Career impact - does your job prohibit refractive eye surgery?
Cost - can you afford laser eye surgery?
Medical conditions - do you have a medical condition, which prohibits laser eye surgery such as autoimmune disease or another major illness?
Healing after surgery - do you have an illness or take any medication that might affect healing after surgery?
Eye conditions - do you have or have you ever had any eye conditions or diseases apart from refractive errors?
Stable refraction - has your prescription been stable for the past year?
Age - are you over 21 years old?
High or low refractive error - is your prescription high enough but not too high, in order for laser eye surgery to be an option?
Pupil size - are your pupils excessively large in the dark?
Corneal thickness - is your cornea thin in the eye(s) requiring surgery?
Tear production - do you suffer from dry eyes?
Over-treatment or under-treatment - do you accept and are you able to have more than one surgery to achieve the desired result?
Requirement for glasses - do you accept that you may still require glasses particularly if and when you suffer from presbyopia in your 40’s?
Long-term results - do you realise that long-term results of laser eye surgery are unknown?
Risks - do you know that you may loose some vision after the surgery and that there is a risk that you may become blind and that there is no cure for this?
Dry eyes - if you suffer from dry eyes, do you know that this may become worse following surgery and that if you didn’t previously suffer from dry eyes, you may begin to, once you have had laser eye surgery?
Glare, halos & starbursts - did you know that all of these may develop following laser eye surgery and that it may become difficult for you to drive at night?
Contrast sensitivity - are you aware after surgery you may not be able to see as well if lighting is low?
Surgeon experience - how many laser eye surgery procedures has you’re surgeon completed?
Clinic help - is the clinic willing to spend the time to answer all of your questions?
Long-term care - will your surgeon provide you with aftercare advice and follow-up appointments to assess your progress? Further, do you know that your pre-surgery and post-surgery care may be provided by somebody other than your surgeon?
Confidence in your clinic - do you feel confident with your surgeon and comfortable with them carrying out your laser eye surgery?
Contact lenses - can you go for an extended period of time without wearing contact lenses? as this may be required prior to laser eye assessment.
Returning home - have you arranged for somebody to take you home after the surgery?
Treatment consent - has the clinic given you a consent form to sign and have all your questions been answered?
Makeup - are you willing to avoid makeup for at least 24 hours following surgery?
Recovery - if you work, can you take time off or can you change your normal routine for at least a couple of days following surgery and possibly for one week or longer?
Vision following surgery - do you know you will not see clearly immediately after laser eye surgery and that vision will fluctuate for at least the first few days?
Procedure - has your surgeon made you feel comfortable with the actual steps of the procedure and do you know what to expect?
Taking drops/medications - are you willing and able to put eye drops in your eyes at regular intervals following surgery and are you happy to take painkillers if required?
Wearing an eye shield - do you know you need to protect the eye for a period of time after surgery to avoid injury and are you happy to wear an eye shield?
Pain and discomfort - do you know that you will experience some discomfort and possibly pain and for some people this can be quite severe?
Seeking help - do you understand what problems could occur and when you should seek medical intervention?
Vision stability - are you aware that the final results could take months and up to one year to occur?
Further surgery - if you don’t get the desired result, do you know that it is not advisable to undergo any further surgery until your eyes stabilise and your prescription stops changing?
