Thanks guys, it does heal fast.
Four hours after surgery I was allowed to remove the bandage, and I could almost see clearly right away.
The surgery itself takes 20 minutes with a little discomfort, but since the alternative is slowly going blind, I can live with it!
Basically the surgeon replaces the affected lens with a plastic lens, so it's performed with local anae...an...*stomp!* sedation.
A4K:
At first the eye that's due to undergo surgery is dripped with a local anesthetic to sedate the cornea and dilate the pupil while you wait.
You might also get a sedative, depending on pre-surgery procedures.
Then you go in and sit in a dentist's chair, and the area around the eye is disinfected with pure alcohol before a special cloth is attached around your eye. This cloth has got something that'll soak up fluid, I don't know if it's cotton or gauze, but it works just fine.
The soaking thing is to keep moisture from running down your face during surgery, because your eye gets dripped constantly with a saline solution or something similar, to keep the eyeball moist and clean.
Then your eye is given another local anesthetic, this time with a very thin syringe, in three or more places to make sure that you can't feel a thing during surgery. This was the most uncomfortable part for me - I HATE the idea of anything sharp getting anywhere near my eyes!
Then the surgeon puts something in to keep your eye open, I don't know if it's a special ring or clamp-thing, but it feels strange. It might strain the fine skin at the corners of your eye a little, that's why it felt uncomfortable for me.
Then the affected lens is removed with an ultrasound knife. Your lens is then replaced with a plastic lens, the surgeon then makes sure that everything is alright and done properly - and then you're done.
Before you go in for surgery, your eye is measured to make sure that you get the proper strength lens at the pre-op examination.
The clamp or ring is removed (- ah! Relief!), as is the paper cloth, and the surgeon wipes the skin around the eye clean and dry of blood and other icky stuff - and then the bandage is put on.
Then the nurse helps you with sitting and standing - all nice and slow, depending on how the surgery affected you. Some people might feel dizzy or uncomfortable, hence this procedure.
And then you can go home and sit down quietly for at least four hours before you can remove the bandage and start dripping your eyes with special post-op eye drops for at least three weeks.
All of this might of course vary, depending on the various procedures in the various countries.
It's the same with when you're allowed to lift heavy things and do physically straining things again.
For example: An older friend of mine wasn't allowed to exercise for six weeks after surgery, and I was told that I could start exercising again after one week - so I guess it depends on your age and physical condition - and how well you heal.
And today's post op check-up went well: Everything looks fine - in more than one way.
Another things is that it feels like my eye has been replaced with a golf ball, it's pretty sore and red - but I was told that this was normal, so I guess it's okay.
Plus all of a sudden I can see clearly again and my eye has to get used to a different strength lens, so I guess feeling headachey is normal here as well. It's like getting new glasses, it takes a little getting used to.