Laser Refractive Surgery:
From One Medical Student to Another
5. Complications
As mentioned previously, laser vision correction is very successful with 95% of patients satisfied with their results (Solomon et al. 2009). However, as with any surgical procedure, there is a small risk of complications (Table 4).
Complication |
Description |
|---|---|
Glare/Halos |
Seeing halos or starbursts around lights at night |
Dry Eye Syndrome |
Most common complaint after surgery. Usually relieved with the use of artificial tears. Usually resolves within weeks to months. May be persistent, especially in patients with pre-existing dry eye |
Under- or over-correction |
The goal of surgery is to achieve the desired visual result with one surgical procedure, but sometimes under-correction or over-correction may occur. In many cases, additional surgery, called an enhancement, is performed after the first surgery has healed to achieve a better result |
Flap complications |
For example, wrinkles in the flap (flap striae), hole in the middle of the flap like a donut (button hole), free flap (the flap comes completely off the cornea and does not have a hinge to attach it to rest of the cornea) |
Infection |
Rarely, infections can occur after laser vision correction |
Inflammation |
Diffuse lamellar keratitis is a type of inflammation which can occur in the first few days after LASIK surgery and requires prompt treatment with topical steroid drops and possibly re-lifting the LASIK flap depending on the degree of inflammation |
Haze |
Haze is a cloudiness of the corneal stroma that can occur in more nearsighted eyes after PRK. Most surgeons use Mitomycin C at the time of PRK in high risk patients to prevent haze formation |
Laser vision correction is an increasingly popular elective procedure that has provided improved vision to patients around the world. We hope you have gained a basic understanding from this tutorial and are more prepared to answer questions regarding laser vision correction. Listed below are additional educational resources.
