LASIK FAQ

LASIK FAQ
You may find answers to your questions here. Please direct contact us when you cannot find a relevant answer to your question. We will be glad to answer your questions.

General Questions

It is an ambulatory surgical method that aims at correcting sight deficiencies such as myopia, hypermetropia or astigmat without the need of inpatient treatment.

No, only the top layer of the eye is treated with laser beams. The eye is exactly measured before the surgery and thus laser ablation process is limited to 20 per cent of the cornea thickness. As it has very slight penetration depth, it is not possible to have any damage on the deeper layers such as the pupil or the retina, etc.

No. Laser treatment is controlled via computer and it is also simultaneously monitored by the surgeon and his assistants via a microscope and a monitor. This procedure can be paused and restarted at any time. Laser is also equipped with an eye-monitoring system and this system ensures that the area to be treated is always at the center. In case you move your eyes during the application, laser automatically follows your eye movement.

Laser device works very delicately; therefore it is possible to have a 100 percent correction for sight inadequacy depending on the level of sight deficiency. Low permanent values can actually be balanced via low degree eyeglasses or lenses.

You may still need to wear your eyeglasses for certain activities such as reading or driving, after the treatment.

It is very rare to correct the sight deficiency upto 0, 0 degree via surgical operation even at the best controlled environments. Whether you need or you do not need to wear eyeglasses after the surgical treatment depends on the patient’s expectations on visual capability.

We can answer this question like this: the meaning and the goal of the surgery is to free the patient from the obligation of wearing eyeglasses. This definition means that uncorrected visual capability should be enough to meet the requirements brought by patient’s daily life.

Nowadays, this result is attainable for almost all patients. This also includes demonstrably permanent sight deficiencies that are low enough not to influence patient’s daily life.

However, under certain circumstances, for instance in traffic at night, it is recommended to wear eyeglasses with low degree.

A patient who used to suffer from myopia will be able to see “normally” upto a significant amount; however, as of age 45, like every other person at that age, he will need reading glasses due to presbyopia. Presbyopie is a natural process and it appears on every single person; whether s/he has experienced an eye surgery before, or not.

Laser correction to be applied on both eyes with a slight difference, this need for reading glasses might be reduced.

Please discuss this issue with your surgeon.

No! No surgery can guarantee a hundred per cent success.

For a repeated laser treatment, the thickness of the cornea is a determining factor as a thickness of 250 micron, that is 0.25 mm, is required to remain in your due to natural reasons. A cornea with an average thickness can be corrected a couple of times.

There are slight and temporary sight deficiencies after treatment.

And following might be observed; as a result, for instance:

  • Increasing glare (especially at night)
  • Perceiving light reflexes around the light sources in the shape of rings
  • Decreased visual clarity decreased at dawn

Although it is not frequent, sometimes the patient might temporarily feel as if there is a foreign material in his eye or they might be risk free inner eye pressure increase that appears for a short time and then disappears.

About 6 million people around the world.

About the surgery

Your sight deficiency values are closely and carefully examined and detected during your appointment with our doctor.

Based on these results, you discuss your personal demands and treatment methods for the correction.


Patients wearing contact lenses must remove their lenses two weeks and those wearing rigid lenses must remove their lenses three weeks before the pre examinations and surgery.

This is only way to measure the cornea accurately and this is very important for the success of the treatment: in case of miscalculation, the treatment is not calculated inaccurately! You must not wear eye make-up.

Surgeries aiming at correcting the refractive deficiency are ambulatory treatments that do not require inpatient treatment.

Although complication risks are very low in the methods applied by refractive surgery, that does not mean there are no risks.

It is a very low risk to have a sigh worse than before; and it is an extremely rare risk to be blind. Like any other medical operation, a risk can never be ignored just because it is low.

In other words, for instance, in LASIK treatment the complication ratio is less than 1 per cent. Your doctor will also inform you about your individual risks during the consultancy.

Minimizing the risk to an ordinary level actually depends on the experience and practice of the surgeon as well as the patient’s decisiveness on following and applying the post-surgical treatment methods.

For a very long time, eye surgeons have been looking for opportunities and ways to correct sight deficiencies via surgical operations; however, only the methods applied as of the end of 80s proved themselves to have a permanent success. Since then, there have been controlled studies. LASIK method has been being applied since 1991 and it has scientifically proven itself in ophthalmology. It is presumed that the result attained a couple of months later than the surgery can actually preserve its permanence.

