Laser Eye Surgery – Risks

Statistics show that the number of patients who have had complications after laser eye surgery are very few. Even this being so, any Clinic that performs laser eye surgery should inform you not only about the benefits of this operation, but especially about the risks and the possible complications of laser eye surgery and seek your consent. The most frequent risks, complications and side effects that occur with Lasik laser eye surgery, include the following:

1. Dry eye which is mainly the difficulty or inability of the eye to lubricate itself. A “dry” eye has difficulties to make tears.
2. Hyper or hypo correction of the refractive error. This means that the adjustment of the cornea was not done correctly and the patient has not reached the expected vision. This happens when the laser has not sufficiently corrected (or has over corrected) the cornea. In these cases, the solution would be to repeat the eye surgery
3. Photophobia with varied ranges of intolerance to intense and clear light. This includes glares and halos during night and unexpected flashes.
4. Loss of contrast and sensitivity to distinguish objects, especially in dim light. This can make it difficult to, for example, drive a car at night
5. A less frequent risk is called DLK (diffuse lamellar keratitis), which occurs when foreign bodies are trapped behind the corneal flap. In these cases, the patient expresses pain and discomfort.