LASIK 

With LASIK eye surgery, you can achieve clear vision and reduce or eliminate dependency on contacts or glasses in just a single procedure. At Heart of Texas Eye Care, Dr. Lara Dudek and her excellent team are here to support you every step of the way to ensure you receive quality eye care with utmost comfort and safety.

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Learn more about LASIK Eye Surgery

What is LASIK Eye Surgery and How Does it Work?

LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis) is a laser vision-correcting procedure that continues to bring clear vision to people around the globe every day. LASIK is an FDA-approved treatment that has helped countless patients improve their vision. LASIK is safe and effective and can treat a variety of prescriptions.

LASIK eye surgery uses two lasers to create a thin flap in the cornea’s surface and reshape it to correct vision problems, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The result is clearer vision and reduced dependency on glasses or contact lenses.

How Can I Benefit From LASIK Eye Surgery?

If you are already interested in LASIK eye surgery, chances are you are already all too familiar with the many challenges that wearing glasses or contacts can present. Life after LASIK eye surgery means no more bent glasses frames, constant upkeep of contact lenses, and enjoying activities such as hiking, camping, and sports without worry. LASIK eye surgery can also help you save money over time since you will no longer need to replace your glasses or contacts. 

Some of the benefits of LASIK include:

  • Correction of nearsightedness
  • Correction of farsightedness 
  • Correction of astigmatism 
  • Reduce or eliminate the need for glasses and contact lenses
  • Improved confidence 
  • Convenience 
  • Long-term results

What is LASIK Eye Surgery and How Does it Work?

LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis) is a laser vision-correcting procedure that continues to bring clear vision to people around the globe every day. LASIK is an FDA-approved treatment that has helped countless patients improve their vision. LASIK is safe and effective and can treat a variety of prescriptions.

LASIK eye surgery uses two lasers to create a thin flap in the cornea’s surface and reshape it to correct vision problems, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. The result is clearer vision and reduced dependency on glasses or contact lenses.

How Can I Benefit From LASIK Eye Surgery?

If you are already interested in LASIK eye surgery, chances are you are already all too familiar with the many challenges that wearing glasses or contacts can present. Life after LASIK eye surgery means no more bent glasses frames, constant upkeep of contact lenses, and enjoying activities such as hiking, camping, and sports without worry. LASIK eye surgery can also help you save money over time since you will no longer need to replace your glasses or contacts. 

Some of the benefits of LASIK include:

  • Correction of nearsightedness
  • Correction of farsightedness 
  • Correction of astigmatism 
  • Reduce or eliminate the need for glasses and contact lenses
  • Improved confidence 
  • Convenience 
  • Long-term results

What to Expect During LASIK Eye Surgery

During your appointment, we will place anesthetic eyedrops into your eyes to minimize discomfort. After you are ready for treatment, we will use an eyelid holder to gently hold your eye open for the duration of the procedure. Though many patients often worry about accidentally blinking or moving during their LASIK treatment, we can assure you that the eyelid opener will prevent this from being an issue.

Using an advanced femtosecond laser, LASIK creates an ultra-thin flap in the cornea’s surface. This process is painless and takes 16 seconds to complete. Once the femtosecond laser creates the flap, a second laser, called an excimer laser, is used to reshape the cornea beneath the flap. The excimer laser is painless and takes between 1 to 15 seconds to complete, depending on the treatment prescription.

Following the procedure, the corneal flap created by LASIK fits securely in the same position where it started. Once your eye heals, the flap will remain fastened to its natural placement on the eye. The flap is transparent and unnoticeable to the naked eye; however, a doctor can see the flap edges when utilizing specialized equipment. If a patient chooses to have LASIK repeated later in life, a surgeon may be able to lift the original flap to re-treat the cornea; otherwise, the flap will remain unmoved and unnoticeable indefinitely.

