What to expect

Before undergoing LASIK treatment an eye examination with Dr Kent is essential. This is to determine that your eyes are otherwise normal and healthy. It is also important to have an opportunity to meet the eye surgeon performing your procedure and have any questions answered that you may have. This appointment takes approximately 2 hours.

Contact Lenses

Your contact lenses do not need to be removed prior to your free assessment. You should bring any spectacles that you have with you. We request that you cease soft disposable or daily-wear contact lens wear for 2 weeks prior to LASIK as this gives the cornea the best chance to be as normal and healthy as possible before the treatment.

Soft toric (astigmatism correcting) contact lenses have some capacity to change the shape of your cornea. You should not wear soft toric contact lenses for 3 weeks prior to LASIK - this allows adequate time for the cornea to return to its natural state.

Hard (PMMA) contact lenses including the gas-permeable (RGP) type need to be removed about 6-8 weeks before LASIK. If you live in the Christchurch area we will do a series of examinations until your spectacle prescription (refraction) is stable. For most of this stabilisation period you can wear soft disposable contact lenses. If you live outside the Christchurch area and wear hard contact lenses we can liase with your optometrist about doing a series of examinations until your spectacle prescription is stable.

Enhancement Treatment

About 4% of eyes have a slight under or over correction after LASIK. In most cases this is due to variability in how the eye heals after surgery. High corrections have a greater chance of under or overcorrection compared to low corrections. A second procedure "enhancement" can usually be done to correct any residual focusing error. Enhancement treatment is usually done at 3-6 months after the original LASIK surgery as the spectacle prescription is stable at this stage. At Fendalton Eye Clinic, there is no additional charge for enhancement treatment performed within 12 months after the original LASIK procedure.

When can I have LASIK?

High Definition LASIK®  or Personalised PRK is done by Dr Kent at Fendalton Eye Clinic most weeks on Thursdays. Occasionally other days of the week are also available. Generally both eyes are treated on the same day one after the other.

What happens on the day of my procedure?

You will need to bring someone with you who will be able to drive you home. Prior to going through to the laser theatre you will be offered a mild sedative. Cross checks will be made, then you will be taken through to the laser theatre.

What happens in the laser theatre?

You will be requested to lie down on a bed and are positioned under the laser. Anaesthetic eye drops will numb your eyes. First the LASIK flap is created using the IntraLase laser. A soft plastic disposable suction ring is placed onto the eye. When the suction goes on the vision in that eye goes dark. We attach a disposable metal cone that has a glass lens in the bottom of it to the IntraLase laser. The glass lens is brought into the middle of the suction ring and docked into position. The glass lens flattens the curvature of the cornea. The infrared beam of the IntraLase laser passes through the glass lens and is focused at a set depth below the bottom of the glasses lens. The IntraLase pulses 60,000 times per second and each pulse vapourises a minute amount of corneal tissue. By connecting together about 1.2 million pulses in the shape of a flap in about 22 seconds a corneal flap can be made entirely with the IntraLase laser. The flap is about 2-3 times the thickness of a human hair. Both flaps are made before doing the excimer laser treatment.

Prior to the excimer laser treatment we put in more anaesthetic eyedrops and also Betadine antiseptic. A sterile drape holds back the eyelashes and a prop (speculum) is used to hold your eyelids open. Iris recognition is performed at this stage for all Zyoptix Personalized procedures.The flap is lifted up by the surgeon using a specially designed spatula and the eyetracker of the excimer laser is locked onto the eye. The excimer laser is then used to reshape the cornea. Once the laser treatment is completed the flap is carefully repositioned. Within 2 minutes the flap adheres back into position without the need for stitches. A protective clear plastic eye shield is placed over the eye and is kept on until your eyes are checked the next day by Dr Kent. You can see through the shield. It is in place to protect your eye from being accidentally knocked or rubbed in the first 24 hours as your eye heals.

How long does the procedure take?

On the day of your treatment you will be at the clinic for approximately an hour and a half. For the treatment of both eyes the time spent in our laser theatre is about 30 minutes. The laser portion of the treatment is only 20 - 60 seconds per eye depending on the amount of treatment required.