What to expect with LASIK surgery

You feel a lot of pressure for about one minute. And during that minute, things turn pitch black.

So it can be a bit scary if you don't know that's going to happen.

What can you expect the day of your LASIK surgery? Well, you would come into the office, and we would give you some Valium, just a small amount.

Maybe it makes you feel like you had one or two alcoholic drinks. It will just take the edge off.

Then, once everything is set, we bring you into the laser room, where we clean your eyes,

numb your eyes. And all of the LASIK is performed with lasers. It's a two-laser procedure.

So the first laser pushes on your eye. And you feel a lot of pressure for about one minute.

And during that minute, things turn pitch black. So it can be a bit scary if you don't know that's going to happen.

But after a minute, the pressure's gone. The lights are visible again. And we move you under the second laser,

where we separate the flap of your cornea, change the shape underneath with the second laser,

and put the flap back down. Afterwards, we bring you into a room, look at your corneas to make sure everything's fine.

And then we send you home with sunglasses, eye drops, shields you sleep in at bedtime for the first three nights

so you don't dream you had LASIK and start rubbing your eyes in your sleep, and pain medicine, which you may or may not need.

But we don't give extra credit for suffering. When you get home, your vision will be blurry. And we recommend that you take a nap

for a good one to two hours. And the Valium will help you with that nap. Afterwards, your eyes are watery and a little bit blurry,

like you just got out of the swimming pool. But after you have a good night's sleep, the next morning, usually a good 80% to 90% of your vision

has returned. [AUDIO LOGO]