Refractive surgery might be a good option for you if you:

• Want to decrease your dependence on glasses or contact lenses;
• Are free of eye disease;
• Accept the inherent risks and potential side effects of the procedure;
• Understand that you could still need glasses or contacts after the procedure to achieve your best vision;
• Have an appropriate refractive error.

Steps you can take to prepare for surgery include:

• Know what surgery may cost you. LASIK or refractive surgery is usually considered elective surgery, so most insurance companies won't cover the cost of the surgery. Be prepared to pay out-of-pocket for your expenses.
• Arrange for a ride home. You'll need to have someone drive you to and from your place of surgery. Immediately after surgery, you might still feel the effects of medicine given to you before surgery, and your vision may be blurry.
• Skip the eye makeup. Don't use eye makeup, cream, perfumes or lotions on the day before and the day of your surgery. Your doctor may also instruct you to clean your eyelashes daily or more often in the days leading up to surgery, to remove debris and minimize your risk of infection.

Refractive surgery includes many procedures but for LASIK surgery-

You may be given medicine to help you relax.

After numbing drops are placed in your eye, your doctor uses an instrument to hold your eyelids open.

A suction ring placed on your eye just before cutting the corneal flap may cause a feeling of pressure, and your vision may dim a little.

Your eye surgeon uses a small blade or cutting laser to cut a small hinged flap away from the front of your eye. Folding back the flap allows your doctor to access the part of your cornea to be reshaped.

Using a programmed laser, your eye surgeon reshapes parts of your cornea. With each pulse of the laser beam, a tiny amount of corneal tissue is removed. After reshaping the cornea, the surgeon lays the flap back into place. The flap usually heals without stitches.

During the surgery, you'll be asked to focus on a point of light. Staring at this light helps you keep your eye fixed while the laser reshapes your cornea.

Immediately after surgery, your eye might itch, feel gritty, burn and be watery. You'll probably have blurred vision. You generally will experience little pain, and you'll usually recover your vision quickly.

You might be given pain medication or eyedrops to keep you comfortable for several hours after the procedure. Your eye doctor might also ask you to wear a shield over your eye at night until your eye heals.

You'll have a follow-up appointment with your eye doctor one to two days after surgery. He or she will see how your eye is healing and check for any complications. Plan for other follow-up appointments during the first six months after surgery as your doctor recommends.

It might be a few weeks before you can start to use cosmetics around your eyes again. You might also have to wait several weeks before resuming strenuous contact sports, swimming or using hot tubs.