How a LASIK Eye Surgery Complication Happens

Despite LASIK’s amazing results — that have made it a household word in the past few years — it is still a medical procedure that comes with its share of medical complications.

LASIK is not a trivial procedure. It requires a skilled surgeon, sterile conditions, and competent patient assessment and guidance for the surgery to be considered a success. Following are some of the LASIK eye surgery complications than can occur.

LASIK Surgery Complications Due to Errors in Patient Selection

A big percentage of LASIK surgery complications take place because of failure to properly assess the patient. It is critical that the following considerations be made before a patient is pronounced eligible for LASIK.

1. Detailed research into the patient’s medical history


2. Detailed study of ocular history


3. Accurate measurement
   
   1. Cycloplegic refraction
   
   
   2. Size of pupil
   
   
   3. Corneal pachymetry


4. Corneal topography – important because certain conditions (e.g., keratoconus) mean that a patient should avoid having LASIK. Patients who wear contact lenses often have warped corneas and LASIK surgery complications could arise if the procedure is not postponed until the patient’s topography normalizes (done by not wearing contact lenses until corneal warping disappears).

Finally, one of the most common errors in patient selection can occur if the surgeon goes ahead with the LASIK surgery even if the patient has unrealistic expectations of the procedure.

Some LASIK practitioners, in their desire to get the business, do not fully advice patients of the range of outcomes of LASIK surgery, as well its success rate and post-op issues.

LASIK Surgery Complications in the Flap

One LASIK eye surgery complication has to do with the creation of the corneal flap. Although the incidence of flap complications has diminished due to advancements in microkeratome technology (device used to create the flap) as well as surgeon know-how, it is still one of the most feared complications related to LASIK.

The most common kinds of flap complications are:

• Thin/irregular flaps


• Partial/incomplete flaps


• Buttonholed flaps


• Donut-like flaps


• Free caps

The reasons for these flap complications vary, but the most common one is when the microkeratome creates an inadequate suction.

LASIK Surgery Complications Due to Misalignment

Misalignment of the laser mirrors can shift the ablation (removal) away from the entrance pupil. This misalignment happens when the laser is not regularly calibrated.

A LASIK surgery complication due to misalignment can also occur when the patient fails to focus on the blinking light, which is the fixation point that aligns the eye to the laser. However, most patients are able to focus adequately.

The good news is that advances in eye-tracking technology (laser and video) do not depend on a patient’s ability to focus. These advances instead enable the laser to monitor the position of the pupil’s center.