Lasik Surgery

What do I do next to have LASIK Surgery?

FREE SCREENING: First you will meet with one of Dr. Lind's staff to identify any conditions that might prevent you from being an optimal LASIK candidate. During this consultation, there will be some questions that will be asked regarding your history, as well as to test the thickness of your cornea (pachymetry) and a curvature map of your cornea (corneal topography).

DOCTOR CONSULTATION: Once the nursing staff has assured that there are no unusual findings on screening, you will be scheduled to meet with Dr. Lind. She will obtain the best measurement of your prescription (refraction) and carefully check the medical status of your eyes. The charge for this exam is $125 and will be applied towards the fee for LASIK surgery. We will request that you be out of your contacts prior to this examination. The duration of time you will need to be out of contacts will be determined by the type of contact lenses that you wear.

CUSTOM-VUE MEASUREMENTS: If you are a candidate for custom treatment or we would like to determine if you are, we will schedule you back for an appointment for additional testing.

LASER FEES: The laser we use for LASIK surgery is a VISX Star-4 laser with active tracking. The fee for the procedure in our office is the same despite what your correction is, or if you have atigmatism.

ENHANCEMENTS: We will strive to make your correction the best that it can be for you. In a small number of patients it will be necessary to treat the cornea with an additional treatment to optimize visual outcomes. In this case, there will be an additional fee.

FOLLOW UP: Visits will be scheduled for after surgery to ensure that the healing process is going well and that the correction obtained is what you expected. Those are generally scheduled for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Of course any additional visits in that time for any concerns will also be included.

What happens after surgery?

Following surgery on that day, you will be asked to go home and close your eyes or nap for about 4 hours. Immediately after surgery, the eyes will likely burn and water so closing them will act like a bandage, and they will feel much better after keeping them closed for a while.

Medicated eye drops will need to be put in the eyes four times a day for one week. They will prevent infection and help the healing process along. You may also need to use frequent artificial tears the first two weeks as it is common to have extra dryness of the eyes in that time.

You may return to work the day following surgery, or as soon as you feel comfortable with your vision.

We will request that you not go in a hot tub or sauna the first week as well as not to immerse your eyes under water. Please do not rub the eyes. Eye make-up will also be discouraged the first week.

During the first two weeks after surgery, we would expect that the vision will fluctuate some. Some of that is due to dryness and some is due to healing. You might also expect that there will be some extra glare during that time as well. Sometimes the eye is red immediately following surgery and is not a problem and will subside over time. What we expect is that the vision will get better every day and that the glare and fluctuation will also get less frequent over time.