An eye patch does not need to be worn after LASIK, but to be safe we ask our patients to wear a clear protective eye shield at night after surgery.
A patient from Santa Barbara recently asked me if she would need to wear a patch right after LASIK laser eye surgery. She was concerned that she would not be able to see after surgery due to a patch.
It turns out that patients do not need to wear a patch after LASIK. In fact, the vision even immediately after surgery typically is good. Patients are, however, asked to go immediately home and go to sleep. The LASIK flap is most vulnerable to movement or shifting for the first 8 hours after surgery. The safest environment for the flap is to be protected by the closed eyelids of sleep. We even give you a sleeping pill to make sure you sleep well!
We do ask our patients to wear a clear, protective plastic eye shield over the each eye. The shield we use not only is clear, but it has air holes as well so patients easily can see through it and feel comfortable wearing it. The shield is designed to help keep you from rubbing your eye or getting a pillowcase in your eye during sleep. You typically don’t need to wear these shield while you are awake. We recommend, just to be safe, that patients wear these shields every night for the first month.
Interestingly, it was not always this easy. In the early days of laser vision correction, patients were instructed to wear a tight fitting eye patch that they couldn’t see out of. The patch had to be worn for several days in many cases. Fortunately, laser eye surgery has experienced extraordinary evolution and advancement since its early days to become the incredible procedure we do so often toady.
See Also
Laser Eye Surgery Has Given Me Superman Vision
A patient describes his experience undergoing contemporary LASIK, including his quick recovery and the lack of a need to wear eye patches.
LASIK Eye Surgery
U.S. National Institutes of Health discussion of undergoing LASIK
LASIK: What Should I Expect Before, During, and After Surgery?
FDA webpage on the expected recovery after LASIK.
Precautions to Take After Laser Eye Surgery
WebMD discussion of how to best care for the eyes after LASIK laser vision correction surgery.
Corneal Shield Improves Vision after PRK, LASIK
A novel corneal shield currently under development may speed up healing after laser eye surgery.
LASIK Risks and Complications
All About Vision article reviews risks and possible complications of LASIK, including flap dislocation.