On the day of treatment you should plan for a stay of around 2 hours with us. It is also important that you eat a light meal beforehand and don’t wear any makeup or perfume. When you arrive at our clinic you will be greeted at the reception where all the initial formalities will be taken care of. A mild sedative will be offered to you in order to calm your pre-treatment nerves (not compulsory), and then you will be lead through to the treatment suite. Here a theatre nurse will take you into the preparation area where you receive a green gown, hair net and shoe slips which you need to pull on over your clothes, hair and shoes. After this you will lie down on a comfortable reclining chair while the nurse instils the anaesthetic eye drops. The treatment process will begin after you are taken through to take your place under the laser. The laser treatment itself takes only a number of minutes and is totally pain free. The total time you spend in this suite is around 30 minutes.

After the treatment the surgeon checks your eyes under the slit lamp (a directed light source coupled to a powerful magnification unit) to make sure the LASIK flap has stuck smoothly back onto the cornea, after which you are free to go home. It is then important for you relax at home with your eyes closed for the first 4 to 5 hours. This is the time it takes for the LASIK flap to heal back down onto the cornea and it is not unusual for you to experience a little light sensitivity, a mild discomfort in the eyes similar to a foreign body sensation and watery eyes during this time. It is important you instil the prescribed eye drops into the eyes at regular intervals as this will keep the corneal sterile and moist. You may also notice your vision is a little “milky” initially, this should improve somewhat by the next morning. Later when the eyes feel more comfortable, you may get up and resume your day, but stay at home and don’t read or watch any TV. An early night is also a good idea.