That depends on the method applied. In LASIK methods, two eyes can be operated respectively in the same day.

According to our current knowledge and depending on the patient, results that attained two years later than the surgery at most are permanent.


If the sight deficiency is not completely corrected in the first “trial”, or if its effectives starts to disappear after a while later (such as repeating values); then it is generally possible to have a second laser treatment and thus to change a ring or a lenses placed inside cornea.

Second treatments are only possible within certain limits. These limits are considered when recommending the best treatment methods in personal cases. Besides, a combination of different methods is also possible for very high sight deficiencies (such as ICL and LASIK).

Nowadays, both of our eyes are treated at the same day in most cases.

Patient who will have their eyes operated at different times will probably have difficulty between two surgeries.

Contact lenses users can actually overcome this period with very minor problems, by using their lenses on the eye that has not been operated yet. However, it is very important not to forget that the lenses must be removed 2 or 3 weeks before the surgery.

And patients wearing eyeglasses have to go on using their uncorrected eye until the surgery or they can wear the eyeglasses they used to wear; yet this causes the image on the operated eye to be blurry. There is no absolute solution for this. This will be overcome via support. Considering the possible problems the patient might encounter, the procedure and the date for the surgery of the other eye will be determined on individual cases.

There is no perfect surgical method for the treatment of presbyopia, yet.

We do definitely not recommend laser treatment for children.

The development of the eye is only completed after the age of 20s due to hormonal changes; therefore correction applications before this age does not offer a sound result.

For cases getting worse, more than one correction will be necessary and this will result in permanent damage on the cornea; and then a cornea transfer will be necessary in the worst case.

Independent of the type and degree of sight deficiency, every patient has to meet some criterias and terms for an optimum surgical result.

Laser treatment is not recommended for the kids; therefore the patient has to be older than 18, minimum. The best option is that the patient is over 20 and with a stable sight deficiency.

If the patient has ophthalmologic diseases such as glaucoma, ophthalmia, then s/he must inform her/his doctor.

As some certain illnesses and medication will have an effect on the recovery; the possibility of certain illnesses such as rheumatism can reduce the possibility of having a surgery.

This treatment is not recommended for the patients who are pregnant or in breast-feeding period.

For people with allergy, the surgery has to be postponed to a time when allergy is overcome.

A surgery changing the sight ability and the relevant medical checks have no known side-effect on pregnancy but as a precaution, this treatment is not recommended for those who are pregnant or in breast-feeding period.

No. If the myopia has a regular increase before the treatment, then it is possible that it might increase after the treatment. And that is the reason why the laser treatment is applied only when the eyeglass degree remains stable for a year.

Thanks to locally anaesthetising eye drops, you feel a slight pressure for a short period of time; but you do not feel any pain. In the post-surgical period, depending on the type of the application and operation, sometimes there might be discomfort resulting from serious pain. Yet, there are medications to kill the pain. Based on the experiences, there are some certain complaints for a couple days as of PRK application. However, patients mostly feel comfortable and have a clearer vision after a Lasik/lens implant surgery.

Surgical operation takes only a few minutes; however, you have to save some time for the pre examinations and medical checks.

Lasik: The eye is anaesthetised by eye drops. In a sterilized environment, the eyelids are kept open and cornea is marked. In order to fix the eye, a vacuum inserted ring is inserted. During this process, you feel a pressure and you do not see for a second. A cornea flap is cut and removed. Ablation is applied onto your cornea via laser device, in accordance with your eyeglass degree. And in the meantime, you look at a stable light. Cornea flap is opened backwards and the eye is protected via a basket-like web. The treatment is completed between 10 and 15 minutes.

Lasek: A similar procedure is applied; however, a vacuum inserted ring is not used and cornea is not cut. Instead, the top layer of the cornea, that is epithel, is slightly removed and pushed aside with the help of watered alcohol solvent. This layer is placed back once the laser treatment is completed and therapeutical contact lenses are placed.

Nothing. Thanks to Eye-Tracker tracking your eyes, which is connected to laser and adjusted to eye lenses, nominal movements are balanced. In case of greater movements, the device is paused and re-adjusted.

PRK: In PRK method, the refraction force is directly changed on the top layer of the cornea. The external layer of the cornea, epithel, is mechanically removed and then, the cornea is changed in the optical center via excimer laser device, based on your sight deficiency. This method causes an ache resulting from the scar for a couple of days.

