Most patients report slight discomfort during the procedure, however the entire procedure is completed with local anaesthetic drops in the eye before the procedure. After the procedure, LASIK patients experience minor discomfort for around 24 hours, and T-PRK patients experience moderate pain for the first 48 hours. All patients are given appropriate medication to address this.

Our Surgeons have been performing LVC since 1994. A/Prof Michael Goggin has been involved in research on LVC since 1993.

Your surgeon will explain the factors that contribute to the overall success rate for this type of procedure and our current success rates.

In general, over 95% of eyes reach the same level of vision without glasses as they had before their operation with glasses.

Like all types of surgical procedures, LVC carries a degree of risk and complications. Read more about the possible complications of LVC in our Risks & Complications section of this website.

LASIK patients tend to achieve useful vision within 48 hours, while T-PRK patients achieve the same during the first week.

If you bring along a referral from a GP or an Optometrist, your initial consultation is covered by Medicare only. If you choose not to obtain a referral, there is a cost for the assessment. The procedure itself costs $2,800 per eye and $5,600 for both eyes, and includes all medications as well as post-operative appointments. This fee is payable on the day of the procedure. Some private health insurance providers will fully/partially cover LVC. Please contact your fund to confirm your coverage.

You can have both eyes done at the same time. The advantages of this approach or of doing one eye at a time are discussed intensively at the time of your assessment.

While the healing times differ for PRK and LASIK, we generally recommend that most people take 1 week off work after their procedure. Individual healing times are a major determining factor in when you feel comfortable enough to head back to work. Usually, useful vision starts to establish itself during the first week.

A very small number of patients find that a slight correction for the distance may be helpful for activities in low light, such as night driving, but a majority are able to achieve a visual outcome that requires no further correction.

If you are in the age group that requires reading glasses (late 40’s or older), these may still be required although this issue can be addressed using different techniques.

This condition is known as presbyopia, and LVC can help. By making one eye short-sighted, and leaving the other eye as normal, a person will be able to read with the one eye, while the other eye continues to be used for long distance. This process is known as 'monovision'.

Monovision is the term used to describe the practice of using one eye for near work, and the other for distance. If a person still has the ability to use their eyes to focus on objects that are near, they may choose to leave one eye without correction, or ask their surgeon to manipulate the refractive error in order to allow them to see clearly for near in one eye only.

If there is a need to wear contact lenses after LVC, there is no reason why this is not possible. It’s uncommon for patients to need contact lenses or glasses after LVC.

Your surgeon is the best person to ask regarding which treatment you’re more suitable for and during your assessment, information is collected via various methods to enable the surgeon to determine which type of LVC procedure would be suitable for your eyes.

An assessment is the best way to have any other questions that you may have answered as well as to find out your ultimate suitability for LVC. On the home page click on “Book an assessment consultation”