The Lasik Procedure

Prior to the Date of your Procedure

You will be given or sent instructions regarding preparation. You must not wear contact lenses for the prescribed period beforehand. You will also be given instructions on lid hygiene which can also be downloaded from our website.

Preparation on the Day of the Procedure

After you have registered at reception and verified that your consent has been signed and that you have no further questions, you will be given a sedative to help you relax.

Anaesthetic and antibiotic drops will be placed in your eyes and the area around your eyes will be cleaned with antiseptic.

You are advised to wear something comfortable - there is no need to change your clothes.

The Lasik Procedure

Prior to each procedure both the Femtosecond and Excimer lasers are prepared and calibrated. You will be brought into the laser room, your name and date of birth will be confirmed again and you will be asked to lie on the laser bed.

Further drop anaesthetics will be applied. Initially the Intralase FS laser will be used to create your flaps. This will involve placing a suction ring on your eye. This is not painful, although you will feel a sense of pressure. The flap takes about 50 seconds to complete and you will be asked to relax and keep steady. Your surgeon will be keeping you informed throughout. Once the flaps are created, the laser bed will move to the Z100 Excimer laser. A holder to keep your eyelids open and prevent you from blinking. You will be asked to look at a freshing red light. The laser reshaping takes between 15 and 45 seconds. The flap is then replaced and allowed to dry. This sticks down naturally and antibiotics drops are placed to prevent infection. The second eye is then treated after recalibrating the laser during which all instruments, gloves and materials are replaced.

In some cases (usually Zyoptix wavefront treatments), because of the bubbles formed by Intralase, we may not able to capture iris details for iris recognition. In this situation, we allow a short break before the reshaping process and have the patient sit outside for about 30 minutes to let the bubbles clear. You will be informed of the likelihood of this before the procedure.

You will be given some more drops and protective eyewear and be asked to sit in a waiting room with your eyes closed. Your eyes will then be examined before you leave the centre.

You will be given your eye drops and careful verbal and written instructions will be given to you and a close relative. These instructions wil include your after care. Please arrange for someone to take you home as you may be quite drowsy following the procedure.

If at anytime afterwards you are uncertain, we can be contacted 24 hours a day through our main phone number (07000 288288).

Performing the procedure to both eyes

we do perform lasik surgery to both eyes and are very confident of our outcomes. Unlike most laser eye providers, in the interests of safety, we at Centre for Sight treat each eye as a separate procedure using a new set of disposable or freshly sterilised instruments for each eye.

Watching the procedure

Using IntraLASE, we are very confident about what we do and are happy to have relatives (if they wish) watch the operation on a monitor outside the laser room.

Your recovery at Home

You may have a little discomfort , like the feeling of something in your eye. We advise you to close your eyes and preferably sleep for at least 4 hours, after which you will feel much more comfortable.

You must wear the protective eyewear for the first 24 hours and then at bedtime for the next four weeks. This is to prevent you rubbing your eyes in your sleep or on awakening.

Drops will be provided and you will need to use them as instructed. The frequency of use is higher for IntraLASIK than regular Lasik because of the laser energy used to perform the corneal separation.

Your Follow-Up Care

You will be seen in follow up consultation soon after surgery (within a day or two). This early visit is probably the most important and you are advised to make plans for this when you book the appointment for your procedure. At this visit, your vision will be taken as well as corneal topography. You will then be seen periodically thereafter (usually at month 1,3 and 6 ).

Enhancements (repeat surgery)

In the rare event this is required, this will be performed at 3 months at the earliest and is included in your treatment as is the aftercare.