LASIK EYE SURGERY: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Most people notice a marked improvement by the day after their surgery. As your eyes heal, your vision will fluctuate a little before it stabilises. However, each case is dependent on the individual. For most patients, it occurs almost immediately, for others it can take a few weeks.
LASIK has a remarkable success rate, with the vast majority of patients achieving 20/20 vision or better the day following the procedure. At Sardana Eye Institute we will monitor your vision at your post-operative appointments following your LASIK surgery. A very small percentage of patients may find that they may require an enhancement procedure after LASIK. The enhancement rate is under 5% overall (slightly higher for long-sighted patients).
At Sardana Eye Institute, we perform enhancements at no charge for up to two years from the date of your initial surgery.
Your potential outcomes and chance of requiring an enhancement will be discussed with you during your consultation.
Please follow the surgeon instructions for best results. If you feel like moving your head during the procedure, please warn the surgeon prior to that.
A small surgical device called a speculum is used during your procedure to hold your eyelids open. This can be a little uncomfortable at first, but most people soon forget about it and think they are blinking normally even though their eyes are being held open.
Yes, although most patients prefer to have both eyes done on the same day because of the convenience. There is no particular reason to have one eye done at a time. A number of studies have shown that there is no safety benefit in performing laser procedures on different days. In the past, procedures were performed on different days to protect the patient in the case of a complication, particularly in the developing phases of laser eye surgery. Today, the technology and expertise is such that there is little chance of this occurring.
A drape is placed over your face exposing the eye to be treated. Your eyes are open during the procedure, however you can’t actually see what is happening to your eye. There is a red light for you to focus on during the procedure and that is all most people are aware of seeing during the surgery.
We use topical anaesthetic drops that numb the eye for up to 30 minutes. While you feel no pain during the procedure it is normal that you feel slight pressure from the femtosecond laser and some tension from the eyelid speculum. These sensations are generally not bothersome.
If you are pregnant, laser eye surgery is not recommended. Hormone levels fluctuate during pregnancy and these hormonal changes can have a significant impact on your vision. As a result, it is not possible to be sure of the accuracy of your eye measurements for your laser surgery while you are pregnant.
For this reason, most eye surgeons will advise their female patients to avoid laser eye surgery during pregnancy.
No. Patches are not worn, however, because you will be quite light sensitive after your procedure, we encourage you to wear your usual sunglasses for at least the day of your surgery.
Immediately after the procedure your vision will be a little blurry, however you will be able to see well enough to walk to the car and move around at home. Most LASIK patients can expect to have good vision by the next day.
The side effects of LASIK will be discussed with you at your consultation once your eyes have been tested and examined.
However, one possible side effect of LASIK is dry eye. For most people, dry eyes are a short-term side-effect of LASIK that resolve quickly following their surgery. Lubricating eye drops are provided to all patients to assist in the relief of symptoms.
Many patients we examine suffer from dry eye even prior to surgery. In fact, many people seek laser eye surgery because they have had difficulty wearing contact lenses due to dry eye.
If you wear soft contact lenses, we ask that you not wear your contacts for 4 days (or as advised) prior to your procedure. If you wear hard contact lenses, you will need to leave your contact lenses out for 2 weeks (or as advised) prior to surgery.
As you age, your ability to change focus deteriorates. If you are in your mid-forties or older, the lens inside your eye naturally becomes harder and you will need reading glasses to help magnify things close to you. This condition is known as presbyopia.
If you have presbyopia, you may be suitable to have Monovision. Monovision is a method where one eye is treated so it is focused for reading and the other eye for long distance. When both eyes are open, vision can be achieved over a range of distances. Not everyone likes the compromise or adapts to Monovision, so we will demonstrate this to you at your consultation to see how well it suits you. In such cases, Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) may be another option.