Before LASIK Eye Surgery
Before LASIK Eye Surgery
The following before LASIK eye surgery article was retrieved from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website located here http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/expect.htm. This information is presented as a guide to anyone interested in vision correction through laser eye surgery. Please consult a doctor before any surgical procedure involving your eyesight.
Before LASIK Eye Surgery
If you decide to go ahead with LASIK surgery, you will need an initial or baseline evaluation by your eye doctor to determine if you are a good candidate. This is what you need to know to prepare for the exam and what you should expect:
If you wear contact lenses, it is a good idea to stop wearing them before your baseline evaluation and switch to wearing your glasses full-time. Contact lenses change the shape of your cornea for up to several weeks after you have stopped using them depending on the type of contact lenses you wear. Not leaving your contact lenses out long enough for your cornea to assume its natural shape before surgery can have negative consequences. These consequences include inaccurate measurements and a poor surgical plan, resulting in poor vision after surgery. These measurements, which determine how much corneal tissue to remove, may need to be repeated at least a week after your initial evaluation and before surgery to make sure they have not changed, especially if you wear RGP or hard lenses.
If you wear soft contact lenses, you should stop wearing them for 2 weeks before your initial evaluation.
toric soft lenses or rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses, you should stop wearing them for at least 3 weeks before your initial evaluation.
hard lenses, you should stop wearing them for at least 4 weeks before your initial evaluation.
You should tell your doctor:
about your past and present medical and eye conditions
about all the medications you are taking, including over-the-counter medications and any medications you may be allergic to
Your doctor should perform a thorough eye exam and discuss:
whether you are a good candidate
what the risks, benefits, and alternatives of the surgery are
what you should expect before, during, and after laser eye surgery
what your responsibilities will be before, during, and after vision correction surgery
You should have the opportunity to ask your doctor questions during this discussion. Give yourself plenty of time to think about the risk/benefit discussion, to review any informational literature provided by your doctor, and to have any additional questions answered by your doctor before deciding to go through with surgery and before signing the informed consent form.
You should not feel pressured by your doctor, family, friends, or anyone else to make a decision about having surgery. Carefully consider the pros and cons.
The day before LASIK eye surgery, you should stop using:
creams
lotions
makeup
perfumes
These products as well as debris along the eyelashes may increase the risk of infection during and after surgery. Your doctor may ask you to scrub your eyelashes for a period of time before surgery to get rid of residues and debris along the lashes.
Also before LASIK eye surgery, arrange for transportation to and from your surgery and your first follow-up visit. On the day of surgery, your doctor may give you some medicine to make you relax. Because this medicine impairs your ability to drive and because your vision may be blurry, even if you don't drive make sure someone can bring you home after surgery.
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