Water sports enthusiasts who enjoy swimming, diving, snorkeling, water skiing, wave running, surfing, sailing or just sitting on a beach know how difficult it is to enjoy these activities with glasses or contact lenses. Synchronized swimmers, who are prohibited from wearing goggles during competition, are impacted more than most other athletes. I recommend it to everyone, especially other swimmers. A cool beam from an Excimer laser gently reshapes the cornea to a curvature that allows light to better focus on the retina. The flap is then flipped back into place, eliminating the pain and corresponding need for strong pain medication associated with earlier procedures.
Many patients report seeing clearly even as they leave the operating room.
The procedure takes about ten minutes. Patients liken the slight discomfort afterward to the sensation of having a grain of sand in your eye, with some possible tearing or burning for a brief time. One or more of these symptoms may occur a few hours after surgery, if at all, and usually disappear within a matter of hours. Thirty percent of the population needs glasses or contact lenses to see. This temporary abstinence reduces the risk of introducing bacteria that may be found in the water.