The Procedure

Typically, you will be at the doctor's office for a half hour to an hour. Up to four or five minutes may be spent on each eye, with the actual time of laser use being less than one minute. You must have someone there to drive you home after your LASIK procedure, and you will need to keep a protective cover over your eyes for the rest of the day, but you should be able to resume your normal routine and even be able to drive the very next day! 

PRK surgery results are very similar to LASIK results, at least for patients up to approximately -6.0 diopters of myopia (nearsightedness). In general, PRK patients will have a somewhat slower recovery of their best vision when compared to LASIK patients. Studies at the 6 month post-operative visit in both LASIK and PRK surgery patients show essentially equivalent results with this range of myopia. The main difference between PRK and LASIK is how the eyes are corrected and the way in which the surgery is performed. Although PRK surgery is less invasive than LASIK surgery, some people, due to the limited amount of corneal thickness in their eyes, are only candidates for PRK. 

You will need to be tested, and depending on your prescription, one LASIK eye surgery procedure may be recommended over another. By completing an initial appointment, you and your surgeon will be able to discuss the right treatment option for you. 

Currently we offer Traditional, Custom LASIK, PRK, LASEK and Bladeless LASIK plus CK. However, we do plan to cover other refractive procedures in the future as they are developed and become generally accepted, so be sure to check back for updates! 

If you have friends or family who have already undergone LASIK surgery then you may already know that LASIK doctors will request that you stop wearing contact lenses before having LASIK eye surgery. This may seem like an insignificant request and you may even question the necessity of following through on the doctor’s orders. It is very important to listen to your doctor’s orders because wearing your contact lenses in the days leading up to surgery could affect the accuracy and success of your LASIK procedure.

During a pre-operative examination the doctor will take measurements of your eye and will evaluate the curvature of your cornea. These measurements taken before surgery are taken to ensure accuracy during your LASIK procedure. Contact lenses can temporarily change the shape of your cornea. This could compromise the accuracy of the surgery if the measurements during the exam are not precise. Therefore, it is important to listen to your doctor and stop wearing your contact lenses before LASIK surgery.

How long you must go without your contacts prior to surgery will depend on what type of contact lenses you wear. Typically, if you wear soft contact lenses you will to stop wearing them two weeks prior to surgery. If you wear another kind of contact lenses then you will need to stop wearing them earlier. For Toric soft lenses or rigid soft lenses, you must stop wearing them three weeks prior to surgery. For hard contact lenses you will need to stop wearing them four weeks prior to surgery.

Your doctor will most likely make other recommendations prior to surgery that are meant to help minimize any risks or complications. You doctor will most likely ask you to stop using make-up, perfume or lotion in the days leading up to your LASIK eye surgery. Using these products may increase the risk for infection after LASIK surgery. Following all the doctor’s instructions before surgery is vital to the success of your LASIK eye surgery procedure. There are many instructions to be followed to help ensure your safety throughout LASIK eye surgery experience. One of the main things you can do as a patient to ensure accuracy is to stop wearing your contacts when your doctor recommends you to stop.

A small percentage of LASIK patients who receive good results after surgery are in need of glasses or contact lenses to help aid their vision. The more accurate the procedure, the less likely it is that a patient will still need the aid of glasses or contact lenses after surgery. It may be difficult to give up wearing contact lenses for a few weeks prior to surgery, especially when you do not usually wear your glasses. Listening to the doctor and not wearing contact lenses in the weeks prior to LASIK eye surgery will help ensure that your surgery has positive outcomes.

Do your eyes start to feel dry by the end of the day?  Do you have allergies that make your eyes itch and burn, making your contact lenses feel unbearable? Does staring at a computer screen for hours on end dry out your lenses and blur your vision?  Are you one of the 3,000,000 contact lens wearers each year who say, “I am sick of my contact lenses”?  

According to the 20/20 Optical Report in 2011, over half of the US population requires vision correction, and approximately 40,000,000 of those individuals wear contact lenses.  Each year, however, 7.5% of contact wearers give up their contacts and either go back to wearing glasses or consider LASIK eye surgery.

Since LASIK gained FDA approval in 1995, over 16,000,000 LASIK eye surgery procedures have been performed.  With almost 20 years of clinical results and more than a 95% satisfaction rating, LASIK is considered the most popular and most effective cosmetic surgery.  It was originally designed to correct nearsightedness (myopia) a visual deficit that allows individuals to see objects up close but not far away.  Today the LASIK procedure can correct farsightedness (hyperopia) a visual deficit which allows individuals to see far away but not up close as well as astigmatism a visual deficit which causes a distortion of vision that appears as an overall fuzziness.

Although LASIK can correct the above visual problems, you may still eventually need reading glasses to correct an age-related vision problem called presbyopia.  Presbyopia typically begins after the age of 40 and will eventually affect everyone.  Presbyopia cannot be corrected by LASIK at this time but the LASIK procedure can be adjusted to diminish or eliminate your need for reading glasses.

Is LASIK eye surgery right for you? To find out, ask yourself the following questions:  Do your glasses or contact lenses interfere with your daily activities? Has your eyeglass or contact lens prescription been stable for at least a year? Are you 18 years of age or older?  Are you in good general health?  Are not currently pregnant or nursing and have not been pregnant or nursing within the last 6 months?  If you can answer yes to these questions then generally you would be considered a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery.  You should remember that LASIK still may not be a viable option for you as it is not right for everyone.

When exploring LASIK eye surgery, the first step in the process is visiting an experienced and credentialed LASIK eye surgeon to find out if you’re a candidate for the procedure.  After a comprehensive eye exam and consultation, your LASIK surgeon will make a recommendation that specifically addresses your prescription, eye shape, and individual condition. LASIK eye surgery is a life-changing procedure that can significantly diminish your investment in and dependence on corrective eye wear.  Innovative, FDA-approved technology, consistent outcomes, and high patient satisfaction levels make LASIK a vision correction option that is definitely worth exploring and knowing whether or not you are even a candidate for the procedure.  Take time to read all the consent forms, asking questions and discussing with your spouse or family members if appropriate.

For more information on LASIK eye surgery, or to find a trusted LASIK surgery provider in your community, call QualSight LASIK today and let a LASIK counselor guide you through the process, explain the program and answer your questions.