I am currently pregnant, can I have LASIK done?
First, Congratulations! Second, the answer is not right now. You cannot have LASIK or PRK because pregnancy causes fluid changes in the body especially in the later stages of pregnancy. Just like a pregnant woman’s feet get swollen, for some women, their cornea gets swollen. When a the cornea is swollen the shape of the cornea changes just as it does when you wear your contact lenses. It is for this reason that we will not perform refractive surgery on a cornea that is not in its natural shape. Your result will be inaccurate if your doctor lasers a swollen cornea.
Dr. Holzman would advise women to wait until 3 months after their pregnancy before having LASIK. On a side note, there are still fluid changes in the body during the time while you are breast-feeding. So for the same reason discussed above, we suggest that women who are nursing wait 3 months after you have stopped breast-feeding before having LASIK. You can immediately plan to get pregnant after LASIK. Fluid changes in the body do not occur until the later stages of pregnancy so it does not affect your visual outcome. Enjoy this time in your life! While we believe we are changing lives by being able to give people better sight – you are growing a life and that is a pretty big life changer too. LASIK and PRK are an option for you, but only after you are done with your pregnancy and breastfeeding.
