LASIK Surgery Checklist
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Know what makes you a poor candidate
Career impact - does your job prohibit refractive surgery?
Cost - can
you really afford this procedure?
Medical conditions
- e.g., do you have an autoimmune disease or other major illness? Do
you have a chronic illness that might slow or alter healing?
Eye conditions
- do you have or have you ever had any problems with your eyes other
than needing glasses or contacts?
Medications
- do you take steroids or other drugs that might prevent healing?
Stable refraction
- has your prescription changed in the last year?
High or Low refractive
error - do you use glasses/contacts only some of the time? Do you
need an unusually strong prescription?
Pupil size -
are your pupils extra large in dim conditions?
Corneal thickness
- do you have thin corneas?
Tear production - do you have dry eyes?
Know all the risks and procedure limitations
Overtreatment or undertreatment - are you willing and able to have
more than one surgery to get the desired result?
May still need
reading glasses - do you have presbyopia?
Results may not
be lasting - do you think this is the last correction you will ever
need? Do you realize that long-term results are not known?
May permanently
lose vision - do you know some patients may lose some vision or
experience blindness?
Dry eyes
– do you know that if you have dry eyes they could become worse,
or if you don’t have dry eyes before you could develop chronic
dry eyes as a result of surgery?
Development of
visual symptoms - do you know about glare, halos, starbursts, etc.
and that night driving might be difficult?
Contrast sensitivity
- do you know your vision could be significantly reduced in dim light
conditions?
Bilateral treatment
- do you know the additional risks of having both eyes treated at the
same time?
Patient information
- have you read the patient information booklet about the laser being
used for your procedure?
Know how to find the right doctor
Experienced - how many eyes has your doctor performed LASIK surgery
on with the same laser?
Equipment -
does your doctor use an FDA-approved laser for the procedure you need?
Informative -
is your doctor willing to spend the time to answer all your questions?
Long-term Care
- does your doctor encourage follow-up and management of you as a patient?
Your preop and postop care may be provided by a doctor other than the
surgeon.
Be Comfortable
- do you feel you know your doctor and are comfortable with an equal
exchange of information?
Know preoperative, operative, and postoperative expectations
No contact lenses prior to evaluation and surgery - can you go for
an extended period of time without wearing contact lenses?
Have a thorough
exam - have you arranged not to drive or work after the exam?
Read and understand
the informed consent - has your doctor given you an informed consent
form to take home and answered all your questions?
No makeup before
surgery - can you go 24-36 hours without makeup prior to surgery?
Arrange for transportation
- can someone drive you home after surgery?
Plan to take
a few days to recover - can you take time off to take it easy for
a couple of days if necessary?
Expect not to
see clearly for a few days - do you know you will not see clearly
immediately?
Know sights,
smells, sounds of surgery - has your doctor made you feel comfortable
with the actual steps of the procedure?
Be prepared to
take drops/medications- are you willing and able to put drops in
your eyes at regular intervals?
Be prepared to
wear an eye shield - do you know you need to protect the eye for
a period of time after surgery to avoid injury?
Expect some pain/discomfort
- do you know how much pain to expect?
Know when to
seek help - do you understand what problems could occur and when
to seek medical intervention?
Know when to
expect your vision to stop changing - are you aware that final results
could take months?
Make sure your
refraction is stable before any further surgery - if you don't get
the desired result, do you know not to have an enhancement until the
prescription stops changing?
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