Numbing eye drops are placed into your eyes before the procedure to block the feeling of pain. Of course, each individual person has their own unique threshold for discomfort, but most patients do not report the process as being painful.
You can expect to be at our office for approximately 1 1/2 hours on surgery day, however, the procedure itself takes about 15-20 minutes to perform.
Yes, we do require that you have a ride home after your LASIK procedure. While you may start seeing clearly shortly after your procedure, your eyes need time to rest and begin to heal.
The most common risks include dry eye, which may last 3-6 months after surgery, fluctuations of vision, and haloes at nighttime – all of which improve over time.
Other side effects that are more uncommon will be reviewed with you by your surgeon prior to your procedure. LASIK is a surgical procedure, so no guarantees can be made with regards to complications.
Our LASIK procedures are conveniently scheduled on Thursdays with your 1 day post-op appointment scheduled on Friday, allowing you to have a full weekend to recover to minimize your time off work. Typically, most patients are able to resume normal, non-strenuous activities within their first week after surgery.
It’s important to keep your follow-up visits so your doctor can monitor your recovery. You should discuss your specific work requirements and restrictions with our Refractive Coordinator before scheduling your surgery.
Most patients achieve 20/20 vision after LASIK, and vision stabilizes after their initial 2-3 months of healing, however, not everyone heals the same. About 5% of patients will lose some of the effect of their correction, needing an enhancement within the first year after LASIK. Like other parts of the body, eyes can change over a longer period, leading to presbyopia and/or cataracts later in life. If you experience these changes, you may need glasses for reading or distance glasses to compensate for changes due to cataracts. Ultimately, cataracts can be surgically corrected to restore distance and reading vision.
These are a few of the several conditions that must be met to be considered for LASIK.
Stable vision prescription for at least one year
18 years or older
Proper corneal thickness and shape
Good overall health
Free of eye disease or other interfering vision conditions
The only way to know if you meet the requirements needed for LASIK is to schedule your free consultation with our Refractive Coordinator. They’ll administer initial testing to determine the shape and health of your eyes before providing a proper treatment plan.
It’s not easy to put a price tag on what your vision is worth to you. Although it’s impossible to accurately define surgical quality based solely on procedure pricing, some basic insight may be helpful.
Across the US, the cost for advanced modern LASIK surgery with a highly experience surgeon ranges from $4,000 to $6,000 for both eyes, with the average eye charge being approximately $2,500.
If you’re being quoted fees that are substantially less than this range, then in all likelihood, you are not receiving the most advanced technology. Fees for bilateral LASIK (both eyes) that are less than $3,000 likely means that the LASIK technique being performed involves older, non-wavefront technology, from an older model femtosecond laser or a microkeratome.
Technological advancements paired with experienced, skilled surgeons should be strongly considered when making the decision to have LASIK performed.
In order to avoid any complications in the healing process, patients should wait 1 week before wearing eye makeup or makeup that sits around the the eyes.
Typically, we recommend LASIK for ages 21 and older, but it will not necessarily correct presbyopia (the need for reading glasses). As eyes age, the risk of cataracts is increased which may lead you down a different treatment path, such as laser cataract surgery. The best way to find out which procedure could enhance your eyesight is to schedule an exam with us.
It is important to avoid rubbing your eyes while your corneal flap heals to avoid infection or other complications. We also recommend that you avoid certain activities or environments for at least one week such as; swimming, hot tubs, strenuous exercise, and any activities that may subject you to high counts of dust/dirt.
