Laser eye surgery risks are a common concern held by many people who desire their vision corrected. Eye surgery complications may be numerous and there are also specific risks associated with the popular LASIK eye surgery that you may or may not be aware of. Our goal is to better educate you as to the potential risks associated with the procedure to ensure you’re able to make a clear, informed decision about your treatment options.

Laser eye surgery risks and LASIK eye surgery risks are often used interchangeably. However, laser eye surgery can mean the general surgical method, often known as refractive corrections. In contrast, LASIK is a specific type of laser eye surgery. The most common trait both types of surgery have is that they use a medically designed laser that focuses on the cornea of the eye to correct the vision.

In general, laser eye surgery risks include many potential complications. Like any medical operation, laser eye surgery risks should be taken seriously by a consumer and a medical patient. A well-trained medical professional can minimize all the potential laser eye surgery risks, but accidents can happen. Post-operation infection is one risk that could occur due to the immune compromise of the body. Another risk associated with laser eye surgery is the formation of scar tissue around the cornea. This comes from the laser’s heat, which has been known to cause tissue around the cornea of the eye to rise up and bubble. This forms little islands of tissue mass that can harm, hinder, or worsen vision compared to what the consumer ideally wanted.

Another possibility is that a foreign object, such as dust or bacteria, can enter into the eye during the operation. The result may be extreme pain for the patient or blurry vision well after the surgery. Another note to take into account is the fact the laser destroys cells during the operation. The bodily result of this is usually the formation of new cells to replace the destroyed ones. However, most of the new cells end up growing underneath the cornea. This can result in bulges forming underneath the cornea, damaging vision further.

Consumers should also consider the fact that laser eye surgery may under-perform and not meet their expectations. What is meant by this is that the laser eye surgery may not accurately correct the vision in the eye to the correct and healthy eye sight setting. This disappointment may be a huge one for some consumers since the benefits of eye surgery outweigh the laser eye surgery risks. In fact, there may be a chance a patient will need glasses or contacts even after their surgery to correct any eye issue left over from the operation. This expectation gap is a major hindrance for many consumers.

LASIK stands for “laser in situ keratomileusis”, a Latinized term that explicitly means using a laser to reshape the cornea of the eye. It is a highly crafted form of laser eye surgery, usually requiring a specialist to first remove the flap of the cornea before utilizing a laser on the eye tissue. LASIK is probably one of the most complex eye surgeries because of how the tissue is cut and corrected by the laser. Because of this, many of the previous issues with laser eye surgeries are in effect, but other factors may occur that complicate the surgery.

One notable issue with LASIK specifically is the ability for one eye not to function as well as the other eye. LASIK complications may be increase the differences between the two eyes, such as perfectly fixing one eye, but being unable to completely fix the vision problems in another eye. The result is blurred images. LASIK results may also not be permanent. LASIK cannot correct certain traits for certain eye conditions, like farsightedness. As a result, the person’s eye sight may regress. Finally, the invasive nature of LASIK may cause a myriad of complicated problems for the eye. For example, the human eye may experience chronic dry eye as a result of LASIK. In the most extreme circumstances, vision loss could occur from scarring, infection, or medical error.

LASIK eye surgery is eye surgery performed by using a laser to correct astigmatism, nearsightedness and farsightedness. Though LASIK eye surgery is one of the safest and most effective eye surgeries, there are still some LASIK eye surgery risks, complications and side effects a patient should know about before consenting to having this procedure.

Many patients are often satisfied with their vision after one treatment, however one LASIK eye surgery risk is under-correction or over-correction. In some cases a patient may require a second surgery to enhance the eyes and sharpen vision even more. This is more likely with patients who have a more extreme prescription. The enhancement surgery however, will not be able to be performed until months after the eyes have healed and adjusted. There are also rare cases where an enhancement surgery is not possible if the patient’s corneas are too thin or shaped abnormally.

Another LASIK eye surgery side effect a patient may encounter is still having to deal with contacts or glasses to achieve the best vision. In some cases a patient will have eyes corrected for long distance vision but they may still need glasses for close work or reading. Older patients may need glasses when presbyopia develops as part of the aging process.

LASIK surgery results may not be permanent. In some cases, patients experience a regression of vision after the surgery. This side effect is more common with patients who are farsighted. Patients who also deal with reading glasses are also more prone to having their eyes regress after LASIK surgery. If a patient does experience regression, they may need to have an additional enhancement surgery years after the initial LASIK eye surgery.

Another risk or side a patient may experience after LASIK eye surgery is visual abnormalities especially when there is low light. This can mean a variety of things. A person may witness hazy vision, double vision, sensitivity to light, seeing halos around lights or shadows. Though these abnormalities are extremely unusual, this side effect can be permanent and hinder a person for a period of time.

Patients who experience dry eyes before the surgery may notice the condition persist or get worse after the LASIK surgery. In certain cases, a person may develop worsening symptoms of dry eye such as burning, redness and decreased range of vision after surgery. Another side effect of worsening dry eyes is that the condition may be permanent and may require medication to improve the production of tears.

Perhaps one of the most feared side effect or risk of LASIK surgery is infection. If an infection does occur, it happens within the first 48 to 72 hours after the procedure. To lessen the chance of infection, surgeons suggest patients avoid substances which can trigger an infection such as eye makeup and pool water.

An extreme risk of LASIK eye surgery though very rare is losing vision. The LASIK procedure may worsen a person’s vision. This cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. This side effect could be a result from equipment malfunctions, flap-related issues or complications, infection or scarring.

