Your eye will need to be dilated prior to the procedure. In some cases, an anesthetic injection is given adjacent to the eye to prevent movement of the eye during the procedure. However, in most cases, only topical eye drop anesthesia is required.
You will be seated at the laser, a small "contact lens" is applied to the surface of your eye, and your ophthalmologist will complete the laser procedure, usually while simultaneously viewing the angiogram previously completed. The angiogram results often help to guide the treatment. The procedure will only take a few minutes and is typically painless, with or without an anesthetic injection. Once the procedure is complete, you should be able to leave within a few minutes.
What to Expect After Focal Laser for Wet AMD
Immediately after your focal laser treatment for wet macular degeneration, you can expect to have blurry vision, mostly from the bright light of the laser. Occasionally, the eye will feel scratchy on the day of the procedure due to the use of the contact lens required for the procedure. This will usually resolve within 24 hours.
As far as your vision is concerned, if the treated area was outside the center of your macula, your vision should remain fairly stable even immediately after the procedure. However, if the center of the macula is treated, you can usually expect an immediate reduction in central vision following the procedure. Your ophthalmologist will advise you as to what you could expect prior to the procedure.
