Post-Op Instructions

We ask that you go home and nap for a few hours after surgery.  Immediately following surgery most LASIK patients have mild discomfort (a stinging or burning sensation), mild light sensitivity, and they describe their vision as ‘mushy’ (much like looking through water).  All of these symptoms improve during the first few hours following surgery and most patients are quite comfortable after their nap.  The other reason we want you to keep your eyes closed for a few hours after surgery is that your eye lids serve as great ‘band-aid’ to keep your corneal flaps in place. Unlike the quick recovery of LASIK, PRK patients tend to find that their symptoms of discomfort, light sensitivity, and mushy vision last for a few days rather than a few hours.  This is because PRK patients do not have a corneal flap created, but rather have the laser treatment applied directly to the surface of the cornea.  This requires that the superficial, non-permanent corneal epithelium be removed.  It typically takes 3-4 days for the epithelium to fully re-grow.  During this time you will be wearing a bandage contact lens.

After your nap you are not on strict bed rest, but we do want you to take it very easy from the time of surgery until you are examined the next day.  Avoid any physical activity and restrict your close work (reading or computers) as close work tends to make your eyes drier.  We ask all of our surgery patients (LASIK or PRK) return for a 1 day postoperative visit either with their comanaging doctor or with us.  This is to make sure that your vision is where we expect it to be, that you are healing normally, and it gives us an opportunity to review your postoperative instructions.  LASIK patients are then seen in another 1-2 weeks and then again approximately 2 months following surgery.

PRK patients are seen at day 1 and again at day 3 or day 4 for the removal of the bandage contact lens.  Until the bandage contact lens is removed we ask that you continue to get lots of rest and to restrict your physical activity.  The healing process for PRK is longer than that for LASIK and therefore more visits are required to assure that you are healing properly.  We ask our PRK patients to return for addition postoperative visits at about 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months following surgery.

Additional visits may be required for either LASIK or PRK patients.  All of your postoperative care is provided.  We urge all of our patients to contact us whenever they have any questions or concerns.