How long does the LASIK procedure take?
LASIK takes about 15 minutes to complete (for both eyes), although with check-in, prep time, and a short recovery period, patients are usually at our office for about an hour. We offer refractive surgery at our Fayetteville center, also serving Chapel Hill and Sanford, North Carolina. The LASIK procedure is performed on an outpatient basis.
LASIK is an outpatient procedure performed in our ambulatory surgery center. Though the actual surgery is completed in a matter of seconds, depending on the degree of correction required, the entire procedure may take several minutes. In addition, there is a certain amount of preparation that goes into every LASIK procedure, and the surgeon may want to observe the patient following surgery to ensure that there are no immediate complications.
Most patients will be in the laser room for about 20 minutes, with the majority of the time spent preparing the patient for the procedure. The flap forming portion of the procedure takes about 60 seconds, and the actual laser time can range from 10-90 seconds, depending on the extent of the correction being treated.
The procedure is very fast by nature because the surgeon does not want the eye to dry up during the procedure to get the best result. Usually it takes five minutes for each eye from the beginning to the end of the procedure. You will be in the laser room for approximately 20 minutes for both eyes. More about the procedure…
