LASIK: Steps Involved 4 of 4

IV. After Care -- What to expect during your post-op visits:

Freedom and comfort

• Post op visits are at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year.
• Your visits will consist of monitoring your vision, corneal flap check, and status of overall health of eye.
• Summary of post op instructions are listed below:

Protect Your Eye
The corneal "flap" is not sutured or glued down. It will adhere by itself over the course of one to two weeks. Therefore, it is very important that you not rub the eye vigorously or go swimming during this period. You can wipe the eye with a tissue or washcloth, but gently please. If you know that you will have a tough time keeping your hands away from your eyes, or are a rough sleeper, we can provide you with temporary eye shields.

Bathing
You may take a shower or bath the morning after the procedure, but do not allow the water from the shower head to strike you directly in the face for at least one week after surgery. You may shave and wash your face, but again wipe your eyes gently and do not allow water to get into the eye.

Makeup
To reduce the possibility that makeup might get under the flap before it heals, do not use mascara or eyeliner for at least one week after the laser surgery.

Activities
The evening of the laser procedure, we suggest that you go home and take it easy. Watch some TV or do a little reading, but don't overdo it as your eyes may become more irritated. Most patients are able to return to deskwork and driving within the first day or so. Other activities such as running, weight lifting, tennis, etc., can be resumed as soon as you feel able. However in the first few weeks, if there is any possibility that you might take a direct blow to the eye (e.g., racquet sports), you should wear protective eyewear.

Pain
The first night after the procedure, you may notice mild irritation, redness, and tearing, almost as if there is a hair or a scratch in the eye. This is normal and in most cases is almost completely gone the next morning. You can take Tylenol, aspirin, or Motrin if you need relief from the discomfort.

Return Of Vision
Your vision should return very quickly- most people have enough vision to return to work and drive within one or two days. However, because there are individual variations in healing, some patients may take up to a week or more to reach their final vision, and may need temporary glasses, especially for reading, postoperatively. This is especially true in patients over forty years old who may need to use reading glasses permanently.

Follow-Up Appointment
We should examine your eye(s) the day after your laser procedure. Our surgical coordinator will schedule your one day and one week post op visits prior to the procedures. Other follow-up visits are performed at one month, three months, six months, and one year. Please call our office if you do not have an appointment time.

Medications
You will notice several eye drops in the kit you have been given. These should be started right after surgery as follows:

Flarex and Ciloxan -- one drop of each to the eye(s) four times a day --breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime. You may wait about two minutes between each drop. You should use these medications for one week, unless we tell you differently.

Tears Naturale -- these help lubricate the eye(s) and can be used to reduce irritation, especially in the first few days after the procedure. These can be used as often as you wish, but wait a few minutes if you have just put in the medications, as the tear drop will wash them out. Some patients will notice a slight irritation in the eye(s) for several weeks after the laser- this is not abnormal and you can keep using the tears if needed.

What You Should Report To US
You will notice slight irritation and blurred vision for the first day or so after your procedure. If you notice severe or increasing pain, or a significant change in your vision call us immediately.