| After the Procedure
The 1st Day
Following the surgery by either Dr. Gruber or Dr. Hartman, you should go home and rest.
You may or may not experience some discomfort. If you had the LASIK any discomfort should only last for a few hours. With PRK, it may last for a few days, but should not be severe. We will provide you with pain medication to be used as needed as well asophthalmic drops to promote healing.
Initially, you can expect your vision to be fairly blurry. In the case of PRK the vision may worsen over the first three days. With LASIK there is usually a dramatic improvement in vision in the first 24 hours.
It may be a good idea not to plan on driving until you feel your vision has improved. This may be a week with PRK and a few days with LASIK. Sensitivity to light is normal and will improve. For the short-term:
- Wear good sunglasses.
- Avoid rubbing your eyes
- Avoid swimming, surfing and hot tubs for a week
- You can shower, but avoid splashing water in your eyes
- Stay away from dusty or smoky environments
The 1st Week
Before you leave the Rochester Ophthamalogical Group, we'll give you complete instructions including a postoperative appointment schedule. A typical postoperative appointment schedule includes examinations the day after, a week after and one, three, six and twelve months after, with annual checkups after that.
With PRK your vision may get worse for the first three days. But don't despair! You will notice a marked mprovement in your vision at about day 5 and will continue to improve for several weeks. We recommend you use drops for at least three months. The frequency will be modified after the one-month visit. With LASIK your vision improves more quickly and you may feel comfortable enough to drive in two days. You will be using drops for about ten days.
The 1st Year
After PRK and LASIK it can take as much as three months for your vision to stabilize.
With LASIK recovery is generally faster than with PRK. Stability can be achieved in as little time as two weeks.
With LASIK, although the flap is relatively secure in one week, we advise you not to rub your eyes hard for a month.
With PRK the post-operative steroid drops must be continued as your doctor suggests. Deviations from this regimen may lead to haze or regression.
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