Vision Correction Surgery Preparation

Every person who is considering LASIK must undergo a complete eye examination prior to surgery.

• During this examination, the corneal thickness will be measured with a device called a pachymeter. Adequate corneal tissue remaining after the procedure is extremely important. If your cornea is too thin, LASIK may not be able to treat the refractive error without thinning the cornea too far, inducing a complication.



• A map of the corneal surface, called topography, is performed to rule out any corneal problems that may lead to a poor result with the surgery, such as keratoconus. The size of the pupils in light and dark will be measured. People with large pupil diameters in a dimly lit room may not be good candidates for the LASIK procedure.



• The refractive error will be checked prior to dilation of your pupils and again after dilation. This helps ensure that the refractive error is stable. A glaucoma test and a thorough retinal examination are also performed at this visit.



• If you wear contact lenses (soft or hard), you will be asked to leave them out for a period of time prior to the exam, which may vary among individual doctors. Contact lenses may distort the surface of the eye and interfere with the measurements being taken prior to surgery. The cornea of the eye, and the corrective prescription, should be stable.