After your LASIK surgery, you will be treated with some anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial eye drops and fitted with a light plastic shield over your eyes. You can remove the shields after you get home, or the next day, but your doctor will likely advise you to have them on if you sleep within the first 24 hours.
At this point the LASIK procedure itself is finished, although the vision correction process itself is continuing. This is because you may be one of the rare cases that experiences overcorrection or under correction of the treated condition, and you will not know until some time after the actual surgery. In addition, regression (the return of the eye to a previous condition, in whole or part) also takes time to show up.
These are among the reasons that post-operative care is so thoroughly explained to you. The initial post-operative healing process is a brief one, usually involving little discomfort. You should also experience a quick stabilizing of your vision if all proceeds without complication. Of course, the rate and strength of your individual recovery varies according to what might be termed your “personal healing pattern.”
The more complex the condition treated, the longer the recovery. During this recovery period you may experience severe watering of the eyes or a “sandy” feeling. This is normal and will usually disappear in a day or so. Pain medication may be prescribed, or the doctor may recommend cold compresses over the eyes, but most patients will return to their normal schedules within a few days.
Now that you know what should occur in your recovery, you will be more attuned to any problems or negative outcomes and will be able to communicate them clearly to your surgeon. LASIK is a very safe, effective and accurate procedure, but sometimes when significant conditions are treated there can be undercorrection or overcorrection. Undercorrection occurs more frequently than overcorrection, but it is important to be patient and careful, since a small amount of overcorrection is expected after LASIK surgery. This will diminish as your eyes heal and the cornea becomes more stable.
Undercorrection or overcorrection that persists can be treated and reversed with an enhancement procedure that involves additional laser treatment. This usually takes place between six to twelve months after the initial LASIK surgery, after the vision has stabilized.
It is always wise to be fully informed, but it bears mentioning that the incidence of severe undercorrection and overcorrection is only one to three percent of all laser eye surgery patients. There is another possible complication that you should be aware of, regression, even though this occurs in even fewer cases, only about one-third of one percent.
Regression is defined as the tendency of the eye’s refraction to return, often quite slowly, to its pre-operative condition (also called the eye’s “prescription”). When this happens, it can be swiftly and effectively corrected with an additional procedure. Over 15 years of LASIK surgery history shows that regression is rare, and when it does occur is usually minimal inmost people.
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Frequently Asked Questions
DO I HAVE Sjogren's syndrome? I am a 17 year old ...
By: mrprzdq | 02-08-2008
DO I HAVE Sjogren's syndrome? I am a 17 year old female and i have dry eyes I use prescription eye drops every morning and every night. I constantly feel tired during the day and i cant concentrate properly, my mind easily wanders off .I also get frequent head aches and its around my eyes and on the temples of my head. I' ve also been having a lot of cloudy white flem for the past 6 months. My nostrils are usually very dry too I use Neosporin to moisturize them. Additional Details I do have dry eyes my doctor diagnosed me with these a year ago, i use Restasis eye drops. I've also read that sjogren's syndrome symptoms don't always show up at the same time and so its possible that i may have sjogren's syndrome without having all the symptoms.I also have 2 grandmother with arthritis.
40 years old. not 100% after PRK (-0.75) . Retreatment or keep it like this?
By: tslh | 09-07-2008
I got PRK surgery and I'm quite happy with the results: I came from -8.75, cylinder 1.50 and now I'm -0.75. Now I can do a retreatment and end up beeing a perfect zero (I hope) but I read different stories: some people say that, at my age, it's better to keep my eyes the way they are so I won't be needing reading glasses soon. According to them your eyes get 'better' (or more toward zero) when you get older. So, should I be happy with that little 'gap' so I have some 'space' towards zero? Or is this story untrue/not relevant?
Daoes anyone have any advice on lasik surgery ...
By: sdbroker | 20-06-2008
Daoes anyone have any advice on lasik surgery? What are the costs? What are the pros and cons? And any other info.
My doctor suggested that I get lasik surgery to ...
By: bob711 | 19-06-2008
My doctor suggested that I get lasik surgery to correct my eye problems. I am afraid of getting surgery so I wanted to know if it was really beneficial to others. If anyone has had lasik surgery, how has it affected you?
I need to get lasik surgery
By: SEOgirl | 19-06-2008
I need to get lasik surgery but i don't know of any doctors. Does anyone have an y suggestions?
Has anyone had a touchup for lasik surgery..?
By: vicki | 02-06-2008
Has anyone had lasik.. on their eyes to improve them more then once.. i HAD IT DONE AND ITS BEEN 5 YRS.. THEY FEEL LIKE I NEED A SMALL TOUCH UP.. WAS IT EFFICTIVE.. AND HELPFUL?
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