To get a better idea of just what happens during a LASIK Eye Surgery procedure, let’s break it all down into stages. They are as follows: Preoperative, Operation, Flap
creation, Laser remodeling, Repositioning of flap and Postoperative. Let’s look at each one, and see what happens during each stage.
Preoperative:
This isn’t the operation itself yet, but the preparation for it. This usually takes one week before the actual operation. During that week, patients who wear soft contact lenses are usually instructed to stop wearing them. This is to ensure that the measurements of thickness and contours of the cornea itself are accurate with the eye in it’s “natural” state. These measurements are then used by the surgeon to calculate just how much remodeling needs to be done, and exactly where in the cornea.
Operation
Here’s the big day! Now comes what might be the most uncomfortable part of LASIK, and that’s dealing with the nerves of having the operation being performed on you, especially while you are awake. You will not be put to sleep during the process – you’ll be seeing every bit of it, which in itself is a scary prospect. However, you shouldn’t really be nervous, as they’ll be giving you a mild sedative, as well as anesthetic eye drops to make sure your procedure is as comfortable and pain-free as possible.
The Lasik operation itself is performed in the following Steps:
Flap Creation
The first thing the surgeon will do is to make sure the eye doesn’t move around too much during the procedure. This is through the use of a corneal suction ring that holds it in place. During this process your vision will begin to go dim, but don’t panic, as that’s how it’s supposed to go. From there, a small flap is created from your cornea, which is then folded back to reveal the middle section of the cornea itself. This inner section is called the stroma. You might feel a bit uncomfortable with the lifting and folding back of the flap, but it’s still how it’s supposed to feel like, so don’t worry. It is a procedure that has been done on hundreds of thousands of patients.
Laser Remodeling
With the flap successfully created, we’re now at the halfway point of the operation. The next step is the remodeling of the corneal stroma itself. The “remodeling” part of the process is actually done by vaporizing tissue with the excimer laser. This may sound painful but it actually isn’t, since there is no burning or actual cutting required – and the layers of tissue removed are so small, they’re quantified as tens of micrometers thick. That’s pretty thin of a layer. And during this process, you won’t actually see it being performed – all you’ll see is a white light surrounding the orange light of the laser. It might be disorienting for a while, but that is the procedure and it’s only temporary. It sounds a lot worse than it really is.
Repositioning of Flap
Once the remodeling is finished, the flap is repositioned over the treated area by the surgeon. While this is pretty much the final part of the operation, it is just as
important, as the surgeon must check for the presence of air bubbles and debris. The flap itself must fit flush back into the gap. If anything gets under the flap or it doesn’t fit perfectly, the patient is at risk for infection. Once the flap is put back to its original position, however, it’s left to heal on its own.
Postoperative
Congratulations! You’ve just had your very first (and hopefully the last) LASIK Eye surgery done! Now all that’s left is to make sure your eyes heal properly. Usually, patients will be told to sleep much more, and to use a darkened pair of eye shields to protect their eyes from excessive light. Protective goggles will also have to be worn at night to prevent any unconscious rubbing of the eyes during sleep. You will be prescribed Valium pills that will make you drowsy and will make it much easier f or you to sleep more often. And you’ll also have to use prescription eye drops and eye moisturizers to make sure the cornea stays as moist as possible, and to prevent drying.