Laser Day Flow

As your procedure day approaches, you may be wondering what the journey will look like.

Arrival

When you arrive on the day of surgery, you will pull up under the awning to the front door in your car, as you did for your clinic visit. Please have all your paperwork reviewed and signed before you arrive to expedite the check-in process. You will then be directed to your parking space before you are invited inside.

Entering the Facility

When it is time to come inside, a greeter will escort you to the door. You will need to bring your eye drops inside with you, but we encourage you to leave other personal items in your vehicle or with your driver, so you do not have to carry them through the surgery process.

Preparation for the Procedure

After you are all checked in, you will meet with a nurse who will go over your care instructions and prepare you for the procedure, including administering some eye drops and offering you medication. Dr. Chu will stop by before you go back into the laser suite to answer any last-minute questions.

Procedure Time!

Dr. Chu will meet you in the laser suite, where there are 2 lasers. First, you will lie down on the bed. Your nurse will give you our mascot, Laser Gator, to hold. Then, they will clean your eye lids and give you the first set of numbing drops.

Laser Gator Chu Vision Mascot

If you are getting LASIK, Dr. Chu will use both lasers in the room. The bed will rotate under the first laser where the flaps are made. Then the bed will rotate to the second laser for treatment.  For PRK, Dr. Chu will prep your eye at the one laser before the treatment is done. SMILE also uses one laser to do the treatment.

After the procedure, Dr. Chu will take a look at your eyes, and then you are free to go! The whole process may take an hour and a half to two hours.

Dr. Ralph Chu LASIK surgeon Minneapolis Ophthalmologists

Board-certified ophthalmologist Dr. Ralph Chu is a fellowship-trained corneal specialist and a nationally recognized leader in refractive and cataract procedures. His specialty areas include cataract, LASIK, cornea, and minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries for patients in the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Twin Cities areas.

Posted on December 3, 2022