What Are The Side Effects Of Lasik Eye Surgery?

What is Lasik Eye Surgery?

LASIK Surgery is an option for the correction of Vision problems. It is an alternative surgery done for the removal of glasses or contact lenses. Laser Eye Surgery is a commonly performed Laser Refractive Surgery to correct Vision Problems. However, one should be aware of the Side Effects of LASIK Eye Surgery.

One of the best-known hospitals in Varanasi, The Heritage Hospital offers the best LASIK Eye Surgery to people across India. The Doctors at Heritage Hospitals are the best at what they do. The Opthalmology Department has one full-time consultant and is supported by the latest modular operation theatres, Diagnostic facilities to ensure that patients get the appropriate and quality treatment they deserve.

Doctors at Heritage hospital’s foremost priority is to provide the patients with the best treatments they deserve. The department is solely dedicated to Ophthalmological Surgeries and covers diseases and conditions like:

• Vision Defects
• Glaucoma
• Cataract
• Eye infections/Allergies

What Does The Heritage Hospital Ophthalmology Department offer?

As a patient, you need to know what the Ophthalmological Surgery department offers. It has the best facilities and offers

• Daily OPD Consultation ( Monday to Saturday )
• Emergency Consultation 24 / 7
• 24/7 Admission / In-Patient Facilities
• Diagnostic Facilities
• Blood Bank Support
• Critical Care i.e. ICU Care for critically ill patients including Mechanical Ventilation.
• OCT Diagnostic Test
• Perimetry Diagnostic Test
• Tonometry
• IOL and PHACO Procedure for correction of Cataract.
• Eye Trauma Care.

Why Is LASIK Eye Surgery Done?

Laser Eye Surgery is done to correct one of these Vision problems of the eyes. 

• Myopia: Myopia, also termed as Nearsightedness. A person is said to be suffering from Myopia when his eyeball gets slightly longer than normal. It is also identified by the condition where the cornea curves sharply, and light rays start getting focused in front of the Retina. Due to this, the distant vision of the person starts getting blurred. He can see the close objects clearly, while the far-away things appear to be blurred.
• Hyperopia: Hyperopia, also termed as Farsightedness. A person is said to be suffering from hyperopia if his eyeball is shorter than normal or his cornea is too flat. In this condition, the light rays get focused beyond the retina making the near vision blurry. Sometimes, distant vision also gets blurry in this condition.
• Astigmatism: When the cornea of a person gets disrupted, the result is astigmatism. In this condition, the cornea either flattens or curves unevenly. This disrupts the focus of near and distant vision.

If you are willing to go for Laser Eye Surgery, you probably have blurred vision and wear either glasses or contact lenses. You should discuss with your concerned doctor whether LASIK Surgery or another alternative procedure is an option that will work according to your vision problem. 

Complications of LASIK Eye Surgery

Long-term Side Effects of LASIK Eye Surgery that cause loss of vision are very rare. But certain complications of Laser Eye Surgery, particularly dry eyes and temporary visual problems are common. 

Risks of LASIK Eye Surgery include:

• Dry Eyes: LASIK Eye Surgery can cause a temporary decrease in tear production. Due to this for the first few months, your eyes may feel unusually dry. Dry eyes can lead to reduced quality of vision. Your doctor may advise you with eye drops for dry eyes. However, if you feel severe dryness, you could opt for another procedure.
  
• Glare, Halos and Double Vision: For the first few weeks after the surgery, you might feel difficult to see at night. The patient may notice that he has an increased sensitivity towards light, glare, or Halos. The patient might also experience double vision for a few days post-surgery. It may also be that your vision in dim light may be reduced to a greater degree after the Laser Eye surgery than before the LASIK Surgery.
  
• Under Corrections and Over Corrections: If Laser Eye Surgery removes too few tissues from your eye, the results wouldn’t be what you hoped for. Your Vision wouldn’t be too clear. This is a common case for nearsighted people. It is also possible that LASIK Eye Surgery removes too many tissues from your eyes. Over-corrections are more difficult to fix than under-corrections.
  
• Astigmatism: Uneven removal of tissues cause Astigmatism. It may require additional surgery, contact lenses, or glasses.
• Regression: Regression is a very rare complication in LASIK Eye Surgery. It is when slowly your vision changes back towards your original prescription.
• Vision Change or Vision Loss: Surgical complications may result in vision loss. But those cases are very rare. It might also happen that a few patients complain about not being able to see as sharply or clearly as previously.
• Flap Problems: Complications like Infection and excess tears are caused during surgery. This happens when the doctor folds back or removes the flap from the front of your eye. You might also witness the outermost corneal tissue layer growing abnormally underneath the flap during the healing process.

Conditions That Increase Long-Term Side Effects of LASIK Eye Surgery

At times, in certain patients, certain health conditions increase the risks of long-term side effects of LASIK Eye Surgery. They can also make the outcomes unpredictable. 

