What Should I Expect During LASIK?

Posted on: 07/8/21

Looking to achieve visual freedom? LASIK is a simple procedure that millions of patients have undergone that can produce powerful results.

But before undergoing any procedure, it is still useful to know what happens during it. The more information you have access to, the more questions you will be able to ask.

Having access to this information will allow you to feel more at ease, especially when you learn about LASIK’s incredible success rate. Wondering what to expect when you have LASIK? Keep reading to learn more about what happens when you have LASIK!

Am I a LASIK Candidate?

Before you can undergo LASIK, you must qualify as a LASIK candidate. The process for this involves a LASIK consultation, where you’ll find out if LASIK is right for you.

A good LASIK candidate should be the right age, have thick enough corneas, have a stable prescription, and have realistic expectations about the procedure. These are only some of the factors that go into LASIK candidacy. This is why a LASIK consultation is so important. If you are a good candidate, the next step is to schedule the procedure.

What Happens Before Having LASIK

On the day of your LASIK procedure, you’ll show up about thirty minutes early to the practice. This will give you enough time to finish filling out any paperwork.

Many patients receive a mild sedative to help them relax. You’ll also receive numbing eye drops to ensure you don’t feel any pain at all during LASIK.

What To Expect During LASIK

Having LASIK only takes about 10 minutes per eye to complete. The goal of LASIK is to reshape the cornea. Reshaping the cornea corrects any refractive errors like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

Your LASIK surgeon will reshape the middle layer of the cornea, which is the thickest layer. To access the middle layer, a flap is created in the top layer.

You may feel some slight discomfort when your surgeon creates the flap, but it’s not painful. This only takes a few seconds and involves leaving tissue connected. This allows the tissue to reattach while you’re recovering after LASIK.

Your surgeon creates the flap using a femtosecond laser. After creating the flap, an excimer laser is used to remove tiny amounts of the middle corneal layer of tissue in precise areas. Where your surgeon removes tissue is completely predetermined using computer scanning technology. With this software, the level of precision is highly accurate.

After removing the appropriate amount of tissue, the flap is gently closed. This doesn’t need any stitches or glue, as the tissue will naturally reattach to itself.

While the flap heals, you will need to be very careful. Most problems with LASIK occur after the procedure as a result of complications with the flap.

Your surgeon will inform you of everything you need to do to have the best possible results as you recover after LASIK. The recovery process after LASIK is quick and simple, and will let you get back to your everyday activities before you know it!

Ready to find out if LASIK could the right vision correction procedure for you? Schedule your LASIK consultation at Cutarelli Vision in Denver, CO, today!