Laser Treatment

Laser treatment typically requires no overnight hospital stay, so you will be treated on an outpatient basis in my office.

Make sure you have someone drive you to and from the office or on the day you have the procedure. Also, you’ll need to wear sunglasses afterward because your eyes will be temporarily dilated and light sensitive.

During photocoagulation, heat from a high energy laser seals off bleeding in damaged eye tissue.

Before the procedure, you will receive a topical anesthetic or possibly an injection adjacent to the eye to numb it and prevent it from moving during the laser treatment.

I will make these types of adjustments to the laser beam before it is aimed into the eye:

• The amount of energy used
• The size of the “spot” or end of the beam that is directed into the eye
• The pattern applied by the laser beam onto the targeted area

A laser treatment typically lasts at least several minutes, but more time may be required depending on the extent of your eye condition.

During laser treatment, you might experience some discomfort, but you should feel no pain. Right after a treatment, you should be able to resume normal activities. You might have some slight discomfort and blurry vision for a day or two after each laser treatment.

The number of treatments you need will depend on your eye condition and extent of damage. Some people may require three to four different laser sessions at two- to four-month intervals to treat their condition.