Doctors, may not recommend Laser Eye Surgery for you if you have certain conditions, including

• Autoimmune Diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Persistent Dryness of Eyes
• A weakened Immune System- Generally caused by HIV or immunosuppressive medications.
• Recent Changes in vision due to various reasons like medications, pregnancy, age, hormonal changes, breastfeeding, etc.
• Inflammation of the Cornea
• Lid disorders
• Eye injuries or Eye Diseases such as Cataracts, Glaucoma, etc.

A few other conditions under which Laser Eye Surgery is not advisable are:

• Have a fair overall Vision.
• Have severe nearsightedness.
• Have large pupils or thin corneas
• Have age-related eye changes
• Have an Eye disease that causes the cornea to thin and bulge, or have a family history of the same.
• Participate in contact sports that may be associated with blows on the space.

How to prepare for LASIK Eye Surgery?

If you have planned to undergo Laser Eye Surgery, here are a few ways you can prepare for it.

1. Know the Cost: LASIK Eye Surgery cost differs for different people depending on where they live. The price also variates depending on the equipment and techniques used by your doctor. In 2020, The American Refractive Surgery Council estimated that LASIK surgery costs $4200 per eye on average. LASIK Eye Surgery cost in India ranges from 30,000 to 80,000 depending on the region you stay in and the hospital you opt for. The exact cost estimation is done during your preoperative consultation. 
2. Skip the eye Make-up: Use of eye makeup, cream, perfumes or lotions on the day before and the day of your surgery is strictly prohibited. Your doctor may also instruct you to keep cleaning your eyelashes daily, to remove debris and minimize your risk of infection.
3. Arrange for a Ride Home: You should not go for the surgery alone. Go with someone who can drive you back home after the surgery. This is because you might feel the side effects of LASIK Eye Surgery and medicines given to you before surgery. You might also experience blurred vision due to which driving yourself wouldn’t be safe.

What Should I Expect?

What one needs to do or what one can expect to experience before, during, and after LASIK Eye Surgery varies from doctor to doctor and patient to patient. 

Before the Surgery

 If you have decided to go for Laser Eye Surgery, you need a baseline evaluation from your doctor. This evaluation is essential to know whether you are a good candidate for the surgery.

If you wear contact lenses, you should stop wearing them before your evaluation and switch to glasses full-time. When you stop wearing contact lenses, for up to several weeks the shape of your cornea keeps changing.

Due to this constant change, the measurements need to be repeated to determine how much corneal tissue to remove. This repetition of measurement is done a week after your first evaluation and then again just before the surgery. This is done to ensure that measurements have not changed, especially if you wear lenses (hard or RGP). If you wear

• Soft Contact lenses- you should stop wearing them two weeks before your initial evaluation.
• Hard Contact lenses- you should stop wearing them four weeks before your initial evaluation.
• RGP Lenses (Rigid Gas Permeable), you should stop wearing them three weeks before your initial evaluation.

Your Doctor should perform your eye examination and should discuss 

• Whether you are a candidate fit to undergo Laser Eye Surgery
• What risks, benefits, and alternatives are available for surgery?
• What are your responsibilities before, during, and after surgery?

During the Surgery

LASIK Eye Surgery is 30 minutes procedure or less. You are to lie on a reclining chair in the exam room containing a laser system. A numbing drop will be dropped in your eye. After this, the area around your eye is cleaned, and an instrument called a lid speculum is used to keep your eyelids open.

Your Doctor may use a mechanical microkeratome or a Laser Keratome to cut a flap in the cornea. If a microkeratome is used, a ring is placed in your eye and very high pressure is applied to create suction to the cornea. Your vision gets dimmed while the suction process is on. You may feel the pressure of the suction and some discomfort. 

If your doctor is moving ahead with laser keratome, he flattens the cornea by using a clear plastic plate. He then focuses the Laser Energy inside the cornea tissue to create thousands of small bubbles of gas and water that expand and connect to separate the tissue underneath the cornea surface, creating a flap. He will then remove the plastic plate after the process is done.

For a better understanding, you can visit our youtube channel by click here.

After the Surgery

Immediately after the procedure, your eyes may itch, and burn, or it may feel like there is something in it. Both your eyes may tear or water and your vision may be blurry. You would want to rub your eyes but don’t. Rubbing might dislodge the flap, requiring further treatment. 

You should plan on taking a few days off from work until you start feeling comfortable.

You should see your doctor at regular intervals for at least the first six months. You can take part in any sports activity four weeks after your surgery. 

Contact your eye doctor immediately, if you develop any new, unusual or worsening symptoms at any point after surgery.

Benefits of LASIK Eye Surgery

The main advantage of Laser Eye Surgery is that most people do not have to wear corrective eyewear to see clearly. Various individuals choose to undergo LASIK Eye Surgery for various reasons. Some of these reasons are:

• People do not prefer wearing glasses, perhaps for cosