LASIK is performed in an outpatient surgical setting, with the patient reclining under a surgical device called an excimer laser. First, your eye is made numb with a few drops of topical anesthetic. An eyelid holder, called a speculum, is placed between the eyelids to keep them open and prevent you from blinking.
A suction ring placed on your eye lifts and flattens the cornea and prevents your eye from moving. You may feel pressure from the eyelid holder and suction ring, similar to a finger pressed firmly on your eyelid. From the time the suction ring is placed on your eye until it is removed, vision appears dim or goes black.
The surgeon then creates a hinged flap of paper-thin corneal tissue using an automated microsurgical device, either a laser or an instrument called a microkeratome blade. The corneal flap is lifted and folded back. The excimer laser, which has been preprogrammed with measurements specifically for your eye, is then centered above your eye.
You will look at a special pinpoint of light (called a fixation light or target light) while the laser sculpts the exposed corneal tissue. After the laser has reshaped your cornea, the surgeon replaces the flap in position and smoothes the edges without placing any stitches. Your corneal flap will never adhere to the surface of the eye with quite the same strength it did prior to the surgery, so there is a rare but possible risk of the flap
becoming displaced with sufficient force.
resources: American Academy of Ophthalmology
