THE LASIK PROCEDURE

Once you have your preoperative evaluation and are approved for surgery, you will bescheduled for surgery and be given instructions on what to do prior to surgery. If you are wearing gas permeable contacts, they must not be worn for at least three weeks before your comprehensive eye exam to assess if you are a good candidate for laser vision correction. If you are wearing soft contact lenses they must be removedat least 72 hours before your eye exam. You should bring in your glasses to yourappointment.

THE DAY OF THE PROCEDURE

The LASIK procedure will be performed on an outpatient basis. The actual time thatyou spend at the laser center is about one hour. LASIK procedure itself is approximately 15-20 minutes in length. Pasadena Eye Associates uses the VISX Star S2 laser at the Laser Eye Institute.

When you arrive to the center on the day of your surgery, you will be given a medication to help you relax (Valium or similar). You hair will be covered and the skin around your eyes will be "washed" with an antibiotic solution. Your eyes will be numbed prior to the procedure with numbing drops. You will be awake for the procedure. You will be asked to lie back in a chair and a lid speculum will be placed in your eye tohold the lids open. You will be instructed to look into a fixation light. Dr. Segal can stop the procedure at any time during the laser treatment if you look away from the fixation light. After repositioning your eye, Dr. Segal will continue the treatment where it was left off.

The desired correction for your eyes will be entered into the laser's computer system.The doctor will then apply suction to your eye (causing your vision to "black-out" momentarily) and guide the microkeratome (a surgical instrument with an oscillating blade) across the front of your eye creating a corneal flap. You will not be able to see or feel the incision; however, you may feel a slight pressure around the eye. The corneal flap resembles a soft contact lens and is left attached on one side. After the flap has been created and folded out of the way, you will be positioned under the laser. Thedoctor will then perform the PRK procedure. You will hear a clicking sound which is associated with the laser treatment. The laser portion of the procedure will only take about 15-45 seconds depending on the amount of correction necessary. The corneal flap will then be carefully folded back into place, smoothed out, and allowed to dry. In most cases the corneal flap adheres without stitches.

AFTER THE PROCEDURE

After the procedure, Dr. Segal will place some drops into your eye and place a protective plastic shield over your eye/eyes to protect them. You will be given an antibiotic drop to use at home following the procedure. You will also be given an oral medication for pain if needed and something to help you sleep, should you find it necessary the first day or two. You will need to make arrangements for someone to drive you home after the procedure.

During the first week following the procedure, the doctor will want to see you back for afollow-up visit. It is recommended that someone drive you for your 1 day post-op visit since you may find that you are still light sensitive and may be groggy if you have takenany pain medication or sleeping aids the evening before. After the 1 day visit, your follow-up visits will typically be at 1 week, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year following the procedure. Additional visits may be scheduled if the doctor feels it is medically necessary.

You may experience some light sensitivity and foreign body sensations or feeling that something is in your eye for up to a few weeks after the procedure.

Sunglasses may be worn to improve patient comfort during this time. Initially, your eye may be slightly overcorrected and may require up to six months before your vision stabilizes. Some eyes develop a degree of haze or cloudiness following surgery, which may, or may not interfere with your vision. The haziness tends to diminish over time, but is unknown whether it will disappear completely in all patients.

LASIK changes the shape of your eye. Over the years after surgery your eyes can slightly change, however, they will never regress back to your vision prior to surgery.


For more information see our FAQ on Refractive Surgery, or contact our office.