F.A.Q. About LASIK

Numbing eye drops are used. Sometimes an oral medication is used to help with relaxation. Don’t worry -no needles or intravenous drugs are used.

Because of increased safety and predictability we are happy to treat both eyes at the same time. This decreases the troublesome effect of being nearsighted in only one eye between the two treatments

You will be “awake” but very relaxed. You will not be able to see any of the details of the LASIK treatment. You will see a number of lights, but the images will be blurred.

Some patients experience a feeling of burning or scratchiness. This feeling generally lasts from one to three hours following the treatment. Most people feel fine if they can take a nap soon after the treatment.

The best treatment for you depends on the measurements we take from the Aberrometer and your other clinical measurements and vision complaints. This will indicate the presence and severity of aberrations, or distortions, which will necessitate a Custom Laser Eye Surgery treatment. You may have specific complaints that are related to the optical aberrations that are not corrected by your current glasses or contact lenses. Finally, Custom Laser Eye Surgery is usually indicated for anyone who has had previous corneal surgery.

Conventional Laser Eye Surgery treats the vast majority of common optical aberrations called “lower order” aberrations. These are responsible for causing nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Custom LASIK Eye Surgery provides a more precise treatment for patients who have “higher order” aberrations, which we can now measure with the Aberrometer. For these patients, customized laser eye surgery may provide a better quality of vision by measuring and addressing all of these aberrations as part of the treatment plan.

Each patient is different. Visual rehabilitation after treatment is rapid. You will be able to see your surroundings immediately following surgery The eye drop medications cause some blurring, but most patients notice a dramatic improvement even as they leave the office. More than 4 out of 5 patients can pass a driving test without glasses or contact lenses after the treatment. Within 4-6 hours after surgery your vision becomes quite clear. Most people achieve good vision the day after surgery and find that their eyes feel fairly normal 24 hours later. However, your sight will improve even further, and the very best vision could take two to three weeks.

No, but clear, protective eye shields will be placed over your treated eyes following the treatment, and will be removed in our office the next morning. You will continue to wear these eye shields at bedtime for 1 week for protection

This depends on the refractive error to be treated. 96% of individuals with Myopia or shortsightedness less than -10D, can achieve 10/10 vision following LASIK. Nine out of ten of those with high levels of astigmatism (up to 6D) and myopia can also expect to achieve 20/20 vision. For those individuals with hyperopia or long-sightedness the results are similar, those with low to moderate levels of hyperopia up to 94% achieving 20/20 or better.

The effects of laser treatment are permanent, but your eyes may change over time. That’s why we recommend having the procedure after major eye changes have occurred in your life.

Generally, patients under 40 years of age read well without glasses following the treatment. Patients over 40 may need magnification for reading fine print. Presbyopia is the term that refers to the natural weakening of the focusing muscles that occurs in our early to mid 40s, causing us to need the magnification that reading glasses provide. The LASIK treatment does not correct or prevent presbyopia. We also will be glad to discuss another option called monovision.

LASIK is the most common type of refractive laser surgery today and is used to correct only long-sightedness, short-sightedness or astigmatism.

There are a number of advantages to using a mechanical microkeratomes over a laser created flap. With a mechanical microkeratome the LASIK treatment is one continuous process; there is no need to move the patient or the equipment to move from one laser machine to the next. The mechanical microkeratome is also faster at producing the flap, so there is less drying of the eye, which can affect the accuracy of the laser procedure.

When using a mechanical microkeratome suction is engaged for only 5-10 seconds rather than the longer periods of up to 100 seconds or more required for laser treatment; less time under this suction further reduces the very small risk of a severe vascular event of the retina or optic nerve. When using a specialised mechanical microkeratome, there is no need to perform a manual dissection of the flap, which carries a risk of flap tears.