Laser Eye Surgery Complication – Top 5 Issues

Having very sensitive eyes is one laser eye surgery complication that has been reported by patients. This sensitivity may arise due to any number of reasons, such as dryness, or a tendency towards poor night vision causing strain. Following are some other reported complications from laser eye surgery.

1. Halo effect.
   Some patients report seeing a second faded image as their pupil dilates. But the halo effect typically goes unnoticed unless it gets dark or the lights are dimmed. The reason for this laser eye surgery complication stems from untreated part of the cornea. The halo effect usually interferes with night driving.
   


2. Over- or under-correction.
   No laser eye surgery procedure can guarantee 20/20 vision 100% of the time. Although constant advances are made to laser surgery technology, and today’s procedure is already highly accurate, it cannot control how a patient’s eye will respond.
   
   There are cases where patients still need to wear corrective lenses. And when conditions, post-surgery, turn out to be really unsatisfactory, some patients choose to undergo more surgery to improve vision.
   


3. Corneal haze.
   Corneal haze is a common laser eye surgery complication. But it is part of normal recovery and will generally not affect final vision. In fact, the patient will not even notice it (only an ophthalmologist using a microscope will).
   
   There are cases, however, when corneal haze becomes so excessive that it interferes with a patient’s vision. When this happens, it can usually be corrected through a second laser procedure. The risk of excessive corneal haze is higher in other laser eye surgery procedures than in LASIK.
   


4. Regression.
   After a period of several years, some patients discover that their vision has returned to the way it was before the laser eye surgery. Some opt to undergo the procedure again.
   


5. Best vision decrease.
   A few patients have complained that their best vision using contact lenses has decreased after laser eye surgery. This is a laser eye surgery complication that results from the presence of corneal haze or from irregular tissue removal. It can also be a side effect when the corneal flap heals irregularly, distorting the shape of the cornea.

Rare Laser Eye Surgery Complications

Infections after laser eye surgery are rare. An estimated one-tenth of 1% of patients experience laser eye surgery complications related to corneal infection. An even fewer number of LASIK surgery patients experience such an infection.

Although having corneal infection leads to a delay in healing, it does not result in any long term effects. All the patient will have to bear is some discomfort during an extended time of healing.

There are also cases that require a second surgery, such as superficial scarring or excessive thinning of the cornea.

Although the latter can be corrected by using contact lenses, many find that it defeats the purpose of laser eye surgery and opt to simply go through the procedure again—especially when the first procedure comes with a guarantee that additional procedures within the first year of surgery come free.