THE 7 Steps of LASIK Treatment

• On the day of surgery you will be cared for by our professional team. Your procedure will be fully explained so that you feel comfortable and confident.
  
  
• A 5mg Diazepam (Valium) tablet will be given to you on your arrival at the Centre. Anaesthetic eye drops will be instilled over a half hour period.
  
  
• You will be taken into theatre and made comfortable lying down. On the day of surgery, loose clothing is recommended as well as the removal of make-up, moisturiser or sunscreen near the eye area, as this area will be cleaned with antiseptic.
  
  
• An instrument called an eyelid speculum will be inserted beneath your eyelids to hold them open for the duration of the LASIK procedure.
  
  
• The next step is for the surgeon to create the corneal flap. This is the key feature of LASIK surgery, which makes for a painless and speedy recovery of vision. The IntraLase laser is used to achieve this critical step. In some cases, a different technique is used to create the flap, involving the placement of a microkeratome instrument onto the cornea. In either case, the resultant flap of corneal tissue is then carefully folded back by the surgeon in order to expose the internal corneal tissue. There is no pain when the flap is created as the cornea is anaesthetised.
  
  
• You will be asked to look at a red light directly above your eye whilst your head is held in place. Your surgeon will then activate the laser pulses to reshape the exposed corneal tissue. The laser pulses have a very short duration and vaporise away an amount of tissue precisely matching your glasses prescription.
  
  
• The LASIK flap is then gently placed back into its original position and the flap is allowed to adhere to the cornea for a period of five minutes. Antibiotic eye drops are instilled and the eyelid speculum is removed.
  
  
• A clear eye shield will be taped over the eye(s) for protection. This shield will be removed at your post-operative appointment the next morning.

You will be given post-operative instructions and medication prior to leaving the Centre. It is important for someone to drive you home after surgery as your vision will be blurry until the next day.