In farsighted patients, the goal is making the cornea steeper. With nearsighted patients, we work on the middle and flatten it out. With farsighted patients, it's almost like a doughnut, because the center is relatively untouched. You go around it, with each ring progressively steeper, until you get it back to its previous shape. For the patient, Hodges said, the feeling is the same.
Farsighted surgery does take longer, though, since doctors have to work on a larger area of the eye.
Brooks, who had surgery on both eyes, was in the operating room about 20 minutes. Drops had numbed her eyes, and she said she felt pressure but no pain. Hodges started by making a tiny incision in the outer layer of her right cornea, removing a flap to expose tissue underneath. He then used the laser, a flashing blue light that made a tapping noise, to reshape the tissue. I just want you to maintain your concentration.