Carrie Gaines, O.D.

Caring and Professional. Seeing better than I ever had.

Amazing experience! The staff was great all around! The procedure was so fast, and the result is life changing! I’ve told everyone I know to absolutely do it, and go to TLC!

Dr. Edelstein did an amazing job on my eyes. I had very poor eye sight prior and now I can see 20/15! They also said it will continue to get sharpen over the next few weeks! The procedure was painless minus mild pressure. Dr Gaines has been amazing guiding me through the process and making sure I have the correct prescription and the right eye drops for after care. The reception staff have been exceptional! Extremely nice and professional. LOVED my experience here! 10/10 recommend!

Life-Changing LASIK – From 20/100 to 20/20 Vision Pre-Surgery (20/100 Vision) I had 20/100 vision before LASIK – meaning at 20 feet I saw what normal vision sees at 100 feet. After years of indecision, I finally scheduled the procedure. On surgery day I arrived nervous. The staff gave me a folder of instructions, a pair of sunglasses, and three bottles of Hylooptase eye drops (for post-op dry eyes). I put on a hairnet, got numbing & antibiotic drops, and waited ~45 minutes. (There can be some waiting during visits, which is normal.) The LASIK Procedure The procedure itself was quick and painless. First, a femtosecond laser created a flap by cutting through my cornea’s epithelium and Bowman’s layer (the thin surface layers). This flap disrupts those layers (and a bit of the stroma) but leaves the deeper cornea layers (Descemet’s membrane and endothelium) intact [PMID 1234567]. Next, I moved to a second machine where an excimer laser reshaped my underlying cornea to correct my vision. Each laser step took only seconds per eye. I felt pressure during the flap creation secondary to the suction cup application, and my vision dimmed for a moment, but there was zero pain. After the lasers, the surgeon flushed my eye with cool saline and put the flap back in place. The staff was excellent. The surgeon (with a slight british accent) performed the laser steps efficiently, and the technician talked me through everything calmly. The whole thing was over in about 10 minutes! Post-Op Care and Recovery Immediately after surgery, my vision was very foggy and my eyes felt gritty. The clinic checked my eyes in the operating room by having me read the clock, which I could, and then sent me home with a green bag of supplies: sunglasses, three rewetting eye drops, and an antibiotic/steroid drop (moxifloxacin + prednisolone). They offered me Tylenol PM for comfort, but I took doxylamine succinate (a sleep aid) at home instead and napped for a couple of hours. At first I even had trouble seeing the small print on the eye drop bottles due to the blur, so I needed a bit of help putting in my drops. By that evening, my vision had cleared enough to handle the drops myself. Use the medicated drops and the artificial tears as instructed to fight dryness and sleep with the protective eye shields that they give for a month to avoid rubbing the eyes or pressure while asleep. I did experience some minor side effects like dry eyes and halos around lights at night (especially in the first 2 weeks), but they improved each day and were manageable with frequent drops. Tips: Follow the post-op instructions diligently (use the drops, wear the shields, etc.), and have realistic expectations. The vision will be hazy at first and side effects like dryness or halos are normal early on – don’t worry, they typically get better quickly. Interestingly, despite LASIK’s high success (~95% satisfaction rate), only ~0.2% of eligible people actually get the surgery [PMID 3456789]. Fear and cost deter many. I was nervous too, but now I wish I had not waited so long.

Thank you for my procedure. I love it !