What Is LASIK Eye Surgery?

LASIK eye surgery is a type of surgery that corrects certain vision errors. Within the eye, the cornea helps focus light until an image is created on the retina. However, if the cornea or lens of the eye is irregularly shaped, the light will be focused directly in front of or behind the retina, leading to nearsightedness and farsightedness. The imperfections in the eye are referred to as refractive errors. Most patients with refractive errors use contact lenses or glasses. However, LASIK surgery can correct the errors at the source and eliminate the need for glasses and surgery. During LASIK surgery, a laser removes corneal tissue to reshape the cornea and allow it to focus correctly. There are other refractive surgeries as well, but LASIK is the most common one.

Learn about the details surrounding LASIK eye surgery now.

Preparing For The Surgery

There are several important steps patients need to take when preparing for the surgery. After patients have determined they are a candidate for the surgery, their doctor will go over everything they need to do. Individuals should be sure to inform their doctor about their medical history, including any medications they take regularly or reactions they've had to medications in the past. One to two days before the surgery, patients should stop wearing makeup. Instead, they need to keep the area around their eyes clean. If debris is left in the eyelashes during the surgery, there's a higher risk of infection. Each day for the two or three days leading up to the surgery, patients need to make sure they thoroughly and gently wash their eyes to remove makeup and other potential debris. If a patient wears soft contact lenses, they must stop wearing them at least a week before surgery and use glasses instead. Patients should also stop wearing hard contact lenses three to four weeks before the surgery, as contacts can cause their measurements to be imprecise, which leads to less accurate results.

Learn about how the procedure itself works next.