Does Lasik eye surgery hurt?
If you have been considering lasik eye surgery, you may be wondering whether it hurts.
Lasik Eye Surgery: What Can I Expect?
Lasik surgery doesn't hurt. The laser procedure is virtually painless. You will experience a slight pressure during the lasik eye surgery, and you will be aware of the support used to hold your eye open.
Most patients do not have discomfort during the lasik surgery. A small percentage experience slight discomfort and relieve it with medication.
Lasik Eye Surgery: The Procedure
During your lasik eye surgery you are awake. Eye drops are used for anesthesia. If you choose, you can take a tranquilizer orally. After your eyelids and eyelashes are cleaned, your eyelashes will be held out of the way with a sticky drape. To keep your eyes positioned, you will look at the flashing red light. You will experience a feeling of pressure, and your vision will be grayish.
After the lasik surgery is finished, you will be given an eye shield and eye drops, which will help your eyes heal. For a few days you may experience blurry vision.
The entire lasik eye surgery takes under ten minutes.
You will be able to return to work twenty-four hours after your lasik surgery. Your vision will continue to improve over the following three-four week period.
Lasik Eye Surgery: What Will Your Results Be?
Corrections made by lasik eye surgery generally last a lifetime. Cases of regression are rare, and can be corrected by further surgery. However, the study of thousands of patients has shown that most patient's eyes remain stable.
Very rarely a patient will contract an infection after lasik surgery. This can be controlled with medication.
Some patients experience light and glare sensitivity, but this is temporary, and disappears after a few days or weeks. Full vision stabilization may take several weeks.
Although it is possible to perform lasik surgery on both eyes, with the approval of the physician and the patient, it is generally recommended that the eyes be done separately. There is some element of risk involved with even the safest surgery. Separating the two surgeries by a period of time is just using normal caution.
Lasik Eye Surgery Longterm: What the Studies Show
Follow up studies of patients nine years after their lasik eye surgery show that the patient's eyes remain stable. Studies indicate that eyes that remain stable for two years should remain stable for twenty years.
Results of patients who had the lasik surgery nine years ago show a stable condition, which indicates that they should be stable for a lifetime.
Lasik Eye Surgery: Afterwards
After the lasik surgery you can drive as soon as you are comfortable with the changes in your vision.
It is possible that your vision could be worse than before the lasik eye surgery, but that is very, very rare. It can only occur if some kind of complication comes up. This has not been found to lead to loss of vision, but may cause a slight reduction in the patient's vision. This condition may or may not be correctable.
As with any other kind of surgery, complications can always occur. You should be sure to seek treatment from a highly qualified and experienced surgeon.