How to Prepare for LASIK

How do I prepare for LASIK?

After the eye exam and LASIK consult, and you are ready to move forward and schedule a date, there may be a few things you need to do in the days leading up to your surgery. Your surgeon will go over the specifics for you, and be sure you share your full medical history, but:

If you wear contact lenses you will need to stop wearing them for up to a couple of weeks, before the surgery.

The day before surgery you should stop using lotions, creams, and makeup. You want the area around your eyes to be clean.

You will need a ride home from the procedure and you may want someone around to take care of you for a few hours when you get home. Ask a friend or family member.

What is recovery like?

Right after the procedure, your vision will be a little foggy, but you should see much clearer within a few hours. Generally, once the local anesthesia wears off, some patients experience mild discomfort which, on average, lasts about 5 hours. Your doctor will give you instructions about what and how much pain reliever to take.

You should rest your eyes for a few hours after you get home, most people take a nap. You will be given some eye drops to use to help keep your eyes lubricated and to help with healing.

To help you avoid rubbing your eyes, you may be given some goggles or eye patches to sleep in. You will want to wear a good pair of sunglasses outside as your eyes may be sensitive to bright light.

You will want to avoid any strenuous activity or exercise until your surgeon clears you – usually at your first follow-up appointment a day or two after the procedure.

LASIK is among the most studied, and thus safest, elective procedures. More than 7,000 clinical studies have been conducted and published about LASIK. Bottom line: there is a tremendous amount of data supporting the safety and effectiveness of laser vision correction. This information is provided by the Refractive Surgery Council.

Dr. Neil B. Griffin, Griffin Eye Center, is one of the leading ophthalmologists in the region and specializes in cataract, cornea, and LASIK surgery in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina area.  He has been committed to providing world class surgical technology and the most advanced vision diagnostics to the Carolina’s for over 20 years. Griffin Eye Center offers the latest in cataract surgery with the most advanced Intra-Ocular Lenses available and offers the only state-of-the-art on-site LASIK suite in the local area for the best Laser Vision Correction possible.

To learn more about Laser Vision Correction or make an appointment for a free LASIK screening visit us at griffineyecenter.com.