What's It Like: To get Lasik surgery

Why get Lasik?

Anyone who has ever lost a pair of glasses or had a contact lens slip under an eyelid has probably contemplated Lasik surgery.

LASIK stands for Laser-assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. It is a laser surgery in which the cornea is reshaped to improve vision.

To have clear vision, your eye's cornea and lens must bend light rays properly. This allows images to be focused clearly on the retina. If the shape of your cornea is different from the length of your eye, you will have blurry vision. The cornea is the clear, curved surface at the front of the eye where light enters the eye.

During Lasik, the cornea is reshaped to reduce refractive errors, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. The goal of Lasik is to get you out of your contacts or glasses for the majority of time.

It is important to talk with your doctor about realistic expectations of Lasik.

Most medical insurance will not pay for Lasik. Pricing can vary from doctor to doctor, so it is important to discuss how the doctor performing your surgery charges for Lasik. Lasik quotes are usually provided for each eye individually. Conventional Lasik with a microkeratome flap costs between $1,000 and $2,500 per eye. Custom Wavefront Lasik with an all-laser flap usually ranges between $1,500 and $3,000 per eye. If the price is quoted at a significantly lower rate, there might be a catch. Pricing gimmicks are sometimes used to make Lasik appear more affordable.

Not everyone can get Lasik. If you're not a good candidate for Lasik, you can talk with your doctor about other corrective surgeries.

Age is one factor that keeps people from getting Lasik. You must be 18 to be considered for Lasik because there aren't any lasers approved for use on children. If you're older than 40 and have presbyopia, which is an age-related focus issue, or cataracts, clouding of your eye's lens, then you might be a better candidate for other surgeries.

If you have severely dry eyes, you might not be a good candidate for Lasik. Also, if you are a boxer, wrestler or cage fighter, Lasik might not be a good option for you because of potential facial injuries.

What happens?

Before you have the surgery, your doctor will educate you on eye health and Lasik. You should thoroughly discuss your medical history with your ophthalmologist to better ensure positive outcomes.

Lasik is an outpatient procedure, so you will go home the same day you have it.

You likely will be given a medication to help you relax, such as Valium. The medical staff might also give you antibiotic eye drops. You will also receive numbing eye drops.

The actual procedure takes about 15 minutes for each eye.

To start the surgery, your doctor will take a device that holds your eye lid open for you.

The doctor will use a laser to cut your cornea and make a flap. Photorefractive keratectomy is a type of laser surgery that doesn't involve cutting, but the benefits and risks are different from those of Lasik.

Once the flap is made, the eye is centered automatically by the laser. Once the eye is centered, the doctor will send pulses of laser into the eye. These pulses are not hot. You won't likely feel much while this is taking place, although you might feel some pressure. If you accidentally move your eye out of range, the laser will stop firing.

The doctor will fire pulses of laser over a time period between 10 seconds and two minutes, depending on how much correction is needed. It is not a continuous beam.

The laser will remove small amounts of corneal tissue, following a map of your eye that was created during your initial eye exam.

Once the surgery is complete, the corneal flap is laid back into your eye.

Many people can tell a difference directly after surgery. By the next day, you should see a positive difference in your vision.

You will want to bring someone with you to drive you home after the procedure.

Does it hurt?

During the procedure, you should feel little to no pain, but you might feel some pressure. The majority of people don't have a problem during the procedure, though.

Afterward, some people describe feeling a scratchy sensation. It feels similar to having a bad contact in your eye or like your eye is dried out. If you go home and sleep, you should be able to sleep through the irritation.

What are the risks?

One risk is that the laser could remove too little or too much tissue from your eye. Undercorrection is more common for people being treated for nearsightedness. Your doctor should know within two months whether you need a follow-up because of undercorrection.

After the surgery, your eyes might feel dry for up to six months. If you continue to experience this problem or find it difficult to manage, you can talk with your doctor about prescribing eyedrops or performing further procedures to alleviate the issue.

Some people find themselves more sensitive to light. Others find it difficult to drive at night because they see glares, halos or starbursts. This should be temporary.

You might have extra inflammation in your eyes, but your doctor can generally give you eye drops.

You might see patches of red or pink in the white of your eye, but this is usually temporary and not painful.

Everyone heals differently, so it's hard to estimate how long certain temporary risk factors, like dryness and light sensitivity will last.

You could also experience an infection if your cornea doesn't properly heal. Infections aren't common with Lasik because doctors commonly use antibiotics throughout the procedure and afterward.

A somewhat controversial risk factor to Lasik is known as ectasia, progressive thinning and bulging of the cornea. Surgically induced ectasia is rare, and the exact causes of ectasia after Lasik are not known.

To avoid performing Lasik on a patient who could develop ectasia, your doctor likely will check your eye topography. If he or she finds you have abnormal eye topography, your doctor might decide you are not a good candidate for Lasik. For example, if you have a thin cornea to begin with, Lasik might not be a good choice for you.

How long to recover?

If you have a desk job indoors, you should be able to return to work the next day. However, if you have a manual labor job that's outside, your doctor might recommend you wait to return to work for a few days while your eyes heal.

You aren't supposed to touch your eye lid for a week. This is because the flap is settling in, and it could take a few days for it to heal.

For up to four weeks after the surgery, you should avoid swimming, hot tubs, whirlpools, contact sports, lotions, creams and eye makeup.

What happens next?

Moderately nearsighted or farsighted people have some of the best outcomes and recover the fastest with Lasik. If you are severely nearsighted or farsighted, though, you might have a higher chance of regression. Less than 5 percent of Americans are severely nearsighted or farsighted. These are the type of people who would likely need a touch-up treatment.

If you suffer from poor distance vision and have your vision corrected with Lasik, you probably will still need reading glasses after you hit 40. As you age, your eye prescription might shift. This might mean you'll need a follow-up treatment.

The results of your Lasik procedure largely will depend on what you had corrected and your overall health.

Sources: Dr. J. Chris Hummel, ophthalmologist at Hummel Eye Associates; The Mayo Clinic; the National Institutes of Health; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Eye Surgery Education Council; American Academy of Ophthalmology