If you’re tired of wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses, you may want to consider LASIK eye surgery.
LASIK treatment can correct vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism in some people. It’s a common procedure that uses a strong beam of light to permanently reshape the cornea.
LASIK can reduce your need for eyeglasses or contact lenses, or eliminate the need entirely. The eye care team at UPMC can tell you if LASIK is right for you.
Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is a surgical procedure that treats vision problems caused by refractive errors.
Refractive errors happen when your eyes don’t refract — or bend — light properly. These errors cause vision problems like nearsightedness and farsightedness.
LASIK uses a laser (beam of light) to reshape your cornea and improve your vision. It’s an outpatient procedure typically done in a vision center or hospital.
At UPMC, we treat the following eye conditions with LASIK:
LASIK won’t help presbyopia, or age-related loss of the ability to focus on objects up close. Presbyopia typically starts happening when you’re in your 40s.
You might choose LASIK surgery if you have relatively stable vision and want to stop wearing corrective lenses.
You need to meet certain requirements to have LASIK surgery.
They include:
Not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK. Your eye doctor will tell you if that’s the case.
In general, you’re not a good candidate for LASIK if you have:
If LASIK surgery isn’t right for you, there are several alternatives to improve your vision.
Nonsurgical options include traditional eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Surgical alternatives to LASIK include:
LASIK is a safe procedure. Eye surgeons at UPMC have been performing LASIK surgery for three decades. But any surgical procedure has some risk.
Some of the risks and complications of LASIK include:
It’s important to weigh the risks and benefits of LASIK surgery. Your doctor can talk to you about the pros and cons of the procedure, as well as your individual risk factors.
There are several steps in the LASIK eye surgery procedure.
Your eye doctor will do a complete eye exam to make sure your eyes are healthy enough for LASIK. They will use a scanner to make a detailed picture of your cornea. This image will help guide the laser during the surgery.
The doctor will measure:
On the day of the surgery, you should:
The LASIK procedure itself only takes about 10 to 15 minutes per eye. However, you will need to arrive at the hospital or eye center an hour before your surgery to get ready.
Right before the surgery, your eye doctor will put drops in your eyes to numb them. They may give you a mild sedative to help you relax. You’ll have an eyelid holder on your eye to keep it from blinking during the procedure.
You’ll also have a suction ring on your eye to keep it from moving. It may feel like the pressure of a finger pressing on your eyelid. Your vision may dim or go black temporarily.
Using a laser, your eye doctor will make a paper-thin flap in the tissue of the cornea. They will lift and fold the flap back. Then, they'll reshape your cornea using a laser programmed with the specific measurements of your eye.
During the procedure, you will stare at a light so your eye doesn’t move.
After reshaping the cornea, your doctor will fold the corneal flap back down and smooth it out. It will reattach on its own in a few minutes.
Your doctor will give you a clear shield to put over your eyes to help protect them while they heal. They may tell you to wear the shield when you sleep, so you don’t accidentally scratch or bump your eyes.
You will need someone to drive you home after the surgery. You should spend the rest of the day relaxing or sleeping.
Your eyes may burn or itch slightly for a few hours after the procedure. Your doctor may prescribe mild pain medicine or a sedative.
Your vision may be hazy or blurry the day of the surgery, but it will usually improve by the next day.
While you are recovering, you should not:
You’ll see the doctor for a follow-up appointment 24 to 48 hours after the surgery. They will remove the eye shield and examine your eyes. They will give you eye drops to prevent infection and inflammation.
You should call your eye doctor right away if you have severe pain or if your vision gets worse over time.
For most people, vision stabilizes within a few days after surgery. For others, it may take three to six months to see complete results.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, 90% of people who have LASIK achieve vision between 20/20 and 20/40 without glasses or contact lenses.
A small number of people may need another surgery because their vision is under- or over-corrected. And even after a second surgery, some people may still need to wear contact lenses or eyeglasses to achieve the best vision.
One important point to remember is that LASIK cannot correct presbyopia, or age-related nearsightedness. That’s the normal loss of close-up vision that everyone gets, starting in their mid-40s. You may need reading glasses at that age, even if you’ve had LASIK.
It’s important to look at the financial cost of LASIK surgery before you commit to it. Most insurance companies consider it a cosmetic procedure and do not provide coverage.
The good news is that LASIK is usually less expensive than other vision correction procedures, such as ICL surgery. Costs vary depending on what part of the country you’re in, what surgeon you use, and how complex your case is. But in general, expect LASIK to cost at least several thousand dollars.
By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2026-10-30.