LASİK: In Lasik method, the inner cornea is treated with laser device. In order to achieve this, a very thin layer is cut via microkeratome or femtosecond (Femto-LASIK) laser. Once the laser application is done, this layer is placed back to its original position. Within a few seconds, the layer is attached to its original position and thus functions a natural ‘bandage’. The advantage of LASIK and femto LASIK method is that it restores the visual ability very quickly. This treatment is completely painless and indolent.

LASEK: Lasek is a very advanced version of PRK method and it is applied in case a classical LASIK surgery is not possible; for instance in case cornea layer is very thin. The top tissue layer on the cornea, that is epithelium, is tenderised via an alcohol solution and cut aside via a mechanical method. Later on, your sight deficiency is corrected via excimer-laser device. Contrary to PRK method, epithelia is placed back to its original position once the correction is done. This method allows less pain and ache than PRK method and it provides a quicker recovery.

You may gain a good sight as of the first or the second day following LASIK and Femto lasik treatment. In LASEK application or PRK surgery, this requires a longer period; yet, it is possible that you gain a fine sight 2 or 3 weeks later.

You may start working within 1 or 3 days later than LASIK treatment.

In a PRK or LASEK treatment, it is required that you should not work for a couple of weekdays or perhaps a whole week as it takes longer to gain a fine sight.

In either case, you need to avoid being or working in a dusty environment. It is also required to avoid sauna and solarium, swimming and any sports in which a ball is involved as well as skiing/snowboarding, and other kinds of sport activities involving a personal contact etc. at least for a month.

You can start driving as soon as you gain a fine sight. You need to wait for 2 or 3 weeks in LASEK and PRK applications; whereas you can drive 1 or 2 days later after LASIK, Femto lasik and ICL treatments.

Final individual results must be taken into consideration at all times; such as an increasing glare.

First medical check takes place in Switzerland a week after the surgery. Our authorized doctors have to determine other medical checks for you individually.

In this process that alters depending on the surgical method, eye drops are generally used for a certain period of time. It is very important to obey the instructions of the doctor as well as the dates for medical checks s/he determines. In case there is a problem in the meantime, than the doctor monitoring the patient has to be informed immediately. Especially, in PRK application, there is a post-surgical medical treatment including the use of a cortisone eye drop for a specific period of time and this treatment requires regular medical checks.

Lenses might be used in all refractive surgical applications if they are meant to correct a remaining possible fracture mistake.

About costs

Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in the world due to expensive staff, high rental costs and infrastructure costs. In addition, high-tech machineries with an advanced technology are excessively expensive. Therefore, a large number of patients are required for a profitable investment. Consequently, as we live in a small country, the enterprises here have no choice but to work on expensive prices.

According to a research conducted by OECD, you pay 45 CHF for something you pay 100 CHF in Switzerland. Therefore, the cost of a surgeon’s fee is very much less than that of his Swiss colleagues. Moreover, as Istanbul has a larger population than all Switzerland, it offers a larger number of patients and thus the opportunity to present lower surgical costs although the machineries with advanced technology are bought for the same prices. Consequently, Istanbul hosts thousands of patients from Europe every year.

You may, of course, schedule your trip and your surgery on your own. However, this is usually very exhausting and risky. Besides, Swisslasik offers an “All inclusive and Problem Free” principle. Swisslasik takes care of anything you might need while having an eye surgery abroad and it remains to be your reliable partner not only in pre-surgical period but also in the post-surgical one, as well. We offer you upto 4 medical checks free of charge, in Switzerland. (This offer is only valid for Premium Package members)

Thanks to our Premium Package, you do not need to worry about the flight and accommodation expenses in case of a possible second surgery.

You may find the price details on „LASIK prices“.

Health insurance does not generally cover treatment costs. However, you may consult to your insurance agency for confirmation.

Hospitals

The latest technology Allegretto Wave Eye-Q with 400 Hz is used in our hospital.

Yes, this is because our hospital has a complete authorization on the latest and the most effective eye treatment methods.

All laser devices are conducted via complete maintenance agreements. Technical faults are detected beforehand thanks to daily comprehensive measurements, similar to “Flight tests” in an airplane. The hospital works with authorized and certified technical service providers, only.

There have been more than 20.000 refractive applications since 1999.Bis anhin (seit 1999) über 20’000 Refraktive Eingriffe.

Our doctors have experienced more than 20.000 successful surgeries since 1993. It is generally very difficult to find such an experienced staff in Europe.