Laser Eye Surgery Side Effects

There are several different kinds laser eye surgery, some examples being PRK, LASIK, LASEK and Epi-LASIK. One of the most common is LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) vision correction surgery. The LASIK procedure involves reshaping of a person's cornea permanently, with the purpose of improving vision and minimizing dependency on glasses or contact lenses. This surgery which is performed for all degrees of nearsightedness, is carried out using the excimer laser, which the Food and Drug Administration first approved for use in LASIK procedures, in November 1998. It also ruled that individual physicians can perform LASIK under the general 'practice of medicine', if it's in the patient's best interest. At present, reports from ophthalmology societies place the percentage of satisfied patients at 95. However, the remaining have reported permanent damage to their eyes following the surgery, due to laser eye surgery side effects.

The laser eye surgery side effects they have experienced include double vision, dry eye and halos around objects at night. In the light of this, the US government will investigate problems connected with laser eye-correcting surgery. It has recently (October 2009) been announced that the Food and Drug Administration, the National Eye Institute and the Department of Defence will work together to identify the percentage of patients who experience negative side effects post LASIK surgery. So far, an estimated six million Americans have undergone LASIK surgery.

Side Effects of Laser Surgery

Post LASIK, the number of patients with serious vision-threatening complications are few and far between. However, the possible side effects of laser eye surgery are listed below:

Halo Effect: Among the laser eye surgery risks, this one is more commonly experienced during the recovery period. This condition, in which a patient sees a halo or a glow around lights, can make tasks like night driving, very difficult or even impossible. It is scientifically explained that as the pupil enlarges, a second faded image is produced by the untreated peripheral cornea. The halo effect is pronounced in dim light.

Undercorrection/Overcorrection: A fairly more common laser eye surgery complications, is a patient not obtaining perfect vision after the surgery. Depending on the case, a second procedure may have to be performed to rectify the problem. Alternately, a patient may resume wearing glasses.

Infection: The risk of infection exists after any surgery, but the chances of a person developing a corneal infection post LASIK eye surgery, is less than 0.1%. Though this does not take away from the fact that it happens occasionally, and is one of the laser eye surgery side effects. A patient who gets an infection will experience discomfort and delayed healing.

Regression: An unfortunate outcome of this surgery is that the effect of the surgery may start gradually wearing off over a period of months or years. This means that after bearing the heavy laser surgery cost and going through the painful ordeal, one may still be back to square one.

Flap Damage or Loss: During the LASIK procedure, a thin film of corneal tissue is cut from the outer layer of the eyeball. However, a small portion is left attached so that it forms a flap. The flap is lifted, for the laser to reshape the underlying corneal tissue. One of the laser eye surgery risks, is the possibility of the entire flap getting separated, and consequently getting detached.

Distorted Flap: Another of the laser eye surgery side effects is the possibility of the corneal flap not healing or attaching properly. This can lead to distorted corneal shape, resulting in a decrease of best-corrected vision.

Corneal Haze: The chances of this side effect occurring during the healing process are slight. Usually, it can only be observed by an eye doctor with the assistance of a microscope, and is unlikely to have little or any affect on the patient's final vision. This complication can be corrected by further laser treatment. Only excessive corneal haze affects vision. Read more on dry eyes after lasik eye surgery.

The pre-surgery procedure of signing a consent form acknowledging all the risks, has to be done before laser eye surgery. To minimize laser eye surgery side effects, one should be over 21 years of age, have healthy eyes free from retinal problems, corneal scars and any other eye diseases. Laser eye surgery requires a lot of eye care after the procedure to ensure proper healing of the eye.