Your LASIK Consultation: What We Measure and Why

Before you arrive

Contact lenses mold the cornea, and the measurements need it in its natural shape. How long your contact lenses stay out before your measurements is decided case by case, by the lens type and how long you have worn them, and our team tells you the exact time when you book. Wear glasses instead. Bring your current glasses, your contact lens prescription if you have one, and a list of any medications. If you have had previous eye surgery or records from another eye doctor, bring those too.

The measurements

Most of the visit is spent gathering the numbers that decide candidacy and design a treatment:

• Refraction: your prescription, measured both with and without drops that relax the eye's focusing, so we know the true correction rather than the one your eye muscles have been compensating for
• Corneal topography and, where appropriate, tomography: maps of the front and back surface of the cornea, which reveal astigmatism, irregularity and early keratoconus, the single most important thing a LASIK screening must exclude
• Pachymetry: corneal thickness, which sets how much tissue can safely be removed
• Wavefront analysis where appropriate: the eye's full optical fingerprint, used to help design a custom treatment
• Pupil size in dim light, which affects night vision after treatment
• Tear film assessment, because dry eye affects both healing and the quality of the result
• A dilated examination of the retina and lens to rule out other eye disease

The conversation with your surgeon

Once the measurements are in, your surgeon reviews them with you. If LASIK is a good fit, you will hear what result the numbers predict, what recovery looks like, and what the small risks are. If it is not, you will hear why, and which procedure suits your eyes better: PRK for thinner corneas or an irregular surface, SMILE for patients who want a flapless option, the EVO ICL for high prescriptions or dry eyes, or a lens based procedure after 45. Because all of these are offered here, the recommendation follows your eyes rather than the equipment.

You also receive a written quote for the procedure recommended, and your written quote explains exactly what is included. Financing options, including 0% interest financing for up to 18 months for LASIK, are explained if you want them. There is no pressure to decide on the day.

What you will be told if the answer is 'not yet'

Some patients are candidates in principle but not today: a prescription that changed in the last year, dry eye that needs treatment first, or an age below 18. In those cases you will be given a plan and a date to come back. The measurements are kept on file so the second visit is quicker.