One of the most common questions Bochner Eye Institute receives from men and women considering LASIK is, How long does the procedure take? Many people think they don’t have time to fit laser eye surgery and recovery into their busy schedules.
The good news is LASIK is a very quick procedure. The surgery itself and the recovery usually do not take up much time. Here, our team explains how long you will need to devote to surgery and recovery.
Treatment Is Quick
LASIK is an outpatient procedure, which means that you can have surgery and go home the same day. The entire LASIK procedure lasts about 10 to 15 minutes per eye. The actual laser, which is a state-of-the-art machine, works very quickly and only takes a few seconds to correct vision.
What Happens on the Day of Surgery
On the day of your LASIK surgery, you should plan on being at the surgery center for about an hour and a half, maybe a bit longer. You are required to have someone drive you to and from surgery.
When you arrive, you will fill out some paperwork and have an opportunity to ask any last-minute questions. You will receive special medication to relax you and put you into a comfortable state of mind.
When it is time for surgery to begin, you will be escorted into the treatment room, where you will relax on a reclining chair. Numbing drops will be placed in your eyes so you don’t feel any pain, and a special speculum will be used to hold your eyelids open. This is not painful or uncomfortable.
Depending on your specific plan of treatment, either a microkeratome or femtosecond laser will be used to create a flap in your corneal tissue. After the flap is folded back, an excimer laser will precisely reshape the underlying tissue to treat your refractive error. Once the cornea has been reshaped, the flap will be restored over your eye, where it will heal itself.
After surgery, you will be released to go home and you should take a long nap. You may have mild side effects such as red eyes or sensitivity to light, but these should resolve quickly.
Although some people notice a visual improvement right after surgery, the majority of patients experience clear vision the following day.
Book a LASIK Consultation at Our Practice
To learn more about LASIK and whether it is appropriate for your vision correction needs, please call or email Bochner Eye Institute today.