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Before the surgery you will need to have a complete eye examination by your surgeon. Take any eye prescription records with you to this exam. Your doctor should:
- Dilate your pupils to fine tune your prescription.
- Examine your eyes to evaluate their overall health.
- Take measurements of the curvature of your cornea, topography of your eyes, and the thickness of your cornea.
- Ask you to sign an informed consent form after a thorough discussion of the surgical procedure, its risks, benefits, alternative options, and possible complications. Review the form carefully before signing.
LASIK is an outpatient procedure. The only anesthetic is an eyedrop that numbs the surface of the eye. The procedure takes about 10 to 15 minutes for each eye. Sometimes both eyes are done during a single procedure, but normally surgeons will only recommend doing one eye at a time so they can wait to see the results from the first procedure before doing the second eye.
The actual procedure is delicate, but not complicated. A special device cuts a hinged flap of corneal tissue off the outer layer of the eyeball and then the flap is lifted out of the way. The laser then reshapes the underlying corneal tissue, and the surgeon replaces the flap which adheres itself quickly to the eyeball. There are no stitches. An eye shield is placed over the eye to protect it during the healing process.
Healing after the surgery is relatively quick, but you may want to take a few days off work afterwards. Be aware of the following:
- You might experience a mild burning sensation for a few hours after the procedure. DO NOT rub your eyes. Your surgeon will probably prescribe a mild painkiller to ease the discomfort.
- Your vision will probably be blurry for a day or so after the surgery, but will improve quickly within a few days.
- Report aggravating or unusual side effects to your doctor immediately.
- Do not drive until your vision has improved enough to do so safely.
- Avoid swimming, hot tubs, and whirlpools for two weeks after the procedure.
There are also a few factors that might disqualify you from being a suitable candidate for LASIK eye surgery. You should definitely not have this type of surgery if you have:
- An immune system disease or a disease that affects your immune system’s ability to fight off infection normally. Diabetes is a common disease that affects your body’s ability to heal properly. The risks include incomplete healing, infection, or other serious complications.
- Persistent dry eyes or any condition that cause chronic dry eyes is likely to impair healing after surgery.
- Eye characteristics such as an extremely uneven corneal surface or otherwise abnormally shaped cornea. These conditions will make the surgery more difficult to perform correctly and with success. 4. Instability in your vision such as vision quality fluctuation or progressive worsening.
You might want to discuss alternatives to LASIK surgery with your doctor before you commit to the procedure. These are some of your other options:
- Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is a laser procedure used to reduce myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism without creating a corneal flap.
- Astigmatic keratotomy (AK) is an incisional procedure to reduce astigmatism.
- Intrastromal corneal rings are clear, thin, polymer inlays placed on the eye to correct low myopia
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