The decision to undergo laser vision correction surgery is a big one. You want to have perfect vision and to say "good-bye" to clunky glasses or inconvenient contact lenses, but the thought of having a surgical procedure performed on your eyes is a little scary. The LASIK surgery doctors at our Smithtown (on Long Island) North Shore Eye Care facility understand your feelings completely. That's why our skilled doctors always make an extra effort to reassure their laser eye surgery patients by providing them with full, step-by-step information about their procedures. Our highly trained doctors have also made sure that every staff member at North Shore Eye Care is a knowledgeable professional who focuses on giving each patient warm, personal care so that each patient can attain excellent vision correction in a completely comfortable environment. Whether you have advanced surface ablation or LASIK performed by our Smithtown, Long Island eye surgeons, you are assured of a truly exceptional laser eye surgery experience.
Your first step to exceptional vision correction is to contact North Shore Eye Care for a free consultation with Dr. Jeff Martin or Dr. Larry Zweibel. When you arrive for your LASIK surgery consultation at our Smithtown, Long Island practice, a member of our gracious staff will welcome you and notify the doctor of your arrival. Your doctor will greet you warmly and make sure that you are comfortable. Then he will ask you about your medical history and your goals for laser eye surgery. He will thoroughly explain the risks involved and the benefits you can expect from your laser correction surgery. Next, after answering any questions you have, your doctor will have you accompany a member of his professional staff for a corneal topography test and a pachymetry test. The corneal topography test measures the shape of your corneas, and the pachymetry test measures corneal thickness.
After the tests are finished, you'll return to your doctor's office, and he will examine your test results. If the corneal topography and pachymetry tests show that your eyes meet the standards for LASIK, your doctor will explain the LASIK procedure to you and answer any questions you have about it. If your corneas don't have the required shape or thickness for optimal LASIK results, your doctor may recommend the advanced surface ablation (or, photorefractive keratectomy — PRK) procedure and explain it thoroughly. Surface ablation is safer for certain patients with a strong prescription, thin corneas, or mild corneal irregularity. Your doctor will explain that, although recovery from surface ablation takes a little longer than from LASIK, vision correction results after one month are the same as those of LASIK. If your eyes are better suited to advanced surface ablation, it may help to know that, nationally, 30 percent of all laser vision correction patients have surface ablation. Your North Shore Eye Care doctor will always put your safety first when making any recommendations because your eyes and vision are so important.
If you would like more detailed information about the corneal topography and pachymetry tests we perform before every LASIK surgery, our Smithtown, Long Island staff will be happy to answer your questions. Please contact North Shore Eye Care today with any questions you have about our procedures or to schedule a free consultation with one of our outstanding doctors.
Once you have completed your tests and you know the procedure you will have, you will meet with our laser coordinator to make an appointment for your vision correction surgery. Our laser coordinator will also discuss payment options with you, and, if you wish, describe the convenient payment plans that are available at our LASIK surgery center in Smithtown, Long Island. Some of these excellent plans even offer interest-free financing. Before you leave our office, our laser coordinator will give you complete instructions so that you can be fully prepared on the day of your surgery.
The day of your vision correction surgery has arrived, and, naturally, you're a bit nervous. Whether you are having advanced surface ablation or LASIK performed at our Smithtown, Long Island laser vision center, you will meet your doctor at our center on the day of your appointment. He will give you a mild oral medication to help you relax and numbing eye drops to prepare your eyes for the surgery. His soothing manner will calm you, and he'll ask you if you need anything or have any further questions before you enter the sterile surgical suite. After you enter our state-of-the-art surgical suite, you will lie comfortably on the bed of the laser. The doctor will tell you to look at the blinking red light; then, the procedure will begin. As the laser surgery progresses, your doctor will gently explain every detail so that you will not be surprised or encounter anything unexpected. The entire procedure takes about 15 minutes. After the surgery is complete, you'll relax for a short time in our recovery room. A member of our staff will check on you and explain post-surgery care, including use of the eye drops that will be provided to you to prevent infection and inflammation. Then a companion will drive you home from our LASIK surgery facility in Smithtown so that you can relax and recover from your exciting day.
We recommend that you take a nap for a few hours after you return home from your laser vision surgery. By keeping your eyes closed for five or six hours after surgery, you'll help your eyes heal more quickly. If your surgeon performed LASIK at our Smithtown , Long Island North Shore Eye Care facility, you should be able to drive by the next day, though you will have to use the antibiotic eye drops for five days to prevent infection and inflammation.
If you had advanced surface ablation, you may experience mild irritation to significant burning and tearing after the procedure. You'll wear a clear-bandage contact lens to protect your eyes as the epithelium (the layer of cells that covers the cornea) heals. The healing process takes three to four days, so if you have the procedure on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, you'll be able to drive by the following Monday. After one month passes, your vision will be equal to the results you would attain with LASIK. Our Smithtown, Long Island doctors understand the desire of every patient to have LASIK because of its convenience, but our skilled surgeons stress safety and will never take risks by performing LASIK when a patient's eyes do not meet the criteria for absolutely safe results.
Whether you had advanced surface ablation or LASIK surgery at Smithtown, Long Island's North Shore Eye Care, you will return the day after your procedure for a checkup. We'll have you return again after five days to ensure that your eyes are healing properly. Following these two postoperative checkups, we'll ask you to return for additional checkups at one, three, six, and twelve months to ensure that results fully meet your expectations. All of your postoperative checkups are performed at no cost to you, and they are performed personally by your North Shore Eye Care surgeon. By choosing North Shore Eye Care for your laser vision correction surgery, you choose to receive the exceptional care offered by our extraordinarily talented and personable doctors. Treat yourself to the very best in laser vision correction — treat yourself to the North Shore Eye Care experience.
To learn more about the advanced laser ablation and LASIK surgery experience at our Smithtown, Long Island laser vision correction center, contact North Shore Eye Care today. A member of our friendly staff will answer any questions and schedule a free consultation for you with one of our exceptional doctors.
260 Middle Country Rd., Suite 201
Smithtown, NY 11787
Ph/ 866.377.3091
Fax/ 631.265.8521
Office Hours:
M-F 8am - 7pm
Sat 8am - 3pm