Questions to Ask About LASIK
Questions to take to a consultation about laser vision correction: whether your prescription is stable, what your measurements allow, which risks apply to you, what the price covers, and how aftercare works.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What is my prescription, and has it been stable?
Why ask it
A prescription still shifting is a reason to wait, because the correction is fixed to the measurement taken on the day. Ask how many years of records they want to see, and bring old prescriptions if you have them.
Am I suitable for LASIK, and which of my measurements tells you that?
Why ask it
You want the numbers behind the answer: corneal thickness, pupil size, tear film, prescription range. A yes with no measurements attached is worth checking at a second clinic.
Is LASIK the best option for my eyes, or would another procedure suit me better?
Why ask it
Thin corneas, dry eyes, a very high prescription or early lens changes can point elsewhere. A clinic that offers only one procedure will tend to find you suitable for that one.
How thick are my corneas, and how much tissue would be removed?
Why ask it
This is the constraint that decides both whether treatment is safe and whether it can be repeated later. Ask what would be left afterwards, and whether that leaves room for an enhancement.
Do I have dry eye now, and how would surgery affect it?
Why ask it
Dry eye is the most common lasting complaint after refractive surgery, and it is usually worse in people who already have it. Ask what they would want treated before operating.
Will I still need glasses for reading, now or later?
Why ask it
Correcting distance vision does nothing for reading, and reading glasses arrive with age regardless. People in their forties are often surprised by this, so get it said plainly before you book.
What correction are you aiming for, and how likely is a second procedure?
Why ask it
Deliberate slight under-correction, or leaving one eye for reading, are real strategies with trade-offs. Ask the likelihood of needing further treatment to reach the target.
What are the chances I would still need glasses to drive?
Why ask it
Outcomes come in ranges rather than certainties. The useful figure is the chance of ending up short of the legal driving standard unaided, which is a different question from the chance of perfect vision.
What are the risks, and how often do they occur in your own practice?
Why ask it
Published figures come from selected groups of patients. Asking about their own results invites a more grounded answer, and a surgeon who reports never having had a complication has either done few procedures or is not telling you.
What is the most common complication you see, and how do you treat it?
Why ask it
Naming one produces something concrete rather than a risk list: dry eye, night glare, halos, flap problems, under-correction. Ask how each is managed and who pays for that.
Who performs the surgery, and how many have they done in the last year?
Why ask it
At some clinics the person who assesses you is not the person operating. Ask for the surgeon's name and their recent volume rather than the clinic's total.
Which laser and technique would be used, and why that one for me?
Why ask it
Techniques differ, including whether a flap is created at all. Ask why this one suits your eyes rather than what the technology is called, and what the alternative would mean for healing.
What happens if something goes wrong during the procedure?
Why ask it
Ask about the specific scenarios: suction loss, an incomplete flap, an equipment fault. A clear answer about stopping and rescheduling is reassuring, and surgeons are used to the question.
What will the first week be like, and how much time should I take off?
Why ask it
Vision fluctuates for days and can be worse before it improves. Ask about the first night in particular, and whether someone needs to drive you home and stay with you.
What are the restrictions afterwards on driving, screens, exercise, swimming and makeup?
Why ask it
These are the rules people break without meaning to: rubbing the eyes, swimming, dusty work, contact sport, eye makeup. Ask for the list in writing with dates rather than general advice.
What does the price include, and are follow-up visits and enhancements covered?
Why ask it
Quotes differ on the assessment, medication, aftercare appointments and any repeat treatment. Ask what an enhancement would cost and for how long after surgery it remains included.
Who sees me for follow-up, and for how long?
Why ask it
Aftercare is where the rest of your questions will surface. Ask whether follow-up is with the surgeon or an optometrist, over what period, and whether it is available near where you live.
What should I do if I have pain or a sudden change in vision in the middle of the night?
Why ask it
You want a number and the hours it is answered. Severe pain or a sudden change after refractive surgery needs assessing quickly rather than at the next scheduled appointment.
Would waiting a few years change anything for me?
Why ask it
For some people, particularly with a shifting prescription or early lens changes, waiting is the better plan. A surgeon willing to say so is more trustworthy than one who treats today as the only opportunity.
What would make you decline to operate on me?
Why ask it
Asking what rules a patient out reveals the criteria in use. If the answer is that hardly anyone gets turned away, that tells you how carefully patients are screened here.
Before you book
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Getting a reliable assessment
Get an opinion from someone not selling surgery
An optometrist with no surgical interest, or a second clinic, can take the same measurements without a stake in the answer. Two assessments that agree are worth the extra fee.
Leave contact lenses out well before measurements
Lenses change the shape of the cornea, and the break required differs between soft and rigid types. Ask how long they want and follow it, because inaccurate measurements produce an inaccurate correction.
Ask for the numbers, not just the verdict
Prescription, corneal thickness, pupil size and tear film results, in writing. Having the figures lets you compare clinics and check that the recommendation follows from your eyes rather than the price list.
Order for the questions
At the consultation
- 1Has my prescription been stable?
- 2Am I suitable, and which measurements say so?
- 3Would a different procedure suit my eyes better?
- 4How thick are my corneas, and what would be left?
Before you book
- 1Who performs the surgery, and how often?
- 2What does the price include?
- 3Are follow-up visits and enhancements covered?
- 4What would make you decline to operate?
Before the day
- 1What will the first week be like, and how much time off?
- 2What are the restrictions, and for how long?
- 3Who do I call at night if something is wrong?
- 4Who sees me for follow-up, and where?
What goes wrong
Do not book from an advertised price
Promotional figures usually apply to the lowest prescriptions and the older techniques, and they leave out aftercare. Ask what your own eyes would cost with follow-up included.
Do not have surgery on the day you are assessed
Same-day treatment leaves no time to consider the measurements or seek another opinion, and it can mean operating on eyes still affected by recent contact lens wear.
Do not dismiss dry eye and night vision
These are the effects most likely to persist and most likely to affect ordinary life. Ask what patients report six months later, not only what settles within a fortnight.
If you are unsure whether to have it at all
Write down the specific problem you want solved, such as sport, or waking unable to see, then ask what the realistic best case is for your eyes and compare the two. This is elective surgery and there is no clinical cost to waiting a year. If a clinic suggests otherwise, ask what would change medically in that time.