What is Lasik surgery? Lasik surgery is used to correct vision through a procedure that uses a laser to change the curvature of the cornea. Lasik is used to remove tissue from within the cornea to treat low and high levels of farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism. You should expect to arrive an hour early for the procedure. This will allow time for you to be prepared for your surgery. Your eyes will be cleaned and a sterile drape will be placed around them. Anesthetic drops will be placed in your eyes. An eyelid holder will be placed between your lids to keep you from blinking during the procedure. The procedure will then begin lasting only about 15 minutes for both eyes.

Lasik surgery uses different methods of corrections depending on what kind of vision repairs you will need.  Here is a list that will tell how each procedure is performed:

• Nearsightedness is treated by removing tissue from the center of the cornea to make it flatter. This will move the point of focus from in front of the retina to directly on the retina.
• Farsightedness can be treated by making a flat cornea steeper by removing tissue from outside the central optical zone of the cornea. This will place the point of focus from behind the retina to directly on the retina.
• Astigmatism is treated by making the cornea more spherical like a basketball instead of a football shape. This will eliminate multiple focusing points and place it directly on the retina. This correction may be performed along with nearsightedness and farsightedness.

What are the risks of Lasik eye surgery? As with any surgery there are risks. Lasik surgery has very few reports of complications that resulted from the surgery. It is estimated that less than 1% of patients will experience complications. You will want to discuss with your doctor what you might be at risk for.