Whilst every type of eye procedure is different, and every patient is different what every patient has in common is how well the numbing (anaesthetic) drops work to make your eye pain free.
You might feel a little pressure on or a little water around your eye. To feel any actual discomfort is rare.
Hence most patients comment their procedure was more weird, but far more quick and comfortable than expected.
Laser vision correction procedures are performed in Laser Vision SA's fully ISO 9001 accredited laser eye surgery suite at 169 Pirie St, Adelaide. You will usually be there a total of 45 minutes with only 10-15 minutes total in the laser suite.
Lens extraction or implantation procedures are performed at 45 Glen Osmond Rd, Eastwood in our fully ISO 9001 and NSQHS accredited day surgery. The procedures take around 10 minutes, and your total time there is usually 2 hours.
It is recommended someone else drives you home after both types of procedure, and you will see Dr Fraenkel the next morning at Laser Vision SA, Pirie St, to check on your progress towards better vision without glasses or contacts.
No you can not drive home after your surgery, as initially your vision will be hazy and may still feel the effects of you pre surgery Valium. We suggest you arrange for someone to drop you off and pick you up. Alternatively, a Taxi or an Uber.
Patients spend approximately 10 minutes in the laser suite, most of that time is getting patients comfortable on the laser bed.
The vast majority of patients can return to normal daily duties the following day. If you have had Lasik or SMILE, legally you can drive 24 hours after their procedure has been performed. If you have had PRK, just waiting a couple days longer till you can drive.
Patients are required to follow some post op after care. These include a series of eye drops. Patients are provided all eye drops and instructions when they come out of the laser suite. One of our staff members will also go through these instructions with them. You will also find the sheet is colour coded for ease.
At Laser Vision SA we offer all three generations of vision correction. 1st generation PRK/ also known as surface laser, 2nd generation Lasik and 3rd generation SMILE: the most advanced in Laser vision technology.
For patients under 45 years of age this is very rare. If there are any unusual features of your examination making this more possible, you would be fully informed.
For patients over 45 years of age, due to presbyopia (loss of near vision without glasses), whilst most far and close tasks are done without glasses, extremely far or close vision might occasionally need glasses, like driving at night in the rain or threading a needle.
For SMILE and LASIK you can usually go back to screen work the next day. However for many people it can take 5 days or so for their brain to adjust to their new distance vision.
During those 5-7 days it can be more challenging to read your computer and phone. Then your brain gets with the program for reading
No. Drops numb your eye. They work better than you can imagine. You may feel a little water or gentle pressure around your eye but pain is rare. Most patients say laser vision correction was more weird but more quick and comfortable than they imagined.
The 10 year studies following 1000s of patients show that for the vast majority modern laser vision correction does NOT wear off. This idea relates to the very early days of laser vision correction more than 20 years ago.
