LASIK Success!

It's been just over 36 hours since my CustomVue LASIK surgery at Duke and I've been very happy with the results so far!

The procedure itself was very fast and painless. After I arrived, I had the same tests and measurements that I previously had a few months ago to ensure there was stability in my eyes. After that, I met with the nurse and doctor to verify the details of the procedure and begin preparation (and...of course, pay)! I was given a Valium to relax and went over post-op instructions for eye drops, do's and dont's, etc. while I slipped on a surgical hat and slippers.

Then it was time to wait. I had my eyes marked with a pen and was then led into surgery. Each laser is housed in its own room.

The first creates the corneal flap and is called the IntraLase laser. Before being positioned under the machine, I was given numbing eye drops in each eye while the other was taped shut. I had to stare into a light for about 30 seconds per eye. Once the flaps were created, I was taken to a second laser in the room next door (VISX) that actually performs the correction. Each flap is lifted up while the precise correction (reshaping of corneal bed) is preformed (based on computer program sepcifically for each eye). This only took about 15-20 seconds per eye. Afterwards, the flap is closed and irrigated and it seals itself within minutes. Oh, and the eyelid holders are removed that were placed before the correction process began. That was it! I just needed to keep my eyes closed for 6 hours following the procedure and be sure to use a series of eye drops for 4 days.

Want to watch the procedure I had? Duke has a video of LASIK being performed on Duke basketball star Chris Carrawell here. Everything is identical to my procedure, even some of the staff!