Side Effects and Potential Complications of LASIK Surgery

LASIK is a well-established vision correction surgery that has a high success rate when performed by experienced ophthalmologists. As with any surgery, however, there are risks involved with LASIK eye surgery. So, as you consider whether or not you’d like to have LASIK surgery to correct your vision, it is important to fully understand the side effects and potential complications.

Everyone reacts differently to surgery. Based on your vision problem, eye health and a number of other factors, your doctor should be able to tell you whether or not you are a good candidate for LASIK and provide you with fairly accurate information about the specific risks you may face in your unique circumstance (see Are You a Potential Candidate for LASIK?). While this article discusses general things to be aware of, it is important to weigh the risks and benefits of LASIK eye surgery by discussing your concerns with an ophthalmologist. 

Common side effects of LASIK eye surgery include painful eyes, watery eyes, dry eye syndrome and sensitivity to light. Most of these side-effects last only a few days. When these symptoms persist for more than a week, it may be indicative of an infection that may impede healing. Therefore, if you experience any of these symptoms for an extended period of time, it is important to contact your eye doctor right away.

Less common side effects and complications of LASIK surgery include:

• Halo effect and glare—these vision problems are often noticed while driving at night.
• Double Vision—this occurs when your eyes are misaligned.
• Regression—you may notice vision improvement and then a gradual worsening of your vision.
• Undercorrection—if too little tissue is removed from your cornea, you may need an additional surgery to get the results you were hoping for.
• Overcorrection—if too much tissue is removed from your cornea, it may be difficult to repair.
• Astigmatism—if tissue is removed unevenly, it may result in astigmatism. Astigmatism may be fixed with an additional surgery.
• Corneal Flap problems—these are often avoided through careful patient selection; however, when they do occur, additional surgery is often required.
• Blindness—this is a rare complications of LASIK surgery.
• Contact lens intolerance—LASIK surgery may make your eyes more sensitive and, therefore, unable to support contact lens usage.
• Corneal damage—this can lead to permanent scarring or swelling.