What to expect from laser surgery: Does laser eye surgery hurt?

People who are about to undergo eye surgery often wonder: Does laser eye surgery hurt? This following article will tackle eye surgery, what you can expect from it and how to handle the recovery period.

What is laser eye surgery?

Laser eye surgery, also known as LASIK, is performed to correct a misshapen cornea that causes vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. There are a lot of advantages to getting laser eye surgery such as no bandages are needed after the surgery and patients can get laser eye surgery done again in the future at no increased risk. 

Does laser eye surgery hurt?

For most patients, laser eye surgery is painless. Numbing eye drops are administered to the eye that is going to have the surgery. If the patient is anxious, the doctor may also give them some medication to help them relax for the procedure. 

What to expect during the surgery

After you will be put at ease by the medication and eye drops, your doctor will then prepare your eye for the procedure. You will be fully awake during the operation. Your eye will be held open by a lid speculum.

The doctor will then mark the cornea before beginning the operation. Your eye will be held in place by a suction ring to prevent any involuntary eye movements that may jeopardize the procedure. You will be asked to look into the target light for a short period and then the laser will send pulses of light to the cornea of your eye. 

The whole procedure only takes around five minutes for both eyes to be reshaped. During this time, you should feel some pressure as the laser works to correct the shape of your eyes, but the experience should be painless.

The recovery period

Right after the procedure, your doctor will let you relax for a little while. During this time, you may begin to feel some itching and a temporary burning sensation in your eyes. Also, you can expect to experience blurry vision and haziness after the operation, but it should be clear the next morning.

Your doctor will ask you to come in for a check-up the day after the surgery to check that everything went well. After a few days, your vision should see a great improvement. If you wear glasses, you will likely not need them after the laser eye surgery anymore. 

During the recovery period, your doctor will give you a set of instructions that you must follow to make sure that your eye heals properly. Avoid rubbing your eyes so as not to irritate and inhibit the healing process of the operation. 

What you can do

If you are hesitant to have laser eye surgery, talk to your doctor about it. They can answer any questions you might have about the laser eye surgery procedure and put your mind at ease about the pain. If you are still asking the question “does laser eye surgery hurt?”, keep in mind that the long term effects outweigh the pain and discomfort you may feel during recovery.