LASIK, PRK, and cosmetic eye surgery all have risks and side-effects. As a patient, it is useful if you know about the side effects of you upcoming procedure. This way you will be prepared for the days following the procedure when you need to recover.
Big Side Effects or Risks
There are many small side-effects that can be caused by your eye surgery. However, laser eye surgery also has a few big side-effects that could permanently damage your health. Some of these side-effects include:
- Possible Blindness
- Glare at night, and the possibility of not being able to drive at night or in dim light.
- Diffuse Lamellar Keratitis (DLK)
- Protective Cornea Coating
Possible Blindness
In some patients there is a possibility that you will be blinded by laser eye surgery. At least 10 out of 10,000 people who have cosmetic eye surgery go blind and only 1 out of 10,000 go blind if they have a LASIK or PRK procedure done. It is more common for those over 35 to go blind as well as those having unneeded cosmetic eye surgeries.
Glare at Night
Because of the procedure people who wear glasses or contacts will often experience a night glare after laser eye surgery. This is because the pupil’s dilate in dark or dim light, and rays of light will shoot off of lenses causing a glare.
Diffuse Lamellar Keratitis
DLK is a condition that can occur after LASIK eye surgery and sometime s after a PRK surgery. This is an inflammation condition also known by the name Sands of theSahara. It is characterized as white grains appearing in your sight a few days after a LASIK or other laser eye surgery. This is a sight-threatening condition and needs to be dealt with efficiently and immediately. Your doctor or surgeon cans prescript a topical steroid for the condition.
Protective Cornea Coating
This growth is caused when certain cells get trapped under the corneal flap formed during LASIK surgery. These growths can be easily scraped away by your surgeon.
Common and Minor Side-Effects
There are many minor side effects that often occur after any type of laser eye surgery. These are things you may want to be aware of, and adjust your home and life to fit these side-effects for the recovery time. These side-effects include:
- Loss of Crisp Vision
- Dry Eye
- Halos
- Starbursts
- Overcorrection
Loss of Crisp Vision
This is often described as the loss of sharp vision. A few weeks after surgery you may not be able to see things as defined as you would like to. For a few weeks you may not be able to see things such as fine print, hanging food menus, the guide on your TV, and small details. This often disappears about three weeks into recovery. For older patient it may be up to six weeks.
Dry Eye
Dry eye is one of the most common side-effects that people will experience after laser eye surgery. This will more than likely go away about six weeks into recovery. However, you can buy artificial tears or lubricating eye drops to keep your eyes moist. Dry eye mostly causes discomfort but is not fatal to your sight in any way. However, some older patients may need to use lubricating eye drops for a few months after surgery to ensure that the dry eye doesn’t return.
Halos
Halos are described as rings of light or circles of light that you see around objects. These will normally disappear about two weeks into recovery. However, they may not disappear at night for about six weeks. If halos do not disappear you may want to see your surgeon or eye doctor, and they will check your eyes.
Starbursts
Starburst are almost identical to halos except they are seen only at night, and they look like light exploding around an object. These starburst normally go away about three weeks into recovery. However, some people will experience mild starbursts around bright lights or LED lights at night for a few months after their eye surgery.
Overcorrection
Some nearsighted and farsighted people will experience overcorrection. Sometimes this is done intentionally to compensate for swelling in your eye during the surgery. This can be corrected by resetting the laser to another setting and simply going back in for another surgery. This is not an uncommon side-effect, and is experienced mostly by farsighted people.
It is a surgeon’s job to perform your laser eye surgery. It is your job as a patient to know the side-effects of that surgery. If you know what the side-effects will be of you procedure the more likely you will be comfortable during your recovery time. Remember to see your eye surgeon for follow up appointment and listen to his or her advice about Enhancement surgeries. They are the experts. However, it is good to inform yourself in the best way that you can.