Before Your Surgery
Prior to the procedure, a Baylor Vision physician will examine your eyes to determine if you are a good candidate for the surgery. If you wear contact lenses, you will need to discontinue using them usually for one to two weeks for soft lenses, and for at least four weeks for hard lenses. This enables your corneas to return to their normal shape, which allows us to obtain accurate measurements for planning surgery on your eyes. If, after the examination, we mutually agree that you are a good candidate for laser vision correction, an appointment will be made for surgery.
On the day of the surgery, it is important that you wear no eye makeup and no perfume or cologne. A member of the Baylor Vision team will explain the steps of the surgery to you, and we will again answer any questions that you might have. Although the surgery typically takes about 10-20 minutes, the full duration of your visit will be approximately 1-2 hours to allow time for preoperative preparation and explanation of postoperative care.
We ask that you arrange for transportation to and from the office, as it is not advisable to drive for the first few hours after the surgery.
Postoperative Care
Following the surgery, you will be given drops to use beginning on the day of surgery and for several days afterward. You can expect some discomfort following the procedure, but this is highly variable depending on the individual patient and the specific procedure performed. You will be instructed not to get water in your eye and to avoid eye makeup or lotions for one week following the surgery. You will also be cautioned against eye rubbing in the early postoperative period. Postoperative examinations will be scheduled for the day after surgery, and depending on your circumstances, two to seven days later. Additional examinations are usually planned for one to three months following surgery and as needed to ensure that all is going well and that your eye is healing normally.