Lasik and Eye Infection

Question

i'm scheduled to have my lasik in 3 days and i got mild eye infection my DR put me on antibiotics eye drops and ointment .. and told me it will get better before the surgery and that it was planed to get those treatments after the surgery ... is it ok ?? and if not how long shall i wait till my eyes get well ???

Emil William Chynn, MD, FACS, MBA · Answer

most eye "infections" are not really infections; redness in the eyes may be caused by a variety of reasons, such as allergies, dryness, irritation from drops, etc

	your surgeon will re-examine your eyes to make sure the antibiotics he gave you worked, and that you do not have an infection anymore. a helpful sign for him is the absence of papillae, which are a sign of bacterial infections. assuming this is now negative, he can safely proceed with your LASEK or LASIK

	if you still have signs of infection, he will NOT proceed with your surgery, as then you would have an increased chance of a bad infection in your eyes afterwards. then he will just ask you to wait another week or so, as this is elective surgery, anyway

	hope this helps!

	Emil Chynn, MD, MBA

Jay Bansal, MD · Answer

Personally, I would reschedule the eye surgery in order to give the patient greater peace of mind.  The fact that this is concerning enough to ask the question on a web site suggests that moving the surgery back one or two weeks would likely be preferrable. 

	There is no rush to perform LASIK.  It is entirely optional and often considered to be a cosmetic procedure since glasses can achieve good vision as well.

	It is likely not a serious infection and will clear up quickly without any long term side effects.

Mark Golden, MD · Answer

It is important that you not have an eye infection at the time of LASIK surgery.  One part of our preoperative check list is an examination before sedation is given of the eye to ensure that there is no infection present.  If any sign of an infection, we will treat the infection and reschedule surgery.  LASIK is elective and if there is a doubt, the procedure can always be done another day.

Lasik and Eye Infection

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Lasik and Eye Infection

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Everything you need to know about LASIK

Our mission is to create a world where every investment in modern beauty is Worth It.