Possible side effects to lasik eye surgery

Lasik eye surgery has been performed since 1998 to help people move away from needing eyeglasses and contact lenses. There have been many successful operations resulting in 20/20 vision. It is needed to remember lasik is a surgery and there is a possibility of side effects. Although most people who undergo lasik do not experience long or severe side effects, there are some that will. It is always important to know the risks involved whenever seeking a surgical procedure, especially one that is optional, like lasik. The other factor with Lasik is, that since it is a new procedure there is no long term effect data as of yet.

Most people who do experience side effects from lasik eye surgery are people who were not as good of a candidate to start with. People who have or have had before any type of problems with their eyes should be very cautious in seeking lasik surgery. It is also important to remember that not everyone will achieve 20/20 vision through lasik eye surgery. There is the possibility that you may still need eyeglasses or contact lenses after the procedure.

Some of the first side effects you may experience following the surgery are a small amount of discomfort with pain, watery eyes and a burning sensation. A low dose of pain medication prescribed by your doctor will normally help in these cases. Normally an over the counter medication will help ease these mild symptoms. Normally blurry vision and difficulty seeing in the dark is experienced. This is because the actual results of the surgery does take time to see. This symptoms could last up to 6 months while your vision stabilizes. During this time it is important to remember, that if you where experience terrible pain or anything else that concerns you contact your doctor as soon as possible.

Some side effects are serious and could become permanent. Some patients develop a condition called dry eye syndrome where the eyes do not produce enough moisture. There is no cure for this condition but the treatment includes the use of eye drops or plugs that are inserted in the tear ducts. Other side effects include problems seeing in dark, halos or starbursts around lights. These result from smaller distortions in your cornea. These are distortions that your surgeon may not have noticed during your pre-op exam. Just like any other surgery there is also a chance of infection which can be treated by your doctor with medication.

The more dangerous and rare side effects have a more devastating effect. Some patients may end up with more of a vision problem than before, a chance of blindness. Many times these severe side effects happen due to either complications after the surgery or as a result of an under qualified technician or surgeon. If the programming of the laser is wrong, it may take too much corneal tissue or not enough corneal tissue resulting in more serious side effects. As a result from not following the doctor’s orders to keep the eye covered for a period of time or from an injury to the eye after the surgery there is also the chance of complications. In this case a chance of the flap that was cut in the cornea not healing properly. The flap in the cornea is very thin and can also be easily wrinkled if proper follow up care is not observed.

Because, there no guarantee that the results will be permanent or you can avoid side effects it is wise to discuss all possibilities with your surgeon. Have all your questions and concerns addressed before proceeding with the surgery.

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