The first step is to set up appointments and consultations to determine if you are a good candidate. These appointments are often called baseline evaluations. Your eye doctor will not schedule the appointments in the short term after you call. The reason why is that if you wear contact lenses, you must stop wearing them and switch to glasses for at least two weeks prior to your evaluation. Contact lenses alter the shape of your cornea and may affect the pre-operative consultation. The same also has to be done before your surgery - contact lenses must be removed several weeks before the surgery to ensure the natural shape of the cornea has been reassumed. By not doing this, you are running the risk for complications or a poor result in the surgery. If you wear hard contact lenses, the lenses should not be worn up to a month before surgery. The hard contact lenses change the shape of the cornea even more significantly than the soft contact lenses.

During your consultation, make sure to tell your doctor if you are taking any medications or have had any past or present eye conditions. Also, do not be afraid to ask questions in your consultation. The eye doctor should communicate the full expectations, risks, benefits, and alternatives of the procedure to you during the consultation. The doctor should also explain what the patient's responsibilities are before, after and during the surgery.

Be sure and take the time to think about the information you are given during the consultative appointments prior to the surgery. Fully understand the risks: sometimes the procedure does not result in perfect 20/20 vision, you may still have to wear reading glasses or contacts. There is also a risk for vision loss or other associated vision problems.