Eyedrop before surgery	Meet with your doctor prior to surgery
Having LASIK surgery	Eyeshields after surgery

LASIK surgery
Immediately before your surgery

- Twenty minutes before the surgery, your eyes are prepared with antibiotic and anesthetic eye drops.
- Before entering the operating room, you will have another discussion with your surgeon about your treatment, the operation, and to answer any questions you may have.

During the surgery

- Once inside the sterile operating room, the surgical team disinfects the area around the eyes. A speculum is applied to keep the eye open during the surgery.
- The surgeon starts the surgery by creating a thin corneal flap, a step that takes only a few seconds. The flap is then lifted to expose the cornea’s middle layer.
- Next, the surgeon uses the excimer laser to reshape the exposed middle layer of the cornea. This laser emits energy in the ultraviolet range (193 nm) which acts only on the surface it irradiates. The laser evaporates the selected tissue without generating any heat or transmitting the radiation to any other media. This process leaves no trace on adjacent tissue or elsewhere inside the eye.
- For correction of nearsightedness, the laser reduces the central corneal curvature by removing tissue in the center of the cornea
- For correction of inborn farsightedness, the laser increases the central corneal curvature by removing some tissue near the periphery of the cornea
- For correction of astigmatism, the energy is applied to create a more round cornea.
- The flap is then placed back to its original position, where it assumes the new shape created by the laser.
- The adhesion of the corneal flap to the rest of the cornea becomes very strong within 3-5 minutes without the need for any sutures. The eye is then covered with a plastic eye shield, which is held in place by adhesive tape and has perforations for the patient to see through. The patient can then return home. The shield is left on until the patient comes back to TRSC on the next day to have it removed.
- On the next day, vision is measured and the surgeon examines the eye. Over 90% of patients at TRSC can see 20/20 on the first day, though vision can often fluctuate during the first months. The surgeon gives instructions for follow-up care and then makes an appointment for the next visit, usually in about a week.