LASIK eye surgery can be an extremely rewarding experience for those searching for clearer vision. Providence Eye & Laser Specialists discusses what suitable patients should expect from their LASIK experience on the day of their procedure.
After undergoing a complimentary consultation to determine whether someone is an ideal candidate for LASIK eye surgery, the Providence Eye team will schedule the patient’s surgery. On procedure day, patients will need to bring someone with them to drive them home afterward. Patients can expect to be in our office for an hour to an hour and a half. However, most of the time is spent on pre-op and post-op protocol, as LASIK procedures themselves only take approximately 5-10 minutes in our state-of-the-art laser suite.
Preparing for LASIK Eye Surgery
When the big day arrives, patients can utilize 10 easy tips before coming to our office, the most important five being:
1. Avoiding caffeine
- Caffeine can cause eye dryness and make it difficult to fully relax during a LASIK procedure.
2. Eating lightly beforehand
- Coming into our office with a full stomach will increase relaxation and keep the patient comfortable throughout the surgery as well as afterward, when they need to take a nap.
3. Wearing close-toed shoes
- Providence Eye asks that patients not wear flip-flops or other open-toed shoes in the Laser Suite. To maximize patient protection, we ask that tennis shoes or another kind of closed-toe shoe be worn.
4. Bringing the consent form, unsigned
- We stress that patients bring their consent form with them so they can sign it in our office, after our staff ensures the patient fully understands the form’s material.
5. Having payment ready
- Providence Eye is very open about how much each LASIK surgery will cost. On procedure day, patients need to come with payment in full. If using a credit card, Providence Eye recommends calling your credit card company in advance to ensure that a transaction of this size will be approved.
Upon arrival, patients can expect their LASIK experience to include the following these five steps:
- Check-in with our office's front desk, sign consent forms and make payment.
- Be escorted to an exam room by our ophthalmic technicians, where patients will be offered Xanax for relaxation and be briefed on what will happen over the next hour and the post-operative instructions. If your ride will be with you during the post-op period, it is helpful for them to listen to these instructions as well.
- At this point, one of the doctors will recheck all of the measurements that were obtained during the consultation. Then Dr. Mozayeni will speak with you to answer any final questions you have and to explain what it is going to be like in our state-of the art laser suite.
- You will then be escorted into the laser suite. The patient will be in the laser suite for approximately 10 minutes and one of our ophthalmic technicians will always be by their side.
- When the procedure is completed, the patient's driver will transport them home so they can take a nice, long nap. For a few hours following LASIK eye surgery, patients can expect watering, light sensitivity or some burning sensation. At the 4-hour mark, the symptoms typically cease - almost like a switch has been turned off. This is why Dr. Mozayeni tells patients to nap, so they will sleep through any discomfort.
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