What happens during the procedure? : Laser Eye Surgery
The clinic will set an appropriate date for your laser eye surgery after you have undergone the necessary tests and consulted with the surgeon. The general procedure of laser eye surgery is outlined below, and this may vary in small ways between clinics and surgeons, depending on their preferences and equipment. The type of procedure you have chosen might also affect certain details of the surgery. You can have treatment on both eyes in one day, or opt for a short break between the first and second eye.
How is the surgery performed?
The patient lies down in a reclining chair which is adjusted for the surgeon to easily reach the eye. Firstly they clean the eye being treated, and place anaesthetic drops in the eye. It is necessary to hold the eye open for the duration of the procedure, and this involves fitting a lid speculum over the eyelids. This may be uncomfortable because it is unusual, but the surgeon accomplishes it as gently as possible. Soon the surgeon attaches a special ring to the eyeball’s surface which affects the cornea, leading to dimmed and blurred vision.
A precision blade allows the surgeon to carefully cut a very small flap in the outermost layer (epithelium) of the cornea. They fold the flap so that it does not interfere with surgery and leaves an opening through which the laser can pass. The patient is told to focus on a light at a point above them, while the laser light, guided with the utmost accuracy be a computer, pulses into the corneal opening and starts to reshape the stroma at the center of the cornea. This reshaping changes the way light is refracted when entering the eye, with a clear image now formed on the retina. After the alterations are successfully made, the flap of cornea is replaced. It will heal without need of stitching, and a protective eye shield or lens is used to minimize irritation.
What sensations are common during surgery?
The anaesthetic drops allow maximum comfort to the patient by eliminating pain. It is common to experience certain sensations during the procedure, as these are caused by the mechanism of the laser and its effects upon the eye. The laser itself will make a loud noise akin to ticking, which means the laser is pulsing. You can also expect to smell burning; this is simply the expected side effect of the corneal tissue being removed and reshaped.
If the patient normally wears contact lenses which allow little oxygen to permeate, this can cause some pain during surgery. This is due to corneal neovascularization, but the risk can be reduced by wearing your lenses less frequently before surgery.
How long does it take?
The exact duration of laser surgery may vary between clinics, depending on the type of laser used and other factors on the day, but generally the surgery is expected to last between 15 and 30 minutes from beginning to end. The laser treatment itself will last only 30 seconds or similar.