What Happens During Eye Surgery
Many eye surgeries use local anesthesia, which means the doctor puts drops or gel in your eyes that numb them. Some, like cataract removal, may need general anesthesia. Your doctor will discuss the risks and benefits of general anesthesia with you before the procedure.
Before your surgery, your doctor will ask you to sign a consent form. This confirms that you understand the operation and its risks, including the possibility of losing some or all of your vision. You should also expect to have a thorough exam before the operation. Your doctor will check the health of your retina (the thin layer that lines the back of your eyeball) and the rest of your eye, and will do other tests as needed.
Eye surgery http://lasikeyesurgeryraleigh.com can improve your ability to see things clearly or help you recover from eye problems. It can be done to treat common conditions, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, as well as more serious ones, such as a detached retina or glaucoma. Some types of eye surgery require general anesthesia, but most are performed in an office-based operating room or an outpatient surgery center.
LASIK eye surgery (laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis) reshapes your cornea, the clear, rounded surface at the front of your eye. To do this, your doctor places a suction ring on your eye and uses an instrument called a speculum to lift and flatten the outer layers of your cornea, creating a flap that your surgeon can then fold back. The surgeon then reshapes your cornea with an excimer laser. Your corneal flap is then put back into place, and your vision should return to normal.
Some people with myopia (nearsightedness) need a procedure called PRK (photorefractive keratectomy). Similar to LASIK, your doctor creates a flap in the cornea and then reshapes it with an excimer laser. The doctor can use a computer to programme the size and shape of the flap, which helps ensure the best results for your eye.
You will probably need to wear an eye shield after PRK, to prevent you from rubbing or accidentally poking your eye while it heals. Your doctor will usually remove the eye shield at your follow-up appointment, or by the next day. Until then, you should avoid touching your eye or getting anything in it, and take over-the-counter pain relievers as directed by your doctor.
You may have some discomfort the first day or two after your eye surgery, but this should go away quickly. Your eyes may feel itchy or gritty, and your vision will be blurry. You may need to wait a few months for your vision to fully stabilize.