Blinking during laser eye surgery

You might be wondering, "what happens if I blink or look in the wrong direction during the laser treatment?" A common worry, and fortunately one that doesn’t apply anymore with modern, cutting edge eye tracking laser technology.

A sneeze? A cough?

One of the most significant game changers in laser safety over the past two decades has been increased computer processing power. The state-of-the-art Schwind Amaris laser continuously tracks your eye’s position to ensure the laser is targeting correctly throughout the treatment.

While the laser is on, you’ll be asked to look at a green LED light. The laser can follow small movements, continuously monitoring your eye position up to 1,050 times per second, in horizontal, vertical and rotational dimensions.

Not a problem

So, if you get distracted, cough, sneeze or flinch and suddenly look away, the laser will detect this and stop the treatment. Daniel Gore will then ask you to fixate back on the green light and carry on with the treatment. It makes no difference to the final outcome if we have to pause at any time during the few seconds that it takes to complete.

Three other key steps make the whole process easier for you:

Numbing anaesthetic eye drops help to keep you comfortable and reduce the urge to blink
A spring clip (speculum) tucks inside the eyelids to gently keep your eyes open which means the eye being treated can’t blink or close
Quick laser treatment time. With the world’s highest-performing eye laser system, the Schwind Amaris typically takes less than 10 seconds for a LASIK ablation so it’ll all be over before you’ve had time to think about blinking!

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