Departments

Department of Refractive Surgery

After the operation

Depending on your surgeon’s preference, you will be given antibiotics and steroid drops to use for a period of 7-10 days. You will also be given artificial tears for a few months.

The most important instruction is that you not rub or press your eyes for one week.
Usually you will wear special "eye shields" during your night's sleep for one week, to protect your eyes.

Your eye may be red with small spots of superficial blood (small conjuctiva hemorrage) which will disappear within 2 to 4 weeks.

You must rest as much as possible after the operation, since sleep drastically helps speeding the healing process. You must avoid swimming, hot baths and the contact of water or soap with your eyes for one week.

You must also avoid eye makeup, gardening and dusty or dirty surroundings for one week. Smoking is allowed but you will find that smoke irritates the eyes.

Avoid driving for a few days or until you feel comfortable since you may present vision clouding and a loss of the sense of depth. Your ophthalmologist will let you know when you will be ready to drive safely.

You must realize that postoperative follow-up is as important for the final result as the operation itself. We recommend that you return to your ophthalmologist's clinic to be examined so that you make sure your eyes are healing and any questions you may have are answered.

The postoperative examinations usually carried out are :
- Day 1 : corneal flap examination
- Week 1 : vision check
- Month 1 : examination to determine whether an additional procedure is required
- Month 3 : additional procedure if necessary and possible.
(depending on the surgeon's judgement and the eye's healing, additional procedures may be performed after 3 to 12 months)
- Month 6 : optical stability of the eye check
- Month 12 : final check

All patients must come in for a full ophthalmological test on an annual basis. This is a preventive measure for your eyes' health and correct function.

The examination of your eye's fundus is particularly important if you have myopia since a high myopia is associated with an increased percentage of retinal degenerations compared to the normal eye.