Laser eye surgery is, of course, a type of medical surgery and therefore should be thoroughly considered, but for many people, their recovery time is as short as a few hours.
The Initial Consultation
We first schedule every client in for a free consultation where you can discuss all the options available to you and, if ready, beginning scheduling a time for the procedure. Our Burnaby laser eye surgery centre is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. We understand taking time away from work isn’t easy for everyone so if you would prefer a morning, late afternoon or lunch time appointment to suit your working hours, just let us know.
Scheduling The Procedure
We will do our best to find a procedure date and time that suits your schedule. Generally, there will be a wait of a few weeks between your consultation and laser eye surgery. If you are from out of town we can schedule the consult and surgery for the same day.
Day Of Surgery
The actual surgery time can be as short as a few minutes, and rarely over an hour, but for some procedures we suggest you allow an hour or two to give yourself time to relax feel comfortable enough to leave the centre and head home. Again, you can advise us of what times and dates suit you best however the more flexible you are on times, the quicker we will likely be able to schedule your surgery in.
Recovery
Recovery times vary for each type of laser eye surgery. For LASIK, most people return to work the very next day. If you are able to, you may want to take the following day off too but for most people, this isn’t necessary. You will however need to see Dr. Boyd the day after surgery.
PRK is very similar to LASIK, but with PRK, we laser your cornea and the recovery is longer. Patients are often given more analgesia and are therefore advised to take a longer period of time away from work to recover fully. Typically, a person will feel ready to return to their usual routine within a week.
Each person recovers at their own speed however the recovery time following cataract surgery is often similar to that of PRK. Patients who choose to have more advanced refractive premium implants may find it takes two to three months to reach their final visual outcome but the actual recovery time should be less than a week.
Every person is unique and so this is just an approximation of how much time you may need off. For a more personalized recommendation, contact us or stop by our Burnaby laser eye surgery centre to schedule in a free consultation.