There are many causes for nearsighted vision or myopic degeneration however, the primary cause of myopic macular degeneration is that the eye is longer than the average length, which may causes blurry images in the retina. In individuals who have healthy, normal nearsighted vision, the problem can be corrected with something as simple as eyeglasses, contacts, or Lasik eye surgery. However, those with nearsighted vision that is more severe, involves the risk of permanent vision loss. This is due to glaucoma eye disease, retinal detachment, and myopic macular degeneration (which have not been taken care of early enough).

Nearsighted vision or Myopic degeneration can occur in all ages, and typically does take place in individuals at a younger age. However, there are two stages of myopic macular degeneration which can occur. That of glaucoma and retinal detachment are the ones which occur early on, and are normally treatable by a simple process of Lasik, or something as easy as contacts. However, the degenerative myopia, which is not age related, has to be treated immediately, in order for a patient not to lose their vision. So, if you begin to feel the symptoms which are related to nearsighted vision, it is better to see a doctor early on, take care of the problem, and not have to deal with the possibility of the degenerative myopia getting too severe, and you possibly losing your vision.

So, what symptoms should individuals with myopic macular degeneration look for, in order to determine whether or not there may be a problem with their vision? First off, the most common is blurry vision. Individuals with non-exudative degenerative myopia will begin to notice gradual loss of clarity, where those with exudative myopia will notice rapid vision losses. Another symptom which is common is the problem telling colors apart, especially darker colors. Also, slower than average recovery times for your eyes to re-adjust from bright light exposure can be a symptom as well.

If you begin to notice these symptoms of degenerative myopia, visiting an eye doctor immediately is well advised. If it is early enough, you can take care of the problem very easily. However, if the problem has persisted, Lasik eye surgery might be considered as the only possible cure for the problem.

Although Lasik eye surgery is generally successful, like every other surgery and procedure performed on the human body, there are the possibilities for laser eye surgery risks which must be considered, along with the Lasik recovery time. One of the more common complications is associated with the hinged flap in the cornea, which gets lifted during surgery. If the flap isn’t correctly made, it may not adhere to the eye surface, causing it to begin to wrinkle. This can lead to irregularly shaped eye surfaces.

Other complications may be irregular astigmatism, if the laser correction isn’t properly centered, which may result in double vision. Keratectasia is another complication, which is the bulging of the eye’s surface, which can result from the flap being cut too deeply during surgery. This can result in distorted vision, which is likely to be permanent. There are several complications, and even the possibility of becoming permanently blind if the surgery isn’t properly performed.

Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis or LASIK for short is a corrective surgery to treat the conditions of near sighted, far sighted and astigmatism. Lasik recovery is a far easier process now than it was in the beginning days of Lasik. Lasik complications after Lasik eye surgery have also declined to a minimal number, due to increased understanding and safety measures put in place.  Additionally, the cost of Lasik eye surgery has declined as well, making it more affordable and available to many people.

Medications to limit swelling and control pain after Lasik eye surgery assist in a fast and short recuperation period. Patients also are given antibiotic medicated eye drops to prevent infection and irritation. Artificial tears are used for the first few weeks until the cornea has healed allowing natural tears to properly lubricate and moisturize the eye again.

Patients are strongly advised to wear eye patches while sleeping to prevent rubbing and wear dark sunglasses outside to protect against the sun. No driving until 24 hours after the procedure. Swimming or playing of sports for up to two weeks is prohibited to allow the eyes to heal. Wearing eye make up is discouraged for up to two weeks.

Most experience the following primary Lasik recovery side effects and symptoms up to a few days:

• Photophobia or acute sensitivity to light
• Weepy, watering eyes
• Eyes will burn or feel scratchy
• Halos surrounding objects
• Some swelling and discomfort around the eyes
• Vision fluctuations fading in and out of focus, lack of contrast
• Very dry eyes in need of artificial tears
• Apparent glare or bright spots at night

It is highly recommended for patients to return to their doctor for a follow up exam just to make certain there are no long term side effects or Lasik complications. The effectiveness of the Lasik recovery will vary depending upon several factors regarding the patient including age, physical condition and the condition that is to be corrected via Lasik.

Lasik complications after Lasik eye surgery are rare but can happen. These are a few of the complications that can occur:

• Chronic dry eyes condition resulting from cut nerve fibers failing to reconnect after being cut during the procedure. Nerves stimulate tears to keep eyes moist.
• Undercorrection or overcorrection increasing or decreasing the original vision disorder and may need an enhancement to reverse the problem.
• Night vision glares or bright flashes occur as light rays disperse on the cornea before they reach the retina caused by surgical cuts.
• Severe light sensitivity of sunlight or at night light sources.
• The corneal flap dislodges or erodes causing blurred vision.
• Delicate eye blood vessels rupture causing bleeding within the eyeball called a subconjunctival hemorrhage.
• Induced astigmatism can be created by the procedure. Ned corrective contacts or glasses
• Eyes can revert back to their original condition. This is common in people with pre-operative chronic eyesight disorders before the surgery.
• Sands of the Sahara syndrome where small white grains or debris get captured between the cornea and corneal flap created by the surgery. This causes a similar sensation of itchy irritation of sand in the eye.

Much is now known about what happens during recovery after Lasik eye surgery since nearly one million people a year undergo the procedure. There is not much need to be overly concerned about recovering from complications and side effects. Full recovery generally will only take a few days, but you should know the laser eye surgery risks going in.

The side effects experienced while recovering from Lasik surgery are mainly minimal in most cases. A very small portion of patients currently experience long term Lasik complications. Nearly all patients experience some side effects but also note remarkable improvement in their vision after Lasik eye surgery. There is absolutely no doubt of clear vision on that fact.