With both PRK and LASIK, there is no pain or discomfort at the time of surgery, as anesthetic eye drops are used. With LASIK, there may be a mild foreign body sensation for several hours after care, accompanied by a lot of tearing. After that, there should be no discomfort at all. After PRK, there can be mild to moderate discomfort for 1-3 days. The discomfort is minimized by use of a ‘band-aid’ soft contact lens and special eye drops. When epithelial healing is complete, the lens is removed, there is no further risk of discomfort. With LASIK, many patients observe that they experience no pain, no irritation, and not even any slight foreign body or ‘eyelash’ sensation. Most are pleasantly surprised at how little discomfort they had, and usually mention this when they talk about their experience.
