Pre-Op

Once you have decided to have the procedure done, the first step is the Pre-Op appointment. I think you have to pay something for the pre-op since this is basically a full eye exam. The experience may be different, depending on what type of lasik procedure you choose, but there will probably be a good amount of similarities as well.

First off, they handed me a bunch of paperwork for me to initialize or sign. Most of these were to accept the risks of the procedure...as well as signing an agreement to do the post-op appointments and the guarantees and such. No big deal.

After my name was called, I was brought to a room similar to the one from my consultation appointment. The machines were pretty much the same. Stick your head into the machine and stare into it while it churns. After a few seconds it finishes and you move onto the next one. I believe one machine maps your eyeball and weirdly can tell what your vision is from this mapping. One of the other machines is the glaucoma test, where you basically stare into the machine until the puff of air shoots into your eye. I never had problems with this test, but some people do, so I thought I'd mention it.

Once the machine stuff is over with, they take you to another room and start doing standard vision tests. This is the silly subjective test where you see the letters on the wall, and you have to tell which lens looks better.

Afterwards, they walk you into the lobby and then you get to watch the fun video that describes all the risks. I figured this was coming at some point. The video was about 10 minutes long and just went through all the risks and expectations of the procedure. Basically saying the chance of going blind is like super teeny, but there is still the risk...so now that we're covered, sign the paperwork. They also go through the expectations, saying that it could take days, weeks or months before you see good results, so suck it up and sign the paperwork.

Alrighty, after the video, then you get to meet with one of the doctors, who basically does a second round of the subjective vision test. I'm actually ok with this, though, since he said they compare these test to the eye mapping to make sure they match. I figure the more testing they do the more accurate I'll feel for the surgery. The doctor explained the procedure. Basically demonstrating how much pressure they will be putting on the eye, and what to expect in terms of vision. He said my eyes were healthy and I shouldn't have any problems. I asked him if what would be a red flag for me to call after the procedure...and he said only if you experience pain after about 6 hours. He said I should plan on going to sleep after I get home and everyone will be fine.

Before I left, they gave me a little pouch of goodies. Basically they gave me lid scrubbers, which I have to clean my lids for 3 nights prior to the surgery. I received artificial tears to handle any dryness afterwards. I also got some sweet looking sunglasses, an eye shield, and directions to pick up prescriptions at my local CVS.