How am I tested to be found suitable for laser eye surgery?

During the laser eye assessment when I see a patient, one of the most important things is to understand what’s motivating the patient to have the surgery and following that I examine the patient carefully.

It is really important people leave their contact lenses out. Soft contact lenses need to be out for at least a week before we assess a patient and gas-permeable hard contact lenses, at least a month. So that would be an important thing for patients to do prior to us assessing them.

And then we do a thorough eye examination, and specifically, we check for dry eyes because that’s an important consideration in laser eye surgery. And then we arrange for you to have tests on a machine that will scan your cornea. The cornea, being the bit of the eye you put the contact lens on, and we do detailed scanning of both the front surface and the back surface of the cornea.

And it’s that scanning that informs us which procedure might be the best for you. And we also take those scans and we put them in the laser so that each treatment is individualised just for you.

It’s also very important that my optometrist will assess you carefully so we can ensure that your spectacle prescription isn’t changing and that it’s stable. And so the combination of the examination, the diagnostic test and my optometrist’s findings will inform us the best way to treat you.

More about Robert Morris

Rob Morris is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at The Grange Eye Consultants. His special expertise is in cataract and refractive surgery, including Refractive Lens Exchange, and adult squint. He has over 30 years experience in treating people with eye problems. Rob Morris founded Grange Eye Consultants to manage the increasing demand for more complex refractive surgery. He leads clinical trials investigating novel eye treatments. He is currently Medical Director at Optegra Eye Hospitals.