The Risks And Side Effects Of Having Laser Eye Surgery

The Risks And Side Effects Of Having Laser Eye Surgery : The current success rate with laser eye surgery sits at an astounding 96%; and most of the patients are happy with the results that are achieved after a single treatment, while the remaining few may require a second procedure. Every surgery has its life-changing advantages and risks, and laser eye surgery is no exception.

Though laser eye surgery is clinically proven to be safe and smooth, it is not completely clear of side effects. Expert ophthalmologists like Personal Eyes Lasik surgeons could define specific risks and judge if laser eye surgery is a possibility for a particular patient. Some complexities that could happen are:

Dry eyes syndrome:

This is a relatively common complaint immediately after laser eye surgery, but it improves rapidly for most patients. Almost 95% of patients experience symptoms of dry eyes after surgery. Patients who have suffered from dry eyes before the surgery might struggle more with the symptoms than others. Doctors treat this common side effect with the help of artificial tears and other stimulation methods. A dry eye may cause discomfort as it could lead to a burning sensation accompanied by a blurred vision.

Refraction errors:

Laser eye surgery does not give the same refraction result for all patients. Sometimes, the degree of sight correction may differ from patient to patient. There are chances that the patient might still have lingering refractive errors even after the surgery. In short, you might still be stuck with glasses also after you go through the surgery. In rare cases, patients might have to undergo another surgery to correct the error.

Infection:

Like all other surgeries, even laser eye surgery comes with a little chance of developing eye infections. For this reason, patients must watch out for symptoms like redness in the eye, throbbing pain or negative changes in the vision. If treated timely, infections could be harmless; however, if not attended promptly, infections could lead to irreversible eye damages.

Night vision hindrances:

Night vision disturbance is a potential side-effect associated with laser eye surgery. Most patients connect it to driving difficulties at night because of glare. Seeing halos around bright lights in the dark is a common complaint. Though this is an irksome early side effect of the surgery, it steadily improves for most patients. About 25% of patients have some night vision disturbances in the first few weeks after surgery.

Diplopia:

Diplopia or a double vision is a rare side-effect associated with vision correction surgery. This happens because of the unequally curved corneal surface, or when both the eyes are improperly aligned. Patients describe this as seeing ghostly images or seeing a hazy shadow around everything. In extreme cases, this condition might need corrective surgery.

Epithelial ingrowth:

In some cases, the cells from the outer layer of the cornea could grow under the flap after a LASIK surgery. This side effect could lead to symptoms like discomfort and cloudy vision. In most cases, this growth is self-limiting and harmless; however, in rare cases, patients might need an additional surgical procedure to lift the flap and remove the growth.

Bulging of the cornea:

The bulging of the eyes is an infrequent complication linked with laser eye surgery. Also known as corneal ectasia, this side-effect makes the front of the eye weak, and as a result, it protrudes forward. Dealing with this disorder could require wearing glasses or contact lenses. In extraordinary cases, an affected patient might need a corneal transplant to rehabilitate vision. Unlike other side-effects, bulging of the cornea doesn’t always occur immediately after the surgery. This disorder could develop any time from shortly after surgery to years later.