Laser eye surgery in Turkey, LASIK, SMILE, PRK and cataract surgery

What can delay your laser eye surgery date

Booking quickly is possible, but your measurements decide the day. Contact lenses press on the cornea and flatten it slightly, so scanning a lens wearer too early gives the wrong numbers, and the laser would then treat the wrong prescription. If the Day 2 scans show a cornea that has not settled, or an eye that needs treating for dryness first, your surgeon moves the date rather than going ahead.

If you live in the UK, the NHS does not normally fund laser eye surgery, because glasses and contact lenses already correct the problem, so it is a private treatment at home or abroad. Cataract surgery is available on the NHS, though waiting times vary by area. Wherever you go, ask three questions before you book: which scans are done before the laser is set, who checks your eyes the day after surgery, and who you contact once you are home.

Both treatments start the same way. You lie on a reclining bed, anaesthetic drops are put into the eye, and a small spring clip holds your eyelids open so you do not have to think about blinking. The other eye is covered. You can usually ask for a mild sedative tablet if you feel nervous, and the surgeon talks you through each stage so nothing comes as a surprise. Most people describe a sensation of pressure on the eye for a few seconds rather than pain.

In LASIK, a femtosecond laser first creates a thin hinged flap in the surface of the cornea. Your vision dims briefly while a suction ring holds the eye steady. The surgeon folds the flap back, and you are asked to look at a blinking target light while the excimer laser reshapes the tissue underneath, guided by the measurements taken on Day 2. In SMILE the same femtosecond laser shapes a small disc of tissue inside the cornea, which is drawn out through a keyhole opening, and in PRK the thin surface layer is wiped away before the excimer laser treats the exposed surface.

When the laser has finished, the LASIK flap is laid back in its original position and smoothed with a fine sponge. It seals on its own within minutes, with no stitches, and your surgeon checks its position under the microscope before moving to the second eye. After PRK, a soft bandage contact lens is placed on the treated surface instead, and stays in for several days while the surface cells grow back.

Cataract surgery works one layer deeper. Through a self-sealing incision of about two to three millimetres at the edge of the cornea, the surgeon opens the front of the thin capsule that holds the natural lens. A fine ultrasound probe breaks the cloudy lens into small fragments and suctions them out, a technique called phacoemulsification. The artificial lens is then injected folded through the same small opening and unfolds inside the empty capsule, where it stays for life. The incision usually needs no stitch.

Throughout either operation, the surgical team watches your eye through the operating microscope and keeps the surface moist. If you move your gaze during LASIK, the eye-tracking system follows the movement or pauses the laser until you are looking back at the light, so a small flicker of the eye does not throw the treatment off centre. In cataract surgery, your surgeon chooses the power of the new lens from measurements of the length of your eye taken on Day 2, which is how many cataract patients end up needing weaker glasses, or none, for distance.

Afterwards you sit in a quiet recovery room for a short while with your eyes closed. Your vision is hazy and watery at first, often described as looking through a steamed-up window, and the eye may sting or feel gritty for a few hours. You leave with clear plastic shields to wear while sleeping, a schedule of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops, and an appointment for the next morning. A companion, or your coordinator, accompanies you back to the hotel; you should not travel alone straight after surgery.