Skip to main menu Skip to main content Skip to footer

LASIK / Recovery

After Laser Vision Correction

Recovery from LASIK and SMILE is amazingly quick. Most people return to their normal life the day after LASIK or SMILE. Your vision should seem at least 90-95%% improved the very next day, and we expect you to drive, go back to work or take care of your kids the first day after your treatment. You can travel in a plane the next day and exercise is fine. The main restriction is that we want you to avoid getting dirty water in the eye for the first week, including swimming pools, saunas and Jacuzzis. Showering is fine, just don’t let the shower water hit your eyes directly for the first week. Also, please use limited make-up around the eyes for three days.

Most (but not all) PRK patients are driving and going back to work the very next day, but many take longer to return to regular activities such as night driving. Most PRK patients say their vision is about 80-85% improved the first day, and slowly improves from that point onward. The initial healing from PRK takes 5-7 days, and the vision becomes much better after the initial healing phase is complete.

There are few if any procedures in all of medicine that compare to Laser Vision Correction in terms of the ease, quickness, lack of pain and extremely rapid recovery. Your eyes will be corrected and you should be back to living your (vastly improved) life the very next day!

Waking up the day after LASIK with your new vision will be one of the most exciting moments in your life!

I can’t thank you enough for the gift of sight! The morning after surgery I could see 20/20. No more contacts or galsses again! It has been amazing to wake up in the morning & actually see what is around me. I will recommend Andrew Caster to everyone I know. Caster Eye Center’s staff were so kind, caring and just all around wonderful. They made me feel comfortable the day fo the surgery and through the whole process. Dr. Caster did such an amazing job. I felt little to no pain throughout the procedure as well as after the surgery. I will highly recommend LASIK to all my friends & family. Thank You, thank you, thank you Dr. Caster!!! I couldn’t be happier with the results.
Dana Hanrahan
The morning after the procedure, I got up at 6 am- before my toddler. Amd just wandered around the house, looking at stuff. Thank you thank you thank you for restoring my vision. After 25+ years of corrective lenses my only problem is that I now know how bad my handwriting is. Oh well….
Thanks again!
John Ross Bowie
The whole LASIK experience here was great, from the consultation 2 months ago, to the afternoon spent here for the pre-op eval & the procedure. It was great to have so many clearly qualified people evaluate me & explain things to me. I really felt that I could just keep asking questions & have them cheerfully answered until I felt satisfied & secured. Most importantly, I felt very safe in the hands of Dr. Caster during the procedure I had been very well prepared for what I would experience by Diane, Dr. Hoff, & the technicians. The results were dramatic -yesterday I had -6.5 in my lift eye & -6.25 in my right, & today I see 20/20. I have to keep reminding myself that I don’t have my contacts in. Everyone I know will be learning about LASIK at the Caster Eye Center. Thank you to everyone.Thanks again!
Elizabeth Lyster, MD
The next day I was totally amazed. I started wearing corrective lenses over 30 years ago and to see without glasses or contacts when I woke up was an experience I won’t forget. Dr. Caster and his staff were very helpful in calming my initial concerns about having surgery on my eyes. I did a lot of research on the subject before I did it and Dr. Caster kept coming up as one of the best in the country and world. Also my own personal physician (who I trust immensely) referred him. I would recommend the procedure highly to anyone considering Dr. Caster. I believe the choice of the doctor is the most important variable in the decision.Thanks again!
Chris Petitt