In LASEK, no flap is created. This procedure is recommended for patients in the military or those who play contact sports, because of the absence of a flap which could potentially be disturbed following an injury to the eye. It can be recommended in patients with thin corneas and those with a high prescription, and in certain corneal abnormalities such as mild keratoconus. In LASEK, the skin or epithelium on the surface of the cornea is removed after using dilute alcohol to make the epithelium loose, then the excimer laser reshapes the cornea. It is possible to do this with no-touch LASEK (transepithelial LASEK), where the laser removes the surface epithelium on the cornea.

For prescriptions of -6D or less, outcomesare identical for LASIK and LASEK (Manche 2011).

Both procedures are safe and highly effective, with over 99% of patients achieving driving standard vision or better after 1 treatment. Most patients are able to return to work within a few days after LASIK. With LASEK the visual recovery is slower, and it can takes 10-14 days for the vision to recover fully.

Wavefront technology accurately maps the way light is focused by an individual eye. Having wavefront optimized and wavefront guided treatment ensures that the treatment is customized to your individual eye aberrations, and also ensures that aberrations are not induced after the laser procedure.

Current wavefront optimised and guided laser treatments do not produce better vision than spectacles and contact lenses, but they have two benefits over non-wavefront laser eye treatments:

Wavefront treatments are less likely to result in surgically induced increases in higher order aberrations (i.e. the corneal shape produced by a wavefront guided treatment is closer to the ideal natural shape of the eye).
Wavefront surgery is less likely to cause night vision problems or a reduction in other elements of visual performance. Night vision can improve in patients after wavefront-optimised treatment.

Realistic expectations are important. Laser eye surgery is highly effective in reducing spectacle dependence. Over 99% of patients in the range treated by us are able to see to driving standard or better without glasses, after one treatment. Results are similar for both LASIK and LASEK patients.

Common side effects, such as mild dryness or light scatter during night driving, normally resolve within 6-9 months of treatment.

For glasses prescriptions outside the recommended range within with laser eye surgery works best, or for some individuals with very dry eyes who are not suitable for laser vision correction surgery, intraocular implant surgery is usually the best option.

In young patients, an implantable contact lens (VisianICL) is the best choice. In older patients (above the age of 45-50), implanting an intraocular implant that corrects the focus of your eye in an operation identical to modern key-hole cataract surgery, called refractive lens exchange (RLE) works very well.

If we find that you are not suitable for laser eye surgery, Miss Saw will explain the most appropriate alternative procedure to you, and give you comprehensive information about it.

1. If you wear contact lenses, please remember to leave your contact lenses out before the consultation, for the following durations:

• Daily disposable soft lenses – at least 3 days
• Weekly/fortnightly/monthly soft lenses – at least 7 days
• Gas permeable lenses – at least 2 weeks
• Hard lenses – 4 weeks (or change to daily disposables, wear them for 3 weeks & leave them out for 1 week prior to the appointment)

Continuous contact lens wear can lead to temporary changes in the shape of your cornea, so it is important to leave contact lenses out prior to the consultation to ensure that the eye tests we perform are accurate. After the consultation, soft contact lenses can be used again, but they should be stopped 1-2 days prior to laser eye surgery. Hard contact lenses must be stopped 2 weeks before laser eye surgery. For RLE/cataract or ICL surgery, all types of lenses can be used until the day of the surgery.

2. Bring a record of all your spectacle prescriptions over the last 2 years if possible. Laser eye surgery is normally postponed until the spectacle prescription is stable. Small variations in your prescription are normal, but if there has been a significant change over the last 2 years, we would normally wait 12 months before proceeding with surgery to ensure that there is no progressive change. Learn more about understanding your prescription.

3. You should allow a full two hours for your consultation.

4. Your pupils will be dilated at the initial consultation. This will make your vision blurry and your eyes sensitive to bright light for a few hours. Bring sunglasses and avoid driving or biking to your appointment.

5. Read the literature we send you and bring any questions you may have, to your consultation with Valerie.

During the consultation Miss Saw and her team will perform several diagnostic tests including:

• A careful glasses test (refraction), evaluation of ocular dominance, binocular fusion and eye muscle control.
• Detailed scanning of the eye, using state-of-the-art equipment specifically designed to firstly assess the suitability of your cornea for laser eye surgery, and secondly to capture precise wavefrontmeasurements and ocular rotation pictures that will be used to program the laser with data that’s unique to you.
• Miss Saw will then do a comprehensive examination of your eyes, including an eye pressure check, examination of the back of your eye (the retina) and evaluation of the health of the surface of your eyes, blink reflex and eyelids, and the tear film.
• Miss Saw will explain the results of the eye tests and her examination findings to you. She will then discuss the options for sight correction which are most appropriate for your eyes. Miss Saw will perform all the surgical procedures.

Laser vision correction surgery typically takes around 10-20 minutes for treatment of both eyes. Some waiting time prior to surgery is usual, and further time is required for post-operative checks and to go through your aftercare instructions. Most patients spend approximately 1-1.5 hours in the surgery facility.

After the surgery, it is like looking through a watery fog and you experience soft focus. You are able to see enough to walk around without assistance, but the vision is not clear. Relatively clear vision normally returns within just a few hours of LASIK treatment.  Patients typically see at driving standard after 24-48 hours following LASIK surgery and after 7-10 days followingLASEK surgery.  Remember to follow the aftercare instructions we give you.  These are provided to you when you schedule your surgery.

It is usually safe to drive short distances 24 hours after LASIK surgery. However, you must wait until Miss Saw has given you the all-clear to do so, at your first post-op check-up (this is the day after your surgery). Even after being given clearance, you must only drive once you feel safe to do so.

You can apply make-up to your face 48 hours after surgery. However, you should avoid eye-makeup for seven days.