How long after the consultation can I have treatment?

Your Laser Eye Surgery journey will vary slightly from that of others, but there are five fundamental steps in the process that everyone will go through.

These five steps are: Initial contact with the clinic, the consultation and assessment, the treatment itself, the aftercare regime, and the post-treatment period of enjoying greater vision.

In the first step of initiating contact with a clinic, you’ll have a brief conversation about the surgery and the opportunity to raise any questions or concerns you may have. Many clinics have teams of friendly and highly trained staff— or patient care coordinators—at the other end of the line who are more than happy to have an informal chat about your needs.

It’s here where a coordinator will assist you in booking your initial consultation. The exact waiting time varies among clinics, but it could be anything from 1-6 weeks. There’s still no obligation at this stage, all some clinics ask is you have a glance at the free information pack which is sent to your address.

There are a few things that can influence the time between your initial consultation and your treatment. To get a better idea of what these are, we’re going to take a look at the assessment process as a whole.

The longest and most important step of Laser Eye Surgery

Every clinic’s assessment process is different from the next. At a high street Laser Eye Surgery provider it may be brief and limited in terms of quality and detail, while at a private hospital or independent clinic it’s often lengthy and composed of a multitude of tests. The longer and more thorough this process, the lower the risk and better the results.

The assessment process at London Vision Clinic includes the initial consultation, an optometrist assessment, and an ophthalmic exam. Even though the major part of the process is complimentary, our patients often comment that it’s the most comprehensive eye exam they’ve ever had.

The purpose of the initial consultation is to analyse your eyes in fine detail and ascertain your suitability for treatment. For that reason each of our consultations takes at least two hours to complete.

Next, an expert optometrist will review the results from the initial consultation and use the information to conduct an extensive eye exam. If all is well at this stage and you decide to go ahead with the surgery, the optometrist will conduct a complete ophthalmic exam, analysing your eyes in even finer detail.

The final moments before a life of greater vision

So, your eyes and vision have been analysed, measured, and mapped in incredibly accurate detail, you’ve been proven suitable for treatment, and you’ve made the decision to go ahead with the surgery. Your procedure could be as soon as 24 hours after your final assessment—it all depends on yours and the clinic’s availability.

It’s usually advised to first spend a little time digesting the information you’ve received in the assessment process, in order to mull it over and ultimately make an informed decision about your treatment. Once you’re ready, you’ll be able to arrange a time and date to suit you.

In this short video Mr Glenn Carp explains how long patients usually have between the assessment process and their treatment:

So we’ve finally arrived at the day of the surgery, nerves are bubbling, questions are lingering, and yet there is still one final check to go. Here the ophthalmic surgeon double-checks the measurements and confirms the details outlined in your treatment plan. Taking such as thorough approach to the assessment process ensures the surgery itself is short and simple, with minimal chances of complications occurring.

Read more about what happens on the day of the treatment.

If you’d like to book a consultation at London Vision Clinic, or find out more about the procedure, leave us a comment or give us a call us on 020 7224 1005.