LASIK: Q&A

Ask a Question

Can You Schedule a Lasik Consult and then the Procedure the Following Day?

I was just wondering if it was possible to schedule a consultation one day and then the following day have the procedure done? I am driving about two hundred miles to have this procedure and it would be a great help if I didn't have to complete the drive two weeks in a row. The facility I am going to suggested a consult this week and then surgery the following week. Thanks in advance!

Tags:

consultation timing

Comment on this

8 Doctor Answers | Asked by Emschase in Portland, OR

Doctor Answers (8)
Community Comments (0)

Laser Vision

For a thorough LASIK evaluation your eyes will be dilated with cyclopentolate at the initial consultation. The dilating effects of cyclopentolate can last for up to 24 hours and therefore may interfere with the LASIK procedure if it is planned for the following day. For this reason we typically schedule the consultation and the surgery at least 2 days apart.

Scheduling a Lasik consult

Yes, this is possible. You need to discontinue any contact lens wear before the treatment. I usually recommend stopping contact lens wear 2 weeks before final testing and treatment. Speak with the doctor/office before making the trip to discuss your specifics. All the best!

Timing between LASIK consultation and surgery

It is common for us to operate on people from out of town. In that situation we ask our patients to be out of their soft daily wear contact lenses for at least a week and extended or toric contacts for at least two weeks. Assuming that everything looks perfect at the time of consultation, then we can perform surgery the next day. Follow up then is one day and one week at absolute minimum in our office and then follow up can be performed by another doctor. This is not... more

You might also like...

Real Stories

Lasik in Istanbul - Turkey, TR

Hello everyone, Looking at all the negative stuff written about lasik, I thought I...

Before + After Photos

View 2 LASIK photos

Screening and surgery dates

There are some surgeons who perform surgery on the same day as the screening. Assuming that the eye is healthy, the patient is a good candidate, and the health or refractive status of the eye will not change over the next fews days or weeks, there is no reason to believe that a delay is necessary for medical reasons. Patients must be aware that they may not be a good candidate so they can't assume that the screening will conclude that they can have the procedure... more

Jay Bansal, MD

San Francisco Ophthalmologist

www.laservue.com

Timing of Lasik Consult and Procedure

It is usually fine to have a Lasik consult one day and surgery the next day. This is frequently done for our out of town patients, who are traveling here for the procedure. There are a few things to consider, though. The first is that a proper Lasik consultation involves dilating the patients pupils and if the exam is done late in the afternoon the pupils may not be back to uniform shape by the next morning. Since the radar tracking device built into the laser is based off of pupillary... more

Anthony J. Kameen, MD

Baltimore Ophthalmologist

www.kameen.com

LASIK consult

Yes, you can do this, but many centers like to make sure you are a good candidate prior to setting you up for surgery appointments. Also, there are many times when we notice things on your eye exam which require some treatment prior to surgery. Some examples of this are dry eyes, lid crusting, corneal inflammation, contact lens warpage... So, it is frequently recommended to have an exam for candidacy and then discuss surgical scheduling once you know you are a great... more

Lasik consultations

Yes, you can have the consultation one day and the treatment the next. There is no medical reason why this cannot be done. Make sure you leave out your contact lenses for an appropriate amount of time.

Scheduling Lasek or LASIK

You need to take your contacts out for at least a week and ideally two before you go in. They need to do an Orbscan to rule out warpage. Then you need to get dilated and reversed. Then if all tests are normal you can have surgery the next day. You should stop caffeine and alcohol and mascara three days before and start to drink a lot of water. I'd do all these things if I were you. And I had LASIK myself over a decade ago!

Doctors will not see your comments on their answers. If you'd like to follow up, please go here to ask another question.

Comments (0)

Ask a Question

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.