Tales From the Lasik Waiting Room

As an experienced Lasik patient I thought I might give a glimpse into the worst part of the Lasik procedure… the waiting room. I have had a Lasik procedure twice, the second being a follow up since one of my eyes needed additional work after the healing procedure was complete. I was distinctly less nervous about the second procedure, and observed and talked to a number of the other Lasik clients that were waiting with me.

One was a young woman in her early twenties who talked incessantly trying to keep her mind off of any of the Lasik brochures and information on the table. She had been thoroughly oriented to both the Lasik operation and post-op procedures, but had brought along a few stuffed animals to keep her company during the operation. Most Lasik physicians recommend a minimum age of 18 due to sufficient maturity of the eye, but maybe waiting for some emotional maturity might be another factor. On the other hand, I wondered what I looked and sounded like waiting for my first Lasik operation.

Talking to a few of the other Lasik clients, I realized I was not the only one in for a second Lasik procedure. Two others were like me in that they did not get sufficient improvement in their vision to satisfy themselves or the Lasik surgeon. In all of our cases, our first Lasik procedure of several months earlier went well, and none of us were particularly nervous.

It did surprise me, considering that it was 6:30 AM, of the variety of clothing styles of the Lasik clients. Most of us, considering the hour and the rather frigid temperature of the Lasik operating room and the waiting room, were dressed in snug and warm sweat suits or other comfortable wear. One Lasik patient was dressed in formal business attire with full makeup.

This puzzled me for at least two reasons: any makeup, lotions, or other things that could get into the eye are forbidden for at least 24 hours before the surgery, and it is highly recommended to go home and sleep as quickly as possible after the Lasik procedure. The only thing I could figure out was that she wasn’t actually getting a Lasik procedure, but no one else is there at 6:30 AM. Her dominating and withering look made me decide that any pre-Lasik conversation with her was better left unsaid.

I was probably the fourth person escorted into a waiting room for a final discussion on Lasik post-op procedures, but I could not tell how long I had been waiting. I think they avoid clocks for a very good reason. The lady two seats down from me was calm enough about her Lasik procedure to go back to sleep while waiting, which seemed like an eminently sensible idea.

Each patient is offered a mild sedative before the Lasik procedure starts. It is mainly for psychological purposes, as my first Lasik experience was not painful at all. I did take it for my first experience, but my own Lasik history and the others I have heard in the waiting room make me think that I don’t need it. But I take it anyway, just in case.

I hope that this window into a Lasik waiting room helps give the attitude that for most people it is not a dreaded procedure, and for those of us that have had Lasik done, a rather uneventful one.

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My Day for Lasik Surgery

This story is for my family and friends who wonder what it is like to go through a Lasik vision correction procedure. I’ve shared my experiences with one or two colleagues at work that have also had Lasik done, and there are enough variations to give insight to those who are trying to choose between different Lasik physicians or different Lasik centers.

First, my Lasik procedure was scheduled for 4 PM in the afternoon, which was fine with me. One of the directions for patient that has just had a Lasik procedure was to go to sleep as soon as possible, in order for the healing process to begin as quickly as possible. And usually by the end of the afternoon I am too tired after working all day to be very nervous. Well, usually anyway.

I had only been there a few minutes when I was called into a room to prepare me for the Lasik procedure, and to get instructions (again!) on how to care for my eyes once the Lasik vision correction has been done. They offered me some Ativan, which is a mild sedative just to keep me calm during the Lasik process. The lasers themselves monitor any head or eye movement and turn themselves off when it occurs, so it isn’t that the sedative is for anything other than psychological reasons. I took it anyway. All of my colleagues at work also took it, though none of us really felt any different than we did before. Apparently it is a VERY mild sedative.

My eyes were prepared for the Lasik procedure by being dosed with eye numbing drops and some kind of medication. I cannot be sure of the other pre-operative steps, as I think I was trying very hard not to think about either Lasik or my eyes. Perhaps the sedative was a bit stronger than I imagined it was.

At this point I was escorted into another room for some time, where I sat back, listened to the piped-in music, and awaited my turn in the Lasik operating room. There were two other people waiting with me in this room, so apparently my doctor different setup for his Lasik patients than my colleagues. Both were alone in their pre-op rooms until they were escorted into the room where the Lasik procedure was actually performed.

As to the Lasik procedure itself, all of us have similar memories from this procedure. Each of us felt some pressure when the various Lasik implements were used on our eyes, though there wasn’t any real discomfort or pain. There was a blurring of vision for the eye being worked on, but the real sensation was mainly audio – the whirring and clicks of the machine. One of my colleagues also remembers a distinct smell, somewhat reminiscent of hair burning. There may have been a slight smell during my Lasik procedure, but it wasn’t significant enough for my attention to be focused on it.

After a short amount of time, my Lasik physician said he was done and that I had been a good patient. In all of our Lasik experiences, the operation itself was much easier than all of our worries about it beforehand. I hope this helps those of you considering having a Lasik procedure done.

Technorati Tags: Ativan, Colleagues, Directions, Experiences, Eye Movement, Family And Friends, Few Minutes, Healing Process, Insight, Lasers, Lasik Procedure, Lasik Surgery, Lasik Vision Correction, Medication, Mild Sedative, Music, Operating Room, Physicians, Psychological Reasons, Sleep, Variations