace of mind and medical help. A large share of worries after the laser are emotional — vision is unstable in the first week, the eye is hazy or watery, and the person is afraid something has gone wrong. That's when I remind them that the body is doing great work right now and the cornea is renewing itself — all of it is normal.
I bring in a doctor or optometrist immediately when it's a mechanical trauma — for example if the protective lens has come out of the eye, the eye is red and painful. We have superb teamwork: if needed, an optometrist or doctor will come to the clinic outside working hours to check a patient's eye.
Before sunrise and after the laser
Dr Ants Haavel: On procedure days you arrive before everyone and leave last. In the evening you put the room in order, pack up the laser, count the medicines. Why? What would happen if you left even one thing undone?
Ave Treier: For me, the work doesn't end when the laser falls silent — it ends when the peace of mind of both the patient and the clinic is secured. That evening routine is my way of making sure everything is perfect the next morning.
If I left something undone, the morning's flow and precision would suffer. I want to arrive at the clinic "before the sun," knowing the environment is ready and we can focus 100% on the patient, without having to hunt for anything in the morning. That is my discipline and my respect for my work.
Dr Ants Haavel: Twenty-one years, so many faces. Is there one patient who changed you as a person?
Ave Treier: One of the most memorable calls came from a woman in the first week after her procedure. She wasn't calling with a worry, but out of pure joy: she had suddenly seen a pattern on her own curtains at home, one she'd never known was there!
Or another patient who said the spruce tree had such beautiful needles that he could count them one by one. Moments like that teach me to notice the small things, and remind me how big a thing we do — we don't just give people sight, we give them back the details and the beauty of the world.
The bike, family, and balance
Dr Ants Haavel: Outside the clinic you're a mother to three grown children, a partner, and a passionate cyclist. Recently you and your husband did a big cycling tour in Portugal. How has the bike held the two of you together?
Ave Treier: My partner and I have been together, you could say, since the beginning of the world, and we raised three wonderful children. Cycling is our shared language and passion. That cycling trip in Portugal was wonderful quality time for us. Riding is like a marriage: moving together in the same direction, enjoying the journey, whether the road is flat or steep.
Dr Ants Haavel: Let's be honest with the reader — this is no gentle Sunday ride. You train four to five times a week and race almost every weekend, in some half or full marathon. You've gone back into the saddle even after broken bones. What's really behind this cycling madness?
Ave Treier: Yes, I've gone back into the saddle even after fractures — "cycling madness" is probably the right word! Some people go for a walk in the forest; I've given my heart to the bike.
For me cycling is everything at once: ultimate freedom, therapy and a positive addiction. After a long, intense day at the clinic, it's my way to completely reset my head and rest mentally. The physical tiredness on the bike is sweet, and it recharges me with new energy. I don't see a moment when this hobby would end — it's a lifelong journey.
Dr Ants Haavel: Mother, operating-room nurse, partner, top-form athlete. How have you avoided burning out through all these years?
Ave Treier: My secret is balance and deliberately taking time off. The children are now grown and independent, which gives me more freedom. But it's my rhythm that keeps me fresh.
When I have time, I love reading crime novels, taking evening walks and listening to a good podcast. What few people know is that the precision I value in the operating room comes home with me too — I've taken master cake-decorating courses and have a whole box of marzipan moulds at home that I use quite often. Baking, and making preserves together with my husband, is my other half. And the positive emotion I get from patients doesn't drain my energy — it gives it back.
The face of KSA
Dr Ants Haavel: You've been the face of KSA all these years — in our photos, on the website, in our stories. What does that mean to you personally?
Ave Treier: At first it was unfamiliar and a little unexpected, but over the years it has become a natural part of me. Because I believe 100% in what KSA does, and I do this work with my whole heart, in the photos and the stories I'm simply being myself. I represent our clinic's culture and values — and that, for me, is a great honour.
Dr Ants Haavel: Finally: what would you say to someone reading this post who knows they should have surgery, but is afraid of the laser room?
Ave Treier: I would say to them exactly what I say to a patient sitting in the chair at the clinic: "I know you're afraid right now, and that's completely natural. Our eyes are our most precious possession. But you need to know one thing: you are not alone in this room for a single moment. We do this step by step, together. The laser makes a little noise, but you won't feel it.
Trust me, trust our team — we've got you. And think about this: just a week from now you'll open your eyes in the morning and see the world with a completely new, clear gaze — details you don't even notice yet. Take that step. We're waiting for you, and we're here for you. Always just one phone call away."
Thank you, Ave, for this warm and open conversation. Twenty-one years on one team, tens of thousands of patients, and the same calm voice that makes them all trust the laser — that isn't a job, it's a calling.
Would you like to know whether the Flow3 laser procedure suits your eyes too? It all begins with a thorough Audit vision examination. Book your time today and come meet our caring team — perhaps it will be Ave herself who welcomes you first.
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