Surgery journey: questions, page 3
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From the first consultation to the last follow-up: what is measured and why, how to prepare, what happens on the day, and what a normal first week and first month actually look like.
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The surgery journey questions and answers
Surgery journey
From the first consultation to the last follow-up: what is measured and why, how to prepare, what happens on the day, and what a normal first week and first month actually look like.
Preparation 2
Lenses, medication, food, makeup and travel arrangements.
Which medications do I need to tell the clinic about? Answer
All of them, including anything you take occasionally. Two groups matter most: medicines that affect bleeding, and medicines that affect healing or the ocular surface, such as some acne treatments and certain hormonal medicines.
Tell the clinic about supplements too. Several are sold as natural and are not inert, and the ones that affect bleeding are the ones a surgeon most wants to know about before an operation, however small.
What this depends on
- Whether the medicine affects clotting
- Whether it affects the tear film
- Whether it is prescribed by another doctor who should be consulted
Sources StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf , Dubai Health Authority
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
Can I have eye surgery if I have a cold? Answer
Tell the clinic and expect the decision to be theirs. A heavy cold with coughing or fever is a common reason to postpone, because it makes keeping still harder and it is better to operate on a person who is well.
What this depends on
- Whether you are feverish
- Whether you are coughing
- How soon the appointment can be moved
Sources Dubai Health Authority
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
Surgery day 1
What happens in the treatment room and immediately afterwards.
Does someone need to come with me on the day? Answer
Arrange for someone to travel with you or to collect you. You should not drive yourself afterwards, vision is variable for some hours, and the clinic will be giving you instructions and drops while you are not at your sharpest.
What this depends on
- How far you live from the clinic
- Whether you will be given a sedative
- Whether you have children or dependants to get home to
Sources Cleveland Clinic (YouTube)
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
Recovery & aftercare 1
The first week, the first month, and what is expected rather than alarming.
What should I do if my eye is red and painful after surgery? Answer
This answer explains what the symptom commonly indicates. If it has come on suddenly, or is accompanied by pain or loss of vision, seek urgent care rather than waiting for an appointment.
Contact the clinic that performed the surgery the same day. Redness and discomfort together, particularly with reduced vision or increasing pain rather than improving, are the pattern that needs to be looked at rather than waited out.
The general rule worth remembering from the whole of this section: discomfort that is improving is expected, and discomfort that is increasing is a reason to make contact. That distinction is more useful than any particular symptom list.
What this depends on
- Whether the discomfort is getting better or worse
- Whether vision has changed
- How long ago the surgery was
Which symptoms need urgent care
Sources StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf , Dubai Health Authority
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
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These answers describe what is generally true. They are not a diagnosis and they cannot say whether a treatment is suitable for you, because suitability depends on measurements taken during an examination. Only a qualified ophthalmologist who has examined you can decide.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
The equivalent clinical reference chapter for LASIK, used so that comparisons describe both procedures symmetrically.
Used for How LASIK creates and manages a corneal flap; LASIK complication categories.
Link checked 22 September 2026
- DHA circular on the scope of practice for ophthalmologists performing laser refractive surgery
A Dubai Health Authority circular addressing how laser refractive surgery sits within the licensed scope of practice for ophthalmologists in Dubai.
Used for Explaining that refractive surgery is a regulated activity in Dubai.
Link checked 22 September 2026
- SMILE Laser Eye Surgery: What to Expect
Hospital patient education describing what happens before, during and after small incision lenticule extraction. It describes the typical course of treatment rather than predicting any individual outcome.
Used for What SMILE involves, for readers arriving before the procedure pages; What the period immediately after treatment is typically like.
Link checked 23 September 2026