Pretty much all surgery involves risk, but the risk of complications from LASIK surgery is low. It is actually considered one of the safest forms of surgery today. However, it is still important to know there are some possible risks. Most problems resulting from LASIK surgery are completely preventable, and most result from mistakes in the pre-operative process. So, its highly important to find a trusted surgeon.
Here are a few of the most common risks :-
Undercorrection is one possible complication. An example is if you vision is corrected to 30/20 instead of 20/20. This is not a great problem and may even be desirable in some patients since they wont have to use reading glasses. Undercorrection happens most often in patients with really bad vision.
Overcorrection is simply the opposite of the scenario described above, but is far less common. In many cases it occurs temporarily and lasts for less than a month. During the month glasses can be worn to help during the adjustment period. If a permanent overcorrection occurs, corrective surgery can be scheduled about 6 months later.
Even less rare is an operation resulting in astigmatism, which causes blurred vision. In almost all cases, the astigmatism can be corrected with another surgery.
Often after a LASIK operation patients will experience a feeling of dryness in the eyes for up to 6 months. Eyedrops are helpful to get through this period. In some cases the dryness will last for a longer period of time. In this scenario it may be suggested to block your tear drainage through a simple, painless process. This allows your eye to remain more naturally moist and usually solves the problem.
About 1 to 5 percent of patients have a small scrape on the cornea post-operation. This will cause blurred vision and slight discomfort. To solve the problem, the surgeon should place a bandage contact in the eye which comforts and heals in a few days.
If you currently wear glass or contacts and experience night glare or halos it is a good idea to tell your surgeon before the operation. Some people have the same experience after LASIK. These symptoms are not serious but may be annoying. Most glare problems go away after about 6 months.
Flap complications can occur rarely when the surgeon cuts the corneal flap incorrectly. Usually when this occurs, the eye has to be given a few months to heal so the surgery can be done on a later date.
Infection is very rare but the most serious complication. When it occurs it is usually during the first 2 days after surgery. It is essential to follow your surgeons instruction and attend all of your follow-up visits to prevent this.