What Happens in a LASIK Consultation?

The first step in having LASIK in Cheasapeke, Virginia Beach is scheduling a consultation, during which our doctors will evaluate your candidacy for laser eye surgery. After a thorough discussion and a non-invasive eye exam, our doctors will be able to determine if LASIK is right for you. The doctor and staff can then recommend the best approach to the procedure based on your eye exam results.

Preparing for your LASIK consultation:

Our doctors will likely recommend that you stop wearing contact lenses in the days or weeks prior to your consultation. Contact lenses distort the shape of the cornea, and our doctors will want your cornea to have returned to its natural shape by the day of your LASIK consultation.

What to expect at your LASIK consultation:

On the day of your consultation, you and the doctor will go to a private room to discuss your use of eye glasses and contacts, the reasons you want LASIK and your expectations after the procedure is performed. Some patients hope laser eye surgery will leave them totally independent from eye glasses and contacts, but this isn’t realistic. Most adults will need reading glasses by a certain age, for instance.

Good laser eye surgery candidates have realistic goals for laser eye surgery, such as reducing the need for eye glasses and contact lenses or enjoying a more active lifestyle. Patients with unrealistic expectations are not good candidates.

Our doctors will also want to know about your health history. General health conditions, such as diabetes or an autoimmune disease, and ocular health conditions, such as dry eyes or ocular herpes, can affect whether or not you are a candidate for LASIK and how you will recover after the procedure.

Some medications can affect healing. This and other lifestyle factors—including playing contact sports or consuming alcohol and drugs—can also influence candidacy. You may be asked about any of these things to better understand your candidacy for the LASIK procedure.

A typical LASIK consultation continues with a very comprehensive eye exam. This exam will include tests you might recognize, such as pupil dilation and prescription measurement. But the doctor will also use some tests that are specific to the world of laser vision correction. Your cornea will be measured in detail, including its thickness, curvature and topography. A tear-film test may be performed to check for dry eyes. Each test will be explained before it is performed, and all of them are painless.

If you would like to schedule a LASIK consultation, contact Tidewater Eye at 757-483-0400 or website today.