YAG Laser Capsulotomy Week 1: What to Expect

By the end of week 1 most people are done recovering. The blur, haze, and glare that led to the laser should be gone, since the AAO says sight should improve in about 48 hours when no other eye problem is involved, and the National Eye Institute says most people notice their vision is back to normal in a few days.

Floaters are the symptom most likely to still be hanging around. An AAO ophthalmologist notes that some floaters in the first week are normal and that the procedure rarely leaves people with long-term significant floaters. They tend to become less noticeable as the brain tunes them out and the fragments drift out of the line of sight, though there is no fixed timetable for that.

Many practices schedule a check during or just after this week to measure eye pressure and look at the retina. The AAO's clinical guidance describes a pressure check at about 1 week. This visit matters most if you have glaucoma, since an AAO review of one retrospective glaucoma series found pressure rises or added glaucoma treatment in about 20 percent of those patients by 6 months.