After a few minutes, the flap has usually begun to stick to the underlying cornea, so that the lid speculum can be removed. The patient then can blink normally, and the surgery is complete. At the end of the surgery, some antibiotic eye drops are usually placed in the eye in order to reduce the risk of infection, and some other drops may be used to minimize discomfort. The entire procedure, including the cleaning of the lid, usually takes 10 to 15 minutes. Not all patients will achieve this result, however.
Some patients are very strong healers and some patients heal less strongly.
Patients who are very strong healers will tend to have some of their nearsightedness return during the first few weeks after surgery. Some patients may require a re-treatment because their healing is so strong that a lot of nearsightedness comes back. Some patients are happy just to be able to drive their car without glasses. The laser does this by treating different parts of the cornea by different amounts. The end result is that the central cornea should be perfectly round, like a basketball and no longer elongated like a football.