As with any surgery, LASIK has a few complications. Scientific studies conducted in the late 1990s depicted that a meager 5% of LASIK eye surgeries resulted in some sort of complication. However, expert eye surgeons claim that the complication rate drops well below 1% if the patient is thoroughly examined prior to the surgery, so as to ensure that the procedure is feasible and beneficial.
Though quite rare, complications due to LASIK do occur. The following are some of the frequently reported complications of LASIK eye surgery.
- Dry eye syndrome
- Light sensitivity
- Halos or glare around light sources at night
- Over/under-correction
- Ghosts/double vision
- Induced astigmatism
LASIK eye surgery involves the cutting of a flap in the cornea, which is lifted for laser re-shaping of the eye. The flap is then replaced to form a type of natural bandage. Complications may arise if the flap is not cut correctly, which may result in an uneven eye surface and a vision defect called irregular astigmatism.
The above stipulated complications may give an impression that LASIK is a risk-prone surgery. However, much to the patient’s relief, LASIK complications can be rectified through laser re-treatments or enhancements of the eye. Furthermore, it is very much a rare exception that a LASIK surgery would cause significant vision deterioration. That is, there have been only a scant few cases that the corrected vision was actually worse than it was before surgery. Such rare cases can be attributed to the eye surgeon’s inexperience and the lack of a through pre-operative examination.
Though LASIK does have potential side effects, all such complications can be averted by opting for an experienced eye surgeon who takes that extra precaution while performing the surgery. The truth is that LASIK is by far the most efficient procedure when it comes to corrective eye surgery. With a minimal complication rate, LASIK is a near risk-free proposition.
