Sunday, December 16, 2012

What are the long terms side effects of laser eye surgery?

Q. I am interested in having laser eye surgery to correct short sight but I am concerned about the longer term side effects as I get older. I can't find much information about this subject on the web so I would be really interested to find out.

A. The risks outlined below apply to both PRK and LASIK procedures. The chances of having a serious vision-threatening complication are minimal, and there have been no reported cases of blindness following either PRK or LASIK, says James Salz, M.D., clinical professor of ophthalmology. However, FDA is aware of a few instances of severe eye injury requiring corneal transplant.
Infection and delayed healing: There is about a 0.1 percent chance of the cornea becoming infected after PRK, and a somewhat smaller chance after LASIK. Generally, this means added discomfort and a delay in healing, with no long-term effects within a period of four years.

Undercorrection/Overcorrection: It is not possible to predict perfectly how your eye will respond to laser surgery. As a result, you may still need corrective lenses after the procedure to obtain good vision. In some cases, a second procedure can be done to improve the result.

Decrease in Best-Corrected Vision: After refractive surgery, some patients find that their best obtainable vision with corrective lenses is worse than it was before the surgery. This can occur as a result of irregular tissue removal or the development of corneal haze.

Excessive Corneal Haze: Corneal haze occurs as part of the normal healing process after PRK. In most cases, it has little or no effect on the final vision and can only be seen by an eye doctor with a microscope. However, there are some cases of excessive haze that interferes with vision. As with undercorrections, this can often be dealt with by means of an additional laser treatment. The risk of significant haze is much less with LASIK than with PRK.

Regression: In some patients the effect of refractive surgery is gradually lost over several months. This is like an undercorrection, and a re-treatment is often feasible.

Halo Effect: The halo effect is an optical effect that is noticed in dim light. As the pupil enlarges, a second faded image is produced by the untreated peripheral cornea. For some patients who have undergone PRK or LASIK, this effect can interfere with night driving.

Flap Damage or Loss (LASIK only): Instead of creating a hinged flap of tissue on the central cornea, the entire flap could come off. If this were to occur it could be replaced after the laser treatment. However, there is a risk that the flap could be damaged or lost.

Distorted Flap (LASIK only): Irregular healing of the corneal flap could create a distorted corneal shape, resulting in a decrease of best-corrected vision.

Incomplete Procedure: Equipment malfunction may require the procedure to be stopped before completion. This is a more significant factor in LASIK, with its higher degree of complexity, than in PRK.

Problems with a Perfect Procedure: Even when everything goes perfectly, there are effects that might cause some dissatisfaction. Older patients should be aware that they can't have both good distance vision and good near vision in the same eye without corrective lenses. Some myopic patients rely on their myopia (by taking off their glasses, or by wearing a weaker prescription) to allow them to read. Such a patient may need reading glasses after the myopia is surgically corrected. Another consideration is the delay between eye treatments. If one eye is being done at a time, then the eyes may not work well together during the time between treatments. If a contact lens is not tolerated on the unoperated eye, work and driving may be awkward or impossible until the second eye has been treated.


what is the effect of laser eye while using the lasik surgery?
Q. hi friends this is blair that i have the procedure of the lasik ,because someone is commenting about the lasik surgery of the fact that is dangerous and
it will give many side effects in this procedure?

A. Hey nothing's gonna happen, but your eyes burn for 3 days only, after that within 2 weeks you'll have perfect vision...
i had this procedure called PRK similar to lasik, but you need to use eye drops for almost a month.

Now i have very good vision..


I want to have lasik surgery and I am scared. Please tell me if you have the experience with it.?
Q. I have been wearing glasses even since I was a very young kid. I am highly nearsighted in my right eye and somewhat nearsighted in my left eye. I also have a high degree of astigmatism in my right eye. I never wore contact lenses. I want to lasik surgery because I don't have to wear glasses again and have 20/20 vision but I am scared of the side effects. I am 22. Any advise on what to do. What do they do in lasik surgery? What is the procedure?

A. I also started wearing glasses at a young age and had a high degree of astigmatism (in both eyes). I had Lasik 3 and a half years ago, and was ridiculously scared. I was afraid they'd mess up and I'd be blind. They didn't, and now my vision is 20/15. I do have severely dry eyes now though. My optometrist even inserted tiny rubber cones into my tear ducts (and yes, it's just as fun as it sounds!) and it didn't help. Even with the severe dry eyes, I would say the surgery was worth it to have awesome vision.

The procedure itself only took a few minutes- they put in numbing eye drops, then have you lay down and you feel some pressure as they actually do the surgery. It doesn't hurt, it just feels uncomfortable for a few minutes.


Do lasik laser surgery totally correct your eyesight?
Q. I underwent lasik laser surgery on Dec. 24, 2008. Now 6 months have passed. I still face glare problem, my eyes get tired early and also eye sight is not totally improved like a normal person. Should i wait more for better results. Doctors say eye sight will continue to improve day by day and all the side effect i am facing will go away with the time. How much i have to put medicines in my eyes.
Please help me.

A. I had 20/20 the next day, I have heard of people having dry eye problems, but 6 months seems like too long for all that to be an issue. I would go back, or talk to a different lasik Dr. and see what they say about it.





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