FAQs

The time of your examination will depend on the condition of your eye and the treatment you are seeking but it would be wise to allow at least 90-120 minutes for your appointment.

We advise patients to remove their contact lenses for at least seven (7) days prior to the appointment to allow for accurate results from testing.

You do not need a referral for Laser Vision Correction.

There is no need to arrive earlier than your admission time. We allow time for the pre-admissions process when we set your time, and your procedure will go ahead as soon as the admissions process is complete.

Typically, two (2) hours from the time of your admission.

You do not need anyone to stay with you, but you are welcome to have someone keep you company. This could be a family member, friend, carer or substitute decision maker. You will need someone to drive you home.

If you are having sedation, you will also need a responsible adult to stay with you for the first 24 hours after you are discharged.  Our nursing staff will go through the written instructions with this person for your wellbeing when you go home. This includes advice about sleep, watching TV or reading, personal care habits like showering, pain relief, and when you can resume normal activities.

Your doctor will usually see you before you are discharged and again the next day at your post-op appointment if required.

It is unlikely you will need to fast before your procedure unless your doctor advises you to do this in your admission information.

Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and appropriate footwear. Do not wear thongs, flip flops, high heels, or slip on shoes.

Makeup should be removed prior to your arrival. The eyes and eye area needs to be clean and make up free.

No. Laser Vision Correction or other refractive surgery is day surgery, and you will not stay overnight.

Patients spend approximately two (2) hours at the centre on procedure day, and many are able to drive the next day and even return to work if they wish to. Many patients choose to take off the following day dependent on which procedure they are having. PRK may require longer, with less ability to perform near tasks initially.

However, it is worth noting that each case is different and how well you can function depends on the degree of your refractive error, the recovery rate of your eye, and the type of visual tasks you perform at work.

In general, people with smaller corrections who do not engage in heavy, near, or screen based tasks can expect to function very well in the days after the procedure. Others may have a longer recovery.

During Laser Vision Correction the eye is anaesthetised with drops. As such, you should not experience any pain during the procedure.

It is normal, however, to feel some mild stretching of the eyelid from the speculum during the procedure.

During LASIK, PresbyLASIK and SMILE® Pro there is a 10-25 second period of pressure from the suction ring used. These sensations should not be bothersome to the point of being painful.

Following the procedure there will be a foreign body feeling in the eyes which in the case of LASIK, PresbyLASIK, and SMILE® Pro is for a period of 2-6 hours and is generally mild.

PRK on the other hand may initially be more uncomfortable and takes 3-4 days for the corneal epithelium to heal.

In both cases pain relief is provided for the initial post-operative period. The degree of pain or discomfort experienced can vary depending on individual pain threshold, but this has no effect on the final outcome.

Blinking is prevented by the speculum that keeps the eye open and therefore is not a problem.

Eye movement on the other hand can influence the outcome so it must in some way be compensated for during the procedure. Some older lasers rely on the patient to fixate on a blinking light but unfortunately this is not always possible, especially during LASIK and PRK.

To overcome this difficulty, the advanced lasers employ techniques to follow your eye movements during the procedure to compensate for the errors in placement of the pulses that would arise. These tracking systems ensure that the full benefits of the laser are provided improving predictability and rate of recovery thereby reducing the chance for remedial enhancement surgery and/or loss of best potential vision.

SMILE® Pro performs the correction while the eye is stabilised and therefore not moving so tracking systems are not required for this procedure.

Pull your lower lid down to make a pocket for the drop and then squeeze the bottle gently to release the required number of drops ensuring that the bottle does not touch your lower lid or eye.

Close your eyes without squeezing them and keep them closed for around 30 seconds to allow the medication to stay in contact with the eye for longer.

Lightly blot any excess medication away with a clean tissue while your eyes are shut.

There is no Medicare benefit for Laser Vision Correction procedures, however, rebates may be available from some health insurers at their top level of cover, and we have contracts in place with most major health funds.

Please check with your fund to see if any entitlements apply, and if you wish to claim, please advise our staff prior to your admission. There are also options to secure finance for this surgery.

We accept:

• Cash
• Credit Cards
• Eftpos

This is our goal in regards to your distance vision. For the vast majority of cases, we can achieve this goal although enhancement surgery may occasionally be required.

However, it is important to note that this is a surgical procedure of living tissue and therefore is subject to some degree of variable response.

Also, it is important to remember that Laser Vision Correction does not alter the normal ageing processes of the eye such as the loss of flexibility of the lens required for good near vision. It cannot overcome diseases of the eye that reduce the vision potential of the eye such as retinal disease.

Your laser treatment is designed to last forever. Laser Vision Correction, or refractive surgery is typically performed to treat and correct distance vision. Success rates are high, but your eyes still will go through the normal changes of aging.

As you age and the natural lens of the eye becomes less flexible, a natural aging process called presbyopia occurs, and it is likely you will require reading glasses for near tasks. This usually happens to most people in their 40s to 50s.