Recovery Timeline for LASIK Eye Surgery

After your procedure, you will likely experience blurry vision and light sensitivity, but this should fade and improve after a day. You should arrange for someone to take you home after treatment, as you will not be able to drive immediately after your surgery. For two weeks following LASIK surgery, patients should take extra care to avoid getting anything in their eyes. This means refraining from wearing eye makeup, using hot tubs, swimming, and playing contact sports.

Exposure to wind and dust is discouraged during the first two weeks following surgery while the eyes are healing. We recommend wearing UV-blocking, polarized sunglasses when out in the sunlight to protect the eyes from UV light while healing. We also ask that patients wear shields over their eyes while sleeping to prevent them from accidentally rubbing their eyes while they are semi-awake.

Following surgery, we will ask that you use medicated drops for the first week of recovery. You will also need to use artificial tears frequently for the first month of recovery, then less often after that. We will schedule a follow-up examination the next day, the following week, one month after, and three months following your treatment. After the three-month visit, we recommend annual eye exams to continue monitoring the ongoing health of the eyes.

What to Expect During LASIK Eye Surgery

During your appointment, we will place anesthetic eyedrops into your eyes to minimize discomfort. After you are ready for treatment, we will use an eyelid holder to gently hold your eye open for the duration of the procedure. Though many patients often worry about accidentally blinking or moving during their LASIK treatment, we can assure you that the eyelid opener will prevent this from being an issue.

Using an advanced femtosecond laser, LASIK creates an ultra-thin flap in the cornea’s surface. This process is painless and takes 16 seconds to complete. Once the femtosecond laser creates the flap, a second laser, called an excimer laser, is used to reshape the cornea beneath the flap. The excimer laser is painless and takes between 1 to 15 seconds to complete, depending on the treatment prescription.

Following the procedure, the corneal flap created by LASIK fits securely in the same position where it started. Once your eye heals, the flap will remain fastened to its natural placement on the eye. The flap is transparent and unnoticeable to the naked eye; however, a doctor can see the flap edges when utilizing specialized equipment. If a patient chooses to have LASIK repeated later in life, a surgeon may be able to lift the original flap to re-treat the cornea; otherwise, the flap will remain unmoved and unnoticeable indefinitely.

Recovery Timeline for LASIK Eye Surgery

After your procedure, you will likely experience blurry vision and light sensitivity, but this should fade and improve after a day. You should arrange for someone to take you home after treatment, as you will not be able to drive immediately after your surgery. For two weeks following LASIK surgery, patients should take extra care to avoid getting anything in their eyes. This means refraining from wearing eye makeup, using hot tubs, swimming, and playing contact sports.

Exposure to wind and dust is discouraged during the first two weeks following surgery while the eyes are healing. We recommend wearing UV-blocking, polarized sunglasses when out in the sunlight to protect the eyes from UV light while healing. We also ask that patients wear shields over their eyes while sleeping to prevent them from accidentally rubbing their eyes while they are semi-awake.

Following surgery, we will ask that you use medicated drops for the first week of recovery. You will also need to use artificial tears frequently for the first month of recovery, then less often after that. We will schedule a follow-up examination the next day, the following week, one month after, and three months following your treatment. After the three-month visit, we recommend annual eye exams to continue monitoring the ongoing health of the eyes.

Who Can Have LASIK Eye Surgery?

LASIK can treat up to +6 diopters of hyperopia (farsightedness), -12 diopters of myopia (nearsightedness), and six diopters of astigmatism. As with SMILE and PRK, we only recommend this procedure for patients 18 years or older, with healthy corneas, a stable glasses prescription, and who have no signs of cataracts.

Below is a list of requirements:

  • You must be over the age of 18
  • You have “healthy eyes,” meaning free from eye diseases or any corneal abnormalities, including scarring or infections
  • You can stay out of soft contact lenses for one to two weeks before your consultation (four or more weeks for hard contact lenses)
  • You are willing to use your post-op medications and come to your post-op visits
  • If you have answered yes to these questions, you are ready to schedule a laser vision correction consultation, where you will learn more about the procedure.

