Frequently asked questions

1. What do I need to do before the treatment?

Contact lens wearers should refrain from wearing their contact lenses for two weeks (in the case of soft contact lenses) or three weeks (in the case of hard contact lenses) before the decisive preliminary examination as well as before the operation. Only then is it possible to measure the cornea accurately. This is of critical importance for the success of the procedure: Incorrect pre-operative measurements lead to incorrect measurement of the treatment!
Eye-make-up may not be worn on the day of the preliminary examination and on the day of treatment.
Alcohol-based perfumes should be avoided on the day of the operation.

2. How should I behave after the treatment?

Immediately after the treatment you will be given an eye bandage or an eye patch to prevent unintentional contact with the newly operated eye. In the case of an excimer laser treatment using PRK an extremely thin soft contact lens will be placed on the cornea for three days as a dressing. It protects the treated cornea and keeps post-operative discomfort to a minimum. Following the other operational procedures you will be given an eye patch or a bandage. Before you leave our clinic, you will be given precise instructions on how to behave in the coming days, which eye drops to use and when you should come to us for a check-up. Please adhere strictly to these instructions: They are just as important for the outcome of the treatment as the treatment itself.

Allow for being unable to work for approximately three days after the operation. Directly after the treatment you will again be given detailed information on the problems you may experience and how to deal with them if the need arises. You will also be told how to get in touch at any time with the doctor treating you. In the first three to four weeks following the laser treatment you should avoid excessive physical stress and exposure to ultra-violet radiation (i.e. excessive sunshine, solarium, etc.

Once you are told at the post-operative check-ups that the wound is completely healed you can largely resume a normal life. However avoid excessive rubbing of the treated eye for at least 4 weeks.

3. When will I be able to work?

In the event of a normal and complication-free outcome -which is fortunately the general rule - it is possible to resume work a few days after the procedure, normally no longer than one week. Special cases must be clarified in a personal discussion.

4. When can I drive a car again?

Driving a motor vehicle is only possible once adequate vision has been established in the treated eye. In some cases of severe defective vision on both sides, only after treatment of the second eye.

5. Long term experience?

Experiences in refractive procedures have been gathered over different periods of time. The first PRK's were carried out around 10 years ago, the first LASIK operations around 6 years ago. For the in-eye contact lens (Artisan lens) experience dates back a little over 10 years. These periods of time are only of limited meaningfulness, because the procedures are being continuously improved and developed and thus, for example, the results of the PRK from 10 years ago only allow very imprecise conclusions to be drawn in respect of the effectiveness of this procedure in its present form. The same applies to all procedures in refractive lens surgery.

6. Risks / going blind?

With any operation the risk of a failure is always present. However with the refractive surgery procedures in use today, the risk of serious complications is considered slight but cannot be completely excluded. The risk of becoming blind as a result of a procedure of this type is extremely low.

The preconditions for reducing the risk to the to the lowest currently achievable level, are largely dependent on the experience of the surgeon performing the operation on the one hand and on the dependability of the patient in observing and carrying out the post-operative treatment instructions on the other.

Specific information can only be given in each individual case during a personal discussion with the ophthalmologist following the examination.

7. Pains?

The operations themselves are carried out under local anaesthetic and therefore cause no pain. During the treatment only a slight sensation of pressure will be felt.

After the operation it is possible, depending on the type of procedure, to experience sensations ranging from slight discomfort up to considerable pain in some cases. These will be dealt through appropriate medication. From experience the pain in the first hours to days following a PRK are moderate to considerable, relatively lower following a LASIK/Artisan lens operation.

8. Is it possible to treat both eyes at the same time?

We are of the opinion that the treatment of both eyes in one visit should be avoided if at all possible. We will only deviate from this principle under special, unavoidable circumstances.

Further information on this must be clarified in a personal discussion between the doctor and patient.

9. Glasses after the operation?

An operative correction of defective vision to exactly 0.0 diopters, even under the strictest test conditions is more the exception than the rule. As to whether glasses are still “needed” after the operation, largely depends on the requirements placed by the patient on his or her vision. In general, the question can best be answered as follows: The objective of the operation is to eliminate the need to wear glasses.

If we define this as having uncorrected vision which is to all intents and purposes sufficient for the needs of everyday life, then today this is achieved with almost every patient. It also includes all those residual minor vision defects which, although still detectable, do not cause the patient any restrictions in day-to-day life.

It does not exclude the possibility that the use of a minor additional correction by means of spectacles may be advisable in certain circumstances such as night driving for example.

9a. Reading glasses after the operation?

Since a previously nearsighted patient gains normal vision through an operation of this type, he will also require reading glasses after the onset of presbyopia (from around age 45 - 50), just as every naturally normal-sighted person would need them from this time. Presbyopia is a natural process, that is bound to occur to everyone, irrespective of whether they have undergone an eye operation or not.

9b. Do people with slight nearsightedness have a choice?

For people with slight nearsightedness one could say that from approx. age 45 the majority of them are unable to get by completely without glasses. The only choice they have is whether they prefer to see into the distance without glasses but require glasses for reading, or alternatively to read without glasses, but still require glasses for distance vision.

10. How long does the treatment last?

From our experience gathered to date we can assume that the results achieved after at least two years are permanent as far as anyone can judge, provided the eye does not grow again.

11. Is it possible to wear contact lenses after an operation of this type?

Contact lenses can still be worn to correct any residual refractive error after all refractive operations. However fitting is somewhat more difficult with procedures on the cornea as a result of its changed shape.

12. When can I play sports again?

As a general rule after four weeks. Extreme sport types should be discussed in particular cases.

13. What happens in the period between the operations on each eye?

Because as a general rule we do not consider it good practice to treat both eyes in one visit the intervening period may prove troublesome: Contact lens wearers get through this period without significant difficulty by continuing to wear a contact lens on the untreated eye. It is important to remember however that the contact lens should not be worn at all in the 2 -3 weeks before the procedure.

Glasses wearers have two options for dealing with this period: either they leave the eye which is yet to treated uncorrected or they continue to wear their old glasses which will create a blurred image in the treated eye. There is no patent remedy for this situation – for this period the patient will have to make do as best he or she can, according to the actual situation.

The degree of difficulty this causes for the individual patient will influence the decision on the procedure in each individual case and also determine the time of the operation on the second eye.

14. What is the treatment after the operation?

It depends on the operation procedure. Generally it consists of the application of eye drops over a limited time. It is extremely important, that both the check-up times as well as the doctor’s instructions are adhered to precisely by the patient. Should any problems arise, the doctor treating the patient must be consulted without delay. The post-operative follow-up treatment by means of drugs, in particular the treatment which includes eye drops containing cortisone over a certain period in the case of PRK, requires regular check-ups to prevent undesirable side effects.

We recommend a check-up on the operated eye at least every two years following the operation.

15. Treatment during pregnancy?

ZAlthough in principle there are no known side-effects on a pregnancy caused by refractive surgery and the necessary follow-up treatment, we would nevertheless not advise a patient to undertake a treatment of this nature during a pregnancy for safety considerations.

16. Repeat treatment?

Although it is possible in principle to repeat the laser treatment or to replace the Artisan lens if the defective vision is not fully overcome at the first attempt or if the effect decreases after some time (regression). This retreatability is however only possible and sensible within certain limits. These restrictions will be taken into account when considering the most appropriate procedure in each case.