Lasik Surgery Complications

Who have lived most of their lives under the mercy of eyesight problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, LASIK is alluring. The benefits of having the lasik procedure are obvious and well documented. The promise of LASIK is indeed very inviting, but before you decide to have it, you must be aware of the LASIK risks so that you won’t regret your decision.

Though rare, there are still LASIK surgery patients that complain about post surgical problems. However, if you have an experienced surgeon by your side, the rate of surgical complications is greatly reduced. Common sense aside, one should base their decisions on the actual facts reported by their treatment provider. Overall, the number of complications are generally reported to be less than 1%. Most of the reported problems are handled through laser re-treatments or enhancements.

This article presents a brief overview of some of the potential complications that could result from lasik surgery. While it is rare, patients who have chosen an incompetent LASIK can end up with bigger problems after the surgery. They can have complications as serious as the one described above, or worse, they can lose their eyesight altogether. Make sure that the doctor you get has had a solid reputation of performing successful LASIK operations in the past. It is important that you talk to your doctor extensively when considering lasik surgery so that you have realistic expectations and are aware of the risks and potential pitfalls as well as the upside of laser eye surgery.

Some of the more common types of LASIK complications are improperly formed LASIK flaps: Sometimes after the first surgery, a patient might experience an improperly formed flap. This might create an irregular surface and cause various vision defects. In such cases, LASIK surgery needs to be repeated one or more times to make the eye surface smooth. That’s why you really need to speak to LASIK doctors about these sort of issues to understand the risks involved here.

Dry eye is the most common complication of LASIK. Most patients receive a prescription for eye drops to help lubricate the eyes and prevent infection, but eye drops may not be enough. Dry eye can persist and become painful necessitating further treatment. Corneal nerves that are responsible for tear production are severed when the flap is cut. Medical studies have shown that these severed nerves never return to normal densities and patterns. Symptoms of dry eye include pain, burning, foreign body sensation, and eyelid sticking to the eyeball.

LASIK results in loss of visual quality. After lasik surgery, some patients are left with poor vision at night or in lower light situations. Seeing halos around objects or excessive glare at night are symptoms of this complication. This may stop over time or one may need eyeglasses when driving at night. Have more difficulty seeing detail in dim light (loss of contrast sensitivity) and experience an increase in visual distortion at night (multiple images, halos, and starbursts). A published review of data for FDA-approved lasers found that six months after LASIK, 19.7 percent report glare (starbursts), 17.5 percent of patients report halos, 21 percent complain of eye dryness and 19.3 percent report night-driving problems.

after LASIK, The cornea is incapable. Researchers found that the flap heals to only 2.4% of normal tensile strength. LASIK flaps can be surgically lifted or accidentally dislodged for the remainder of a patient's life. The FDA website warns that patients who participate in contact sports are not good candidates for LASIK.

It is extremely important if you are considering lasik to speak at length with your doctor in order to fully understand the complications that could set in as well as the advantages in order to make the right decision about lasik surgery for you.