Eye surgery FAQs: consultation, surgery and aftercare

A full consultation lasts around 60 minutes. It includes a detailed history, refraction, corneal and retinal scans (topography, biometry and OCT), a dilated examination and a discussion of every suitable option. You leave with a written plan and a fixed written quote — never a same-day signature request.

Ms Tahmina Pearsall, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon (FRCOphth, GMC specialist register), performs the consultation, reviews your scans and carries out your surgery herself. Care is never handed to a rotating surgical list.

The consultation fee is confirmed when you book and is set against your treatment if you go ahead. A free 15-minute call is available first if you simply want to know whether surgery is worth exploring.

Bring your current glasses, your contact lens prescription, a list of medicines, and any recent optician or hospital letters. If you wear soft contact lenses, leave them out for at least 7 days (2–3 weeks for rigid lenses) so your corneal scans are accurate.

Suitability depends on age, prescription, corneal thickness and shape, tear film quality and the health of the retina and optic nerve. Under 45 with healthy corneas, laser is usually first choice; from the mid-40s onwards lens replacement often gives a more future-proof result because it also treats reading vision and prevents cataracts.

Yes, and it is encouraged. Bring your scans and quote from another clinic; you will get an independent consultant view on whether the recommended procedure and lens choice genuinely fit your eyes.

Consultation, biometry and surgery usually happen within 2–3 weeks on the fast-track pathway, compared with many months of NHS waiting in most regions.

No. Anaesthetic drops numb the eye completely. Most patients describe pressure and bright light rather than pain. Mild grittiness for a few hours afterwards is normal and settles overnight.

Yes, but you are comfortable and relaxed. Only the eye is numbed; light sedation can be added if you are anxious. The treatment itself takes 10–15 minutes per eye.

You are in the laser suite for around 15 minutes for both eyes; the laser itself works for well under a minute per eye. You go home the same morning.

Laser eye surgery is normally both eyes on the same day. For cataract and lens replacement, eyes are usually treated a week or two apart so the first result can guide the second.

A monofocal lens gives excellent distance vision with reading glasses. Toric lenses correct astigmatism. Extended-depth-of-focus and trifocal lenses reduce or remove the need for glasses at most distances. The right choice depends on your eye anatomy, pupil size and how you use your vision at work and at leisure.

Serious complications are rare — infection occurs in roughly 1 in 5,000 cataract operations. More common and usually temporary issues are dry eye, night-time halos and needing a small enhancement. Every risk relevant to your eyes is explained and printed in your quote before you decide.

Yes. Your vision is blurred and your eye is dilated, so you cannot drive. Arrange transport and plan a quiet rest of the day.

After LASIK most people see well the next morning. After cataract or lens replacement, vision is usually clear within 2–5 days and continues sharpening for a few weeks as the eye settles.

Once you meet the DVLA standard and have been cleared at your review — typically the next day after LASIK and within about a week after cataract or lens surgery.

Office work in 1–2 days, light exercise after a week, swimming, saunas and contact sports after 2–4 weeks. Avoid dust, gardening and eye rubbing during the first fortnight.

A combined antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drop regime tapers over about four weeks. Lubricating drops help with dryness and can be used freely for as long as they are comfortable.

Almost never. Dryness peaks in the first weeks and settles for most patients within three months. Treatment for pre-existing dry eye before surgery makes recovery markedly smoother.

That is usually posterior capsule opacification — a natural clouding behind the implant. A painless YAG laser capsulotomy takes a few minutes in clinic and restores clarity the same day.

Twelve months of consultant-led aftercare is included in every quoted price, covering all scheduled reviews and any unplanned visits related to your surgery.

Increasing pain, sudden loss of vision, a shower of new floaters, flashing lights or a curtain across your vision. Call the clinic immediately — these are rare but need to be seen the same day.