What to Expect from LaserVue’s Eye Surgery Consultation, Pre-Op and Post-Op

You may feel nervous about eye surgery, so we like to provide our patients with the most information possible to calm their nerves before Cataract, RLE, ICL, PRK or LASIK Eye Surgery at LaserVue. You’ll find a step-by-step guide to our consultation and treatment process below.

Throughout your treatment, you will get to know the friendly, knowledgeable LaserVue staff whose experience and support are a key part of our surgery success. You can find out more about them in our Meet the Team section.

Step 1: Consultation

Your journey always begins with a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Magruder and an eye exam. We test your eyes, review your vision history and assess your needs to develop the best custom treatment plan for your situation. We explain your options and answer all your questions.

We feel strongly you should not be pressured to make a decision. The purpose of the consultation is for you to find out if you are a good candidate and to get all the information you need. In fact, if you ever go to a doctor who pressures you into scheduling a surgery or extracting money from you—beware!

Step 2: Eye Surgery Pre-Op

Your pre-op is simply an extremely thorough eye exam done the day before your procedure. We may repeat some of the tests from your consultation to be sure we fully diagnose your ocular health and uncover any conditions which might either affect your results or require treatment prior to your eye surgery, including cataracts, glaucoma, retinal problems and muscular degeneration.

This is also a perfect time for you to ask Dr. Magruder—or any of the LaserVue team---more questions about the eye surgery, your exam or even the logistics for surgery day.

Step 3: Eye Surgery

LASIK and PRK eye surgery take place in our LaserVue office. You will meet with Dr. Magruder for any last minute questions. Then you will be given the option to take Valium—which almost all of our patients choose to take—to relax your mind and muscle. It will take about thirty minutes for the medication to take effect. Both LASIK and PRK eye surgery take about 15 minutes, faster and easier than people expect. Then, you are free to leave. We always suggest you return home to take a nap.

RLE, ICL and Cataract eye surgery are performed by Dr. Magruder at an outpatient surgery center close to our offices (usually Lakeside). With pre-surgery anesthesia, pre-surgery prep, and post-surgery instructions, your appointment will take about two hours. You can leave quickly after your surgery, but we do require you have a driver.

Step 4: Eye Surgery Post-Op

Your recovery time period varies depending on which procedure you have, but most patients are able to see better the following day, if not immediately. With all the procedures, your eyes may feel a little irritated, but it quickly goes away. With all procedures, close follow up is needed and you must return for a post-surgery check up with Dr. Magruder or your referring physician.

Step 5: Co-Management and On-going Check Ups

Before and after your surgery, you will have care from Dr. Magruder as well as Dr. Boodram and Dr. Harris, our Optometrists and Ophthalmologists on staff. Often called Co-management, we also work with many optometrists and ophthalmologists who refer their patients for surgery. These doctors usually provide substantial portions of the pre and post-op care. At our office, you will continue to see Dr. Boodram and Dr. Harris as you receive checkups, pre-operative exams, counseling and post-operative exams. This makes it more convenient for our patients and helps you with eye care in the long term.

With each step of our process, we encourage you to ask questions. We are here to make you comfortable and to give you all the information you need to make the best decision for your situation, but it all starts with our first consultation. Request your priority consultation online to see if you are a candidate for vision correction at LaserVue. We look forward to speaking with you soon.