LASIK Side Effects and Complications
Temporary side effects from LASIK are not uncommon. LASIK complications are rare, but you need to be aware of them going in. You can reduce your risk of both by choosing the right LASIK surgeon, being completely honest with your surgeon from day one, and following your surgeon’s pre and postoperative directions to a T. Never be afraid to call and ask questions if you are experiencing side effects or potential complications. Your LASIK surgeon and staff are there to help.
LASIK Surgery Side Effects
LASIK side effects are a normal and temporary part of LASIK recovery. They can be scary if you are not expecting them. You may experience any of the following:
- Dry eyes
- Light sensitivity
- Problems with night vision
- Glare
- Halos
- Dark red spots in the whites of your eyes
- Blurry or hazy vision
LASIK Complications
LASIK complications are rare, but they can happen. LASIK complications include:
- Irregular astigmatism
- Diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK)
- Epithelial ingrowth
- Infection
- Overcorrection or under correction
- Dry eye syndrome
- Keratectasia
- High-order aberrations
Minimizing Your Risk
You can reduce your risk of complications and increase your chance of satisfaction with the outcome of LASIK. Here are some of the basics:
- Choose the right LASIK surgeon. This cannot be stressed enough.
- Get familiar with LASIK candidacy, so you can have the right conversation with your LASIK surgeon.
- Be forthcoming with your surgeon. Even if it seems unrelated to you, tell your LASIK surgeon about your medical history, all of your medications and supplements, and things like pregnancy or potential pregnancy.
- Tell your LASIK surgeon about all of your vision issues. There are so many vision issues that are not detected on the eye chart or in regular eye exams. And they may be things that you are so used to that you don’t even think about them anymore. This includes stuff like glare, halos and shadows. Obviously, issues with night driving too. Many of these problems are caused by high-order aberrations which can be detected by wavefront diagnosis. Some LASIK surgeons do not use wavefront or only use it on an “as-needed” basis, so you need to let your surgeon know that you may need it.
- Better yet, insist on wavefront diagnosis. It can detect high-order aberrations even if you have not experienced symptoms. This is important because traditional LASIK can exacerbate undetected high-order aberrations, causing problem you did not experience before. If these problems are detected, custom LASIK is used to correct them or prevent making them worse.
- Follow your LASIK surgeon’s preoperative and post-operative instructions to the letter. Yes, it will be annoying and inconvenient at times. It will probably seem like it’s OK to fudge a little here and there, but resist the temptation. It is not worth the consequences.
To learn more about LASIK and and its potential side effects and complications, search LASIKSurgeons.com for a LASIK surgeon near you.
