So you have decided to go to your eye doctor and make that obscure laser surgery for your eyes. But from which step do you need to start? Your thoughts:

“Hm… I will make an appointment with my eye doctor, optometrist whatever his position and he/she will tell me everything about this surgery and of course about pre-surgery, post-surgery procedures”.

And just imagine that your eye doctor works with people like you every day. Statistically one surgeon did about one LASIK surgery in two days in early 2000 but this number increased to about two surgeries daily now! How do you think where will you find that eye doctor’ attention to your personality which you are waiting for.

That’s why you should bookmark this extremely useful list of facts and read it before you will decide to make a LASIK surgery.

It’s separated into three parts:

• Preoperative time;
• Surgery
• Postoperative time.

Laser Surgery 101: Facts

Preoperative time

1. Know your career impact – does your job prohibit refractive surgery?
2. Know cost  – can you really afford this procedure?
3. Know all medical conditions – e.g., do you have an autoimmune disease or other major illness? Do you have a chronic illness that might slow or alter healing?
4. Know your eye conditions – do you have or have you ever had any problems with your eyes other than needing glasses or contacts?
5. Know about medications – do you take steroids or other drugs that might prevent healing?
6. Know about stable refraction – has your prescription changed in the last year?
7. Know your refractive error – do you use glasses/contacts only some of the time? Do you need an unusually strong prescription?
8. Know your pupil size – are your pupils extra large in dim conditions?
9. Know your corneal thickness – do you have thin corneas?
10. Know tear production – do you have dry eyes?
11. Know about over treatment or undertreatment – are you willing and able to have more than one surgery to get the desired result?
12. May still need reading glasses – do you have presbyopia?
13. Results may not be lasting – do you think this is the last correction you will ever need? Do you realize that long-term results are not known?
14. May permanently lose vision – do you know some patients may lose some vision or experience blindness?
15. Dry eyes – do you know that if you have dry eyes they could become worse, or if you don’t have dry eyes before you could develop chronic dry eyes as a result of surgery?
16. Development of visual symptoms – do you know about glare, halos, star bursts, etc. and that night driving might be difficult?
17. Contrast sensitivity – do you know your vision could be significantly reduced in dim light conditions?
18. Bilateral treatment – do you know the additional risks of having both eyes treated at the same time?
19. Find experienced eye doctor – how many eyes has your doctor performed LASIK surgery on with the same laser?
20. What equipment your eye doctor use – does your doctor use an FDA-approved (FDA – U.S. Food and Drug Administration) laser for the procedure you need?
21. The FDA does not supply information on unapproved lasers, but the manufacturer of the laser should be able to provide you with more information about their laser.
22. FDA approved lasers are required to submit documentation of their effectiveness. You can review these statistics to determine which LASIK procedure had the best scientific results for each aberration. After a preliminary exam, your eye surgeon will also discuss your options and may recommend the method they feel is best for you.
23. Informative – is your doctor willing to spend the time to answer all your questions?
24. Comfort – do you feel you know your eye doctor and are comfortable with an equal exchange of information?
25. Read the patient information – have you read the patient information booklet about the laser being used for your procedure?
26. Do not wear contact lenses prior to evaluation and surgery – can you go for an extended period of time without wearing contact lenses?
27. Read and understand the informed consent – has your eye doctor given you an informed consent form to take home and answered all your questions?
28. No makeup before surgery – can you go 24-36 hours without makeup prior to surgery?
29. Arrange for transportation – can someone drive you home after surgery?
30. Plan to take a few days to recover – can you take time off to take it easy for a couple of days if necessary?
31. Expect not to see clearly for a few days – do you know you will not see clearly immediately?
32. Know sights, smells, sounds of surgery – has your eye doctor made you feel comfortable with the actual steps of the procedure?
33. Be prepared to take drops/medications – are you willing and able to put drops in your eyes at regular intervals?
34. Be prepared to wear an eye shield – do you know you need to protect the eye for a period of time after surgery to avoid injury?
35. Expect some pain/discomfort – do you know how much pain to expect?
36. Know when to seek help – do you understand what problems could occur and when to seek medical intervention?
37. Know when to expect your vision to stop changing – are you aware that final results could take months?
38. Make sure your refraction is stable before any further surgery – if you don’t get the desired result, do you know not to have an enhancement until the prescription stops changing?
39. Get ready to visit you eye doctor three times but this can vary on a case by case basis. It is best to speak with your LASIK eye doctor regarding the follow up schedule.
40. Your LASIK eye doctor will advise you as to the specific to take bathe or a shower, however typically you can bathe the same day as the treatment.
41. You must be an adult: age 21 or older (with some exceptions).
42. Your vision must be stable for at least a year before surgery.
43. You must have healthy eyes.
44. If you’re pregnant or nursing, your hormonal levels can affect the shape of your eye. You’ll need to wait until your hormones are back to normal levels.
45. Your eye care practitioner will give you a thorough eye exam to make sure your eyes are healthy and you’re a suitable candidate for laser vision correction.
46. Your eye doctor will electronically map your eye. The surgeon will use this map to plan your surgery for the most precise results possible.
47. The day before surgery, you should stop using creams, lotions, makeup and perfumes.
48. In reality, there is no “maximum age” for this surgery.
49. Cost of LASIK procedure varies from $299 to $5000.

