Laser eye surgery, the technique is also known as LASIK, has become commonplace these days. More and more number of corrective eye surgeries are being done with lasers. Many centers have sprung up all around the world. Lots of advertisements appear in the print media, with claims that the surgeries are done using the latest techniques.
How far the laser eye surgery is reliable and what are the risks involved? One is constantly worried about this, and why not? After all, it is a matter of your precious eyes. This article will give you some information about the risks involved in undergoing surgery of the eyes using laser, so that those risks can be reduced.
Laser Eye Surgery Risks
Dry Eyes
Laser surgery makes the eyes dry, because the tear production in tear glands reduces. Good news is that this dry eye condition is a temporary one. It should not last more than six months. Your doctor will prescribe you some eye drops to manage the dry eyes.
But there is no guarantee that the dry eye condition will go away after six months, it may not go at all. Clarify with your doctor about dry eye condition.
The vision is not good if the eyes are dry.
Flap Infection
The upper eyelid has to be pulled and folded for the duration of laser surgery. It has been seen that the inner lining of flap may catch infection and get swollen.
Sometimes as the healing takes place the underlying epithelial layer may start growing abnormally causing great discomfort.
Flap Dislocation
A trauma to the eyes can dislocate the eye flaps. Hence, those who are into martial arts, wrestling and boxing are at risk of flap dislocation. A good doctor will always advise them not to undergo laser eye surgery.
Dis Satisfactory Improvement of Vision
There have been cases where the patients complain of not satisfactory improvement after the laser surgery. This is the most common worry that haunts a potential candidate planning to undergo laser eye surgery.
At times the poor results are because of some previous history of health issues such as rheumatoid arthritis, dry eyes, HIV, corneal condition, instability of vision and pregnancy.
The initial good results also may diminish with age in case of farsighted people.
False Promises
There is always a risk if you are planning to go ahead with the cheapest laser surgery available in the market. Equip yourself with all the knowledge that you need to possess before agreeing to get operated by the cheapest offer. Check with them in detail about every possible risk involved and then take the decision. You must also go to the doctor charging higher fee and check what makes him better.
Glares and Double Vision
It is possible that you may start seeing a halo around the lights, there may be glare or even double vision. At times these complications can be resolved with the use of eye drops, namely corticosteroids.
But it is not always that these eye drops can resolve the issue. Sometimes night vision takes a beating, it worsens from what it was before the surgery.
Under Correction and Over Correction
There is some amount of tissue that is to be removed during the laser eye surgery. If the tissue removal is not correctly done we need to undergo one more surgery. All said and done, tissue once removed cannot be restored, so over correction cannot be altered, whereas under correction can be done with one more surgery.
