The Day of Your LASIK procedure
Author: Sherman Winston Reeves, M.D., M.P.H.
What will I experience during the LASIK procedure?
On the morning of your procedure, your surgeon will ask you not to wear any makeup (which may stain the cornea) or perfume or cologne (which may damage the laser). At the laser surgery center, you will usually be given a Valium pill to help you feel calm during the procedure. The LASIK procedure itself usually takes less than 10 minutes an eye. You will lie on a special bed under the laser. A blinking red light serves as your target to look at during the procedure. A lid holder will be placed to help hold your eyelids open. Numbing drops will be placed on the eye. Then, the LASIK flap will be made, during which you will feel some squeezing and pressure on the eye. Your vision will dim out during the flap making process, and may even go completely away for a few seconds, which is normal. The flap is lifted back, at which the vision will return but be blurry. The laser typically takes less than a minute to change the shape of the cornea. The laser tracks the eye, so if small eye movements occur, it will follow and still apply the laser in just the right position. Large eye movements will cause the laser to stop its treatment, helping to ensure that only the correct treatment is performed. The flap is then put back into place and allowed to dry for a few minutes. Last, eye drops are placed in the eye. The eye is closed with paper tape, then the same steps are performed on the second eye.
After the procedure is done, your surgeon may examine your eye, or simply have you go home and take a long nap. The eyes will start to burn and feel irritated about half an hour after the surgery as the numbing medicine wears off. The nap, plus the eye drops your surgeon will give you will help make your eyes feel more comfortable. Your doctor will see you the next day, at which point the eyes are usually feeling pretty comfortable. You will continue using eyedrops for several weeks after the surgery, and then see your doctor again in about a month for a vision check. If all is well, as it typically is, your doctor will usually see you again in 6 months to a year for another vision check. During the few months after the surgery, artificial tears should be used regularly to help limit dryness of the eyes while they heal.
Page Content: The morning of lasik eye surgery, instructions before lasik, time of lasik procedure, the lasik flap, eye movements during lasik eye surgery, first post operative lasik appointment, healing after lasik eye surgery