Surgery

50. You won’t feel pain during LASIK Surgery, because your surgeon will place anesthetic eye drops in your eye first.
51. You’ll lie down in a reclining chair.
52. Numbing eye drops are used as Anesthesia. No needles or intravenous drugs are used during the LASIK Eye Surgery process.
53. Most surgeons perform a LASIK procedure on both eyes at the same time. Because it takes longer for clear, comfortable vision after Surgery, many surgeons can wait a week or two between eyes for some of the Types of Laser Surgery.
54. Today’s LASIK technologies have a higher predictability of the final result with a lower incidence of complications than previous types of refractive eye surgery.
55. The laser treatment procedure itself usually takes less than a minute, while the entire procedure takes approximately 10-20 minutes per eye.
56. The laser system includes a large machine with a microscope attached to it and a computer screen.
57. In LASIK, the surgeon creates a thin flap in the top of the cornea, folds it back out of the way, uses the laser to remove some corneal tissue and then puts the flap back in place.
58. Laser beam reshaping the cornea during Laser procedure.
59. A speculum holds the leads open.
60. Will be placed a suction ring and moving a mikrokeratome and microkeratome blade on it and cut a flap on cornea.
61. Your vision will dim while the suction ring is on and you may feel the pressure and experience some discomfort during this part of the procedure.
62. Your eye doctor may use a laser keratome (a laser device), instead of a mechanical microkeratome, to cut a flap on the cornea.
63. Corneal flap is opening for accessing the eye.
64. Laser beam reshapes the cornea by removing the tissue.
65. You will be able to see, but you will experience fluctuating degrees of blurred vision during the rest of the procedure.
66. The laser will be positioned over your eye and you will be asked to stare at a light.
67. This light is not that laser it’s helps you keep your eye fixed on one spot once the laser comes on.
68. If you cannot stare at a fixed object for at least 60 seconds, you may not be a good candidate for this surgery.
69. At step of acting of laser you may become aware of new sounds and smells.
70. As the laser removes corneal tissue, some people have reported a smell similar to burning hair.
71. The corneal flap is closing and allowing to heal.

Postoperative time

72. You may experience some discomfort, or in some cases, mild pain.
73. The surgeon will place eye drops or ointment in your eye.
74. Both your eyes may tear or water.
75. Your vision will probably be hazy or blurry.
76. Do not rub your eye. You will want it instinctively.
77. You may experience sensitivity to light, glare, star bursts or haloes around lights, or the whites of your eye may look red or bloodshot.
78. You should contact your doctor immediately and not wait for your scheduled visit, if you experience severe pain, or if your vision or other symptoms get worse instead of better.
79. Do not work after LASIK surgery.
80. Avoid getting soap or water directly into your eyes
81. You should not shower for two days after the treatment
82. Avoid rubbing your eyes during the first month after the LASIK Eye Surgery.
83. You should see your doctor for at least the first six months.
84. During the first few months after surgery, your vision may fluctuate.
85. Do not drive the day of your LASIK Eye Surgery. You may drive only when you feel confident that your vision and eye comfort allow you to drive safely.
86. You may resume wearing eye makeup starting one-two weeks after your LASIK eye surgery.
87. It’s strongly recommended that you purchase new mascara to avoid infection following your LASIK Eye Surgery.
88. Non-contact sports can be resumed as soon as you feel capable.
89. Stay out of swimming pools for one week after your LASIK Eye Surgery
90. Stay out of rivers, lakes and oceans for two-three weeks after your Laser Eye Surgery.
91. If you had a bad experience or sustained an injury, you should file a voluntary MedWatch3 report (1-800-FDA-1088) to the FDA.
92. If you had a bad experience you could contact your state medical licensing board and file a complaint with them.
93. If you had a bad experience you could contact your state health department or consumer complaint organization (e.g., Better Business Bureau).
94. Some patients lose lines of vision on the vision chart that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or surgery as a result of treatment.
95. Some patients develop poor nighttime vision.
96. As a result of surgery, your eye may not be able to produce enough tears to keep the eye moist and comfortable. Dry eye not only causes discomfort, but can reduce visual quality due to intermittent blurring and other visual symptoms.
97. If you are farsighted, the level of improved vision you experience after surgery may decrease with age.
98. LASIK is a relatively new technology. The first laser was approved for LASIK eye surgery in 1998. Therefore, the long-term safety and effectiveness of LASIK surgery is not known.
99. Some complications, such as migration of the flap, inflammation or infection, may require another procedure and/or intensive treatment with drops. Even with aggressive therapy, such complications may lead to temporary loss of vision or even irreversible blindness.
100. If your distance vision has began to become blurry, a second procedure may be possible.
101. Flying or altitude does not affect LASIK results!

After this list you may think that LASIK is very dangerous and not effective eye surgery. But be sure that LASIK is a good investment – what else can you spend money on that you use each and every day, 16 hours a day? Thinking of the value of LASIK to people in those terms, makes the cost of LASIK extremely reasonable.

Combine this monetary value with the value of waking up and seeing, makes LASIK one of the most worthwhile elective procedures!