Risks And Complications Of LASIK Surgery

The popularity of LASIK surgery to correct vision problems increases in popularity.  More patients are choosing this method of surgery for correcting their vision problems every year.  As with any other surgery, there are risks and complications involved.  Factual clinical information needs to be looked at to decide if the benefits of LASIK surgery outweigh any risks of complications.  Keep in mind; complications are less likely to occur if you use an experienced doctor who has successfully performed many LASIK surgeries.

Complications resulting from LASIK surgery are rare.  LASIK candidates are carefully screened before the surgery and only those with a reasonable expectation of improved vision are good candidates.  Reports indicate only one percent of those who have LASIK surgery report any complications.  Any complications that may occur can easily be corrected with re-treatments with the laser or other enhancements to the eye.  It is rare for complications causing permanent damage to the eye or vision loss. 

One complication is an irregular astigmatism.  This will result in a cornea surface that is not smooth and will result in the laser beam not being centered on the eye.  Ghost images and double vision are caused by swelling in the cornea but will sometimes disappear without needing further treatment.  If treatment is needed, a re-treatment or an enhancement may be needed.  Sometimes these vision problems will disappear when the healing process is complete.

There are certain complications to consider when undergoing LASIK flap surgery.  They are associated with cutting a hinged flap in the cornea, lifting it for corrective surgery, then replacing the flap to form a natural bandage.  New technology and advances in procedures have improved accuracy and fewer complications are found with LASIK flap surgery.  The newest technology is called IntraLase.  It is an improvement on the former procedure but also costs more.  The patient is given a choice of having the more expensive procedure or they want the traditional, less expensive LASIK. 

Another choice is custom LASIK that can treat vision errors that were not once noticed and higher order aberrations.  Custom LASIK uses a mapping of the cornea to locate the areas that need to be reshaped to enhance vision. 

If the flap is not cut correctly, it may not stick to the surface of the eye.  It can be cut too thin or too thick and when placed back over the cornea it could wrinkle and cause complications.  These wrinkles could lead to vision distortions caused by irregular astigmatism.

Other complications that could arise after LASIK surgery are haziness in vision, dry eye problems, and infections.  Other visual aberrations include glare, halos, double vision, and loss of sensitivity to contrast.  Problems with night vision or low light situations may also occur.  Most of these complications or risks can easily be corrected with another laser treatment, eye drops or oral medications.  With a one percent risk of complications, LASIK eye surgery is a great option for correcting vision problems.  Most surgeons believe any risks involved in LASIK surgery are outweighed by the benefits.