What is Lasik?

ABOUT: Lasik (short for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) is a refractive surgery that corrects eyesight problems including nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. The entire procedure takes around five to ten minutes, and good vision is typically achieved by the very next day.

PROCEDURE: During the operation, you remain awake the whole time. Your eye is first anesthetized with special eye drops, and a small retainer is placed over your eye to hold your eyelid open. The surgeon then cuts a hinged flap in the cornea, a clear film covering the front of your eye, folding it back to reveal the stroma (the middle section of the cornea).

An excimer laser is used to precisely reshape a portion of the stroma (flattening it to correct nearsightedness, making it steeper to correct farsightedness or smoothening it to correct astigmatism) such that the cornea is better able to focus light, providing clearer vision.

The flap is then laid back in place and left to attach itself back to the eyeball, with an eye shield or patch placed over the eye to protect the flap until it heals.

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