LASIK vs. SMILE vs. PRK 

LASIK can correct myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism. Since the introduction of SMILE, many nearsighted patients have chosen to have SMILE in place of LASIK; however, LASIK can correct higher prescriptions of nearsightedness and astigmatism than SMILE. LASIK can also treat hyperopia, whereas SMILE can not. 

PRK can treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. This treatment is often better suited for patients with a high prescription, such as a -8.00 or -9.00. PRK has a longer recovery period than LASIK and requires patients to take much more careful precautions during recovery. PRK may be a better treatment option for patients who play contact sports or participate in activities that pose a risk of eye injury.  

Who Can Have LASIK Eye Surgery?

LASIK can treat up to +6 diopters of hyperopia (farsightedness), -12 diopters of myopia (nearsightedness), and six diopters of astigmatism. As with SMILE and PRK, we only recommend this procedure for patients 18 years or older, with healthy corneas, a stable glasses prescription, and who have no signs of cataracts.

Below is a list of requirements:

  • You must be over the age of 18
  • You have “healthy eyes,” meaning free from eye diseases or any corneal abnormalities, including scarring or infections
  • You can stay out of soft contact lenses for one to two weeks before your consultation (four or more weeks for hard contact lenses)
  • You are willing to use your post-op medications and come to your post-op visits
  • If you have answered yes to these questions, you are ready to schedule a laser vision correction consultation, where you will learn more about the procedure.

LASIK vs. SMILE vs. PRK 

LASIK can correct myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism. Since the introduction of SMILE, many nearsighted patients have chosen to have SMILE in place of LASIK; however, LASIK can correct higher prescriptions of nearsightedness and astigmatism than SMILE. LASIK can also treat hyperopia, whereas SMILE can not. 

PRK can treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. This treatment is often better suited for patients with a high prescription, such as a -8.00 or -9.00. PRK has a longer recovery period than LASIK and requires patients to take much more careful precautions during recovery. PRK may be a better treatment option for patients who play contact sports or participate in activities that pose a risk of eye injury.  

Laser Vision Correction FAQ

Vision following laser vision correction is often better than it was with glasses or contact lenses. With today’s precise technology, combined with the expertise and experience of our surgeons, most patients achieve 20/20 or better vision! 

Visual outcomes are dependent on the underlying health of the eye. If issues limit the vision in other parts of the eye, such as the retina or optic nerve, LASIK can help make vision as clear as possible, but the underlying issue will still limit vision.

It depends on the severity of your dry eye issues. If hydration, artificial tears, supplements, or medications can resolve your dry eye symptoms, laser vision correction may be an option.

Your surgeon will help you treat your dry eye issues prior to planning laser vision correction. Depending on the severity of your dry eye symptoms, your surgeon may recommend a vision-correcting surgery with a lower impact on corneal dryness, such as SMILE, ICL, or RLE.

Take the
Next Step

Would you like to learn more about LASIK eye surgery and take the first step toward a clearer future? Then please fill out our online form below or call us at (512) 213-2220 to get started with an in-person consultation at Heart of Texas Eye Care. Our courteous staff and board-certified ophthalmologists are here to assist you through every step of your journey!

Request a Consultation

Clearer Vision
Starts Here

If you’re ready for lasting vision correction with LASIK, a consultation for cataracts, or maybe blepharoplasty to rejuvenate aging eyes, our team can help. Or maybe it’s time for your yearly eye exam or maintenance Botox® injections. Click the button below to explore financing options for all your eye care needs.

View Our Financing Options

Clearer Vision
Starts Here

View Our Financing Options

If you’re ready for lasting vision correction with LASIK, a consultation for cataracts, or maybe blepharoplasty to rejuvenate aging eyes, our team can help. Or maybe it’s time for your yearly eye exam or maintenance Botox® injections. Click the button below to explore financing options for all your eye care needs.