LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, using an excimer laser. Treatment consists of three basic steps. First, we use a laser to create a round “flap” out of your own cornea (sort of like opening a 540-page book at page 120). Second, we use a different laser to remove about 20 to 30 pages from inside the book, and third, we close the book.
The entire procedure takes literally a few minutes per eye from start to finish. The first (Ziemer Femtosecond) laser takes about 26 seconds per eye.
The second (Wavelight Allegretto) laser takes about 1.5 seconds per diopter of correction. If you wear -2 glasses, it’ll take only 3 seconds to correct your vision. (A “diopter” refers to the optical power of a lens.) There’s very little pain during surgery (just pressure).
There’s very little pain after surgery other than just some minor irritation. We recommend you take a nap for a few hours after LASIK. You can drive the next morning and return to your usual activities by the next day! Dr. Soroudi underwent LASIK himself in 2005 (with a much older “intralase” and “VISX” technology), so he knows exactly how it feels and will talk you through your procedure. He still has 20/20 vision after all these years!
