What Will My Vision be Like the Day After LASIK Surgery?

Since LASIK was approved by the FDA, millions of patients have been able to enjoy a better standard of living, free of visual complications. Many have also been able to ditch the glasses and lenses they once depended on to benefit from improved, unaided visual potency.

And if you wish to have the same transformative experience, we’d love to help. So we invite all Chicago area residents to contact us or visit us at Kirk Eye Center in River Forest or Gurnee, IL.

LASIK has been an eye-care mainstay for more than two decades

The LASIK vision correction system is used to correct the refractive errors that plague well over 100 million Americans. These refractive errors are the ones you’ve no doubt heard of, including nearsightedness and farsightedness. Such disorders are caused by an abnormally shaped cornea, which improperly bends the incoming light. Without being correctly bent, or refracted, the light cannot focus on the light-sensitive cells of the retina at the back of the eye.

But LASIK can easily, quickly, and effectively fix these issues without risking major complications. This outpatient procedure does not cause pain and is straightforward. A near-circular flap is made on the cornea (the flap will heal within a few days without needing sutures or stitches or the like) so that a laser can reshape the corneal tissue, allowing it to effectively focus light onto the retina. And voila.

What will one’s vision be like the day after LASIK vision correction?

Patients report improvements in their vision following LASIK surgery, and many already boast better eyesight the day after. However, it’s perfectly normal to experience visual side effects since the eyes require some time to heal. The exact length of the recovery period depends on multiple factors, including those specific to the patients’ physiology, lifestyle, and medical history. Similarly, the specifics of the performed procedure will also impact the post-procedural period.

Generally, the healing process may be affected by the degree of your prescription prior to laser-vision correction: those with a higher original prescription may find it takes longer for their vision to heal, though the difference should not be too significant.

Patients should not be alarmed if they experience various visual distortions, including blurriness, haziness, or fluctuations in vision. We hesitate to offer a set-in-stone figure for how long such effects will last because every situation is circumstantial. And there’s no reason to cause potential worry by creating certain expectations. However, it’s possible that it may take several days for the after-effects to begin to dissipate. It’s also normal for one’s eyesight to take longer to stabilize fully, potentially weeks.

Contact us to discover how LASIK can correct your vision

Knowing what to expect can encourage hopeful patients to seek help and shed their doubts, to personally experience the LASIK advantage. We can provide further, more specific information when we see you at one of our practices in River Forest, Gurnee, or Chicago, IL. We’ll also develop a fully personalized treatment plan just for you, formulating your ideal outcome. So, reach out to us today at Kirk Eye Center to explore your options.