Laser Eye Surgery Complications

Typically the percentage of unsuccessful surgeries are in the region of 1% according to the latest research.

Some common post operative problems include:

Dry eyes, where the eyes feel itchy,burning.This can be alleviated with lubricating drops or gel and will usually resolve within 6 months after surgery.

Blurred or hazy vision and visual distortion such as halos,fuzziness with bright lights

Night time glare problems- my wife who had the older non laser radial keratotomy( read about my wifes surgery here) ) suffers these same problem occassionally, however it does occur also as a complication in modern forms of laser surgery.

Loss of the best vision obtained as compared with glasses or contact lenses.It is not possible to accurately predict the outcome of laser eye surgery, and it may be necessary to still need to wear corrective lenses however this can also sometimes be corrected with follow up enhancement operations.

Infection and delayed healing ,unlikely if proper post operative aftercare procedures are rigorously adhered to.

Corneal thinning and complications with the 'flap ' cut in LASIK/LASEK surgery misaligning ,leading to distortion in vision.

Problems with post operative residual visual error, nighttime eyesight and hazy vision are more common in patients with higher pre operative eye precriptions.

For more information you MUST consult your own laser eye surgeon for an individual assessment of likely outcomes.

Older patients who have distance vision corrected will often find a new need to wear reading glasses

The percentage of any surgery being unsuccessful is likely to be reduced if

1.Your preoperative consultation is with the eye surgeon who will be performing the surgery on you.

2.The surgeon is experienced.

3. The laser eye clinic is using the most modern technology. (such as wavefront )



Back to advice section from laser eye surgery complications

Read about corneal haze here

Read about starbursts as a complication of lasik and other forms of laser eye surgery here.

or return to home page with this link.