Complications of Laser Eye Surgery

Complications of Laser Eye Surgery




Laser eye surgery is performed on millions of patients and the success rate of the surgeries is very high. There are very few complications but one should be aware of them. Some of the side effects of laser eye surgery are given here. If you would like to know Costs for laser eye surgery in UK and compare providers, please read the previous post. Laser eye surgery is done where a flap is made in the cornea to treat the underlying tissues.

The possible complication, though rare, could be that the flap is not fixed back properly. It can get damaged or tear. There can be folds in the flap which will need another surgery to correct it. Or there could be some in growth. Such incidences are estimated to be 0.244 % only. However these complications can be resolved and there is no permanent vision loss. If the operating surgeon has enough experience then even this small incidence of complications will not be there. In fact using IntraLasik method is much safer.

Another complication that may arise is of slipped corneal flap where it detaches itself from the rest of the cornea. This slipped flap can occur immediately after the surgery and the patient is advised to go home and rest so that the flap gets back into place and heals naturally. Eye shields may be given to the patient so that the chances of him dislodging the flap in his sleep are less.

There could be hemorrhage in the eye following eye surgery. There may be red spots on the eye but they will go away and disappear soon. Dry eyes is perhaps the most common complication following the eye surgery. There are many types of treatment for dry eyes which include artificial tears, prescription tears and punctual occlusion. Dry eyes cannot be neglected as they may result in vision problems and pain.

Following the eye operation, there could be disturbing vision problems like double vision, halos around lights at night, foggy vision and the like. They all get corrected themselves and if they don’t, then the surgeon will be able to advise and give the necessary medicines.

Some patients may have light sensitivity following the operation. Or suffer from astigmatism. All these are possibilities and can be corrected. White blood cells may accumulate between the flap and the underlying corneal matter. Or there may be some tiny foreign matter at the area of the operation. Steroid eye drops help solve this problem or the surgeon may remove them physically.

Sometimes complications may arise long after the surgery is over and the person has resumed normal working life.


Halos around bright light at nights may be seen months after the operation. This can be due to the irregularity between the layered part and the part untouched by the surgeon. There have been cases where the flap got dislocated after many years. In the Lasik eye operation about 70 % of nerves are severed resulting in chronic dry eyes. The severed corneal nerves may never regain their pre-operation condition. The dynamics of the cornea are changed during a laser eye operation and these changes may affect the patient.

Under expert physicians all these complications and side effects diminish. Hence it is important to allow only an experienced person touch your eye and perform this procedure. As long as you take proper care after laser eye surgery, you should be fine. Always consult your surgeon, if in any doubt.

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