your LASIK procedure

You've selected a LASIK procedure from the several different vision correction procedures available to you. If you've opted for the CustomCornea® difference, you've probably read up on the Customized LASIK procedure thoroughly.

Before your LASIK experience, you will have met with your doctor to review any pre-surgery directions and to learn more about what your LASIK procedure entails.

How Your LASIK Procedure is Performed

Before your LASIK procedure begins, anesthetic drops are placed in each eye to numb them. These drops help to ease any discomfort during the procedure.

You'll lie down on a table, which has the laser equipment mounted above it. You'll be asked to look up at a small blinking light. (Try to keep looking directly at this light.) During the procedure, a special instrument holds your eye open as your surgeon performs the surgery. Your other eye (the one not being treated at that moment) is protected by a shield.

Next, your doctor will use a special instrument called a microkeratome to make a small incision in the cornea's outer layer to create a small corneal flap. When this "hinged" flap is pulled back, a small area of your cornea is exposed. The excimer laser beam is applied to this exposed corneal area.

While you continue to watch the blinking light, your surgeon will apply very small and very rapid – billionths of a second - "bursts" of the excimer laser to your cornea to reshape it. For example, areas that are too flat may be made steeper or more rounded; areas that are too curved may be "smoothed." This reshaping – the heart of the LASIK experience – normally takes about one minute.

Ready for Home

Once the corneal reshaping has been completed, the doctor lays the corneal flap back into place, where it acts as a natural "bandage". The cornea quickly heals by itself with no need for stitches. The doctor confirms that everything is in order. Then, just an hour or two after you arrive for your laser LASIK procedure, you are ready to go home.

As part of your recovery, your surgeon may prescribe medications to reduce swelling, discomfort, and to keep your eyes clean and infection-free. Make sure you fill any prescriptions before you return home. (Remember, you won't be able to drive immediately following the LASIK procedure, so you'll need to have someone drive you home.)