Your Procedure

How to Prepare | What Will Happen | Follow Up

How to Prepare for Laser Eye Surgery

Soft contact lenses need to be removed at least two weeks prior to your consultation and treatment. Hard contact lenses need to be removed at least four weeks prior to your consulation. On occassion, they may need to be removed for an even longer period prior to your assessment and treatment.

On your treatment day, you should wear comfortable, fiber-free clothing such as denim or cotton. Avoid using makeup, lotions, perfumes, hair sprays, or wearing earrings.

What Will Happen

You can expect to be at IMAGE PLUS Laser Eye Centre for approximately two hours. During this time, you will have time to review and sign your consent form, and ask any further questions.

Prior to entering the laser suite, your eyelids and lashes are cleansed. Topical antibiotic drops will be used. A mild sedative to help you relax during your procedure will be offered.

In the laser suite, you will be positioned in a comfortable reclining surgical chair. LASIK and PRK patients have their eye carefully draped to provide a clean working area. Topical anesthetic drops will be used.

The information from your custom wavefront eye exam is entered into the computer software controlling the VISX® Star S4 excimer laser. Your Advanced CustomVue WaveFront™ LASIK or PRK treatment is then performed.

Our trained IMAGE PLUS staff will stay with you throughout your procedure. They will assist the surgeon with your treatment. Afterwards, they will escort you to a patient lounge where you will be settled comfortably until you are ready to go home.

Please arrange to have someone drive you home after your procedure.

You should return home and try to take a nap for several hours. LASIK patients initially experience eye irritation and scratchiness. Usually this irritation is much improved after your nap, although a sensation of dryness may last for several days or weeks.

Be prepared to take several days off work.

PRK patients will need a contact lens until the epithelium (outer surface of the cornea) heals, typically for three to four days. Eye discomfort and irritation may be present, until the contact lens is removed. For both LASIK and PRK patients, lubrication drops and pain medication will be provided in your care kit, should they be required.

Follow Up

A dramatic improvement of vision is usually experienced within the first few days. The speed of recovery for both LASIK and PRK, however, does depend on your initial prescription and individual healing pattern.

Please follow your doctor's instructions regarding normal activities. The following are some general guidelines:

Wait two weeks before taking a shower or shower using swimming goggles.
Avoid water activities such as swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs for one month.
Avoid contact sports for one month.
Avoid irritants like dust and smoke for two weeks (e.g., no gardening).
Avoid makeup or rubbing your eyes for two weeks.
Resume driving as recommended by your eye doctor.

Using your medications properly and keeping your follow-up visits are just as important as your surgery. It is important to ensure that your eyes heal as expected, without complication. Your optometrist or eye doctor will assess your progress at these visits, keeping your surgeon informed.

Those choosing LASIK will usually need regular follow-up visits at 1 day, 1 week, and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. They usually need to use eye drops for about one week.

Those choosing PRK may need more frequent follow-up visits. They may need daily visits until the contact lens is removed. Both PRK and LASIK patients may need to use lubricating eye drops for a number of months.