The Big Day!

The day Nori has been waiting for is finally here!  After her consent form is completed, she will be escorted into our pre-operative testing area by Missy Grohne, our laser vision consultant.  There, Missy will obtain fresh wavefront measurements.  This machine creates a unique fingerprint of her visual aberration. For Nori, she will also obtain fresh topography, or corneal curvature, measurements.

Watch the video below to see these tests:

Once her pre-operative measurements are approved by Dr. Mandel, Nori will have a chance to relax in her personal massage chair in our relaxation room. Hear what Nori has to say about her big day in our next video:

While Nori is enjoying drinks and snacks in our relaxation room, Dr. Mandel is designing her treatment on the Wavefront machine. Watch this video from our last blog in this series, “The Approach” to learn more about this customization process from Dr. Mandel:

Once the treatment is designed, it is saved on a flash drive on the Wavefront machine. This file is then transferred to the VISX Star S4 excimer laser by Gabrielle Suh, our laser room technician. This enables Dr. Mandel to provide the most precise treatment possible.

When Gabrielle has finished setting up the laser room as well as the surgical instruments, she is ready to bring Nori into the laser room to prepare her for her PRK surgery. Watch the next video to see this firsthand:

Nori is now ready for Dr. Mandel to perform her PRK surgery.  We’ve split this into 2 different videos below.  Since the procedure is almost identical for each eye, we decided to take you beyond the video monitor to give you a sneak peek behind the scenes for her left eye.  Here is what you’ll see in detail in the next 2 videos:

Steps of Dr. Mandel’s PRK Surgery:

• First, Nori’s eye is numbed with anesthetic drops.
• A lid holder, called a speculum, is placed in the eye to keep the eye open and the eyelashes out of the way.
• The epithelium, the topmost layer of the cornea, is removed using a specialized vibrating brush.
• The corneal bed underneath is dried with a special, lint free sponge called a weck cell.
• The eye is centered underneath the laser to allow for iris registration.  This VISX technology locks on to the pupil so that it can track minute movements of the eye for a centered treatment zone.
• Once the iris is registered, treatment will begin.  The treatment sounds a lot like the noise of an MRI.  Although noisy, the treatment time is very short.  The average laser time is under one minute, per eye.
• After the laser re-profiles the cornea by removing microscopic amounts of tissue, a corneal shield soaked in mitomycin is placed on the cornea for 15 seconds.
• The shield is removed and the cornea is bathed in a sterile saline solution.
• Antibiotic and steroid drops are administered.
• A bandage contact lens is placed on the cornea.  This lens stays in place for the first 5-7 days to allow the epithelium of the cornea to regenerate.  This is the one and only time Dr. Mandel approves sleeping in a soft contact lens.

Following her PRK surgery, Nori is escorted into one of our many exam lanes. There, Dr. Mandel examines her eyes underneath the slit-lamp microscope and counsels her on what to expect in the next 24 hours. Watch the next video to see Nori’s post-operative examination by Dr. Mandel:

Once satisfied with her surgical appearance, Dr. Mandel turns Nori back over to Missy to review her post-operative instructions which are detailed in the next video:

Nori was sent home with eye drops, protective goggles and Tylenol PM to help her sleep. Dr. Mandel recommends a minimum to 4-6 hours of sleep immediately after both PRK and LASIK surgery, to allow the eyes to heal. Tomorrow, Nori will return for her 1 day post-PRK check up with Dr. Mandel and the healing will begin!

Change Your Vision, Change Your Life. Mandel Vision®

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Other Blogs in This Series:

Blog #2:  The Initial Evaluation
Blog #3: The Final Evaluation
Blog #4:  The Approach
Blog #6:  1 Day Post PRK Check-Up
Blog #7:  5 Day Post PRK Check-Up
Blog #8:  1 Month Post PRK Check-Up

Related Blogs:

LASIK vs. PRK:  Which Procedure is Right for You?
LASIK and PRK: Change Your Vision, Change Your Life!

Related Pages:

LASIK FAQ Series: What Sets Us Apart from Other Laser Vision Correction Centers
PRK Patient Video Reviews
Why Choose Dr. Mandel
About Our Practice
Our Technology
Meet The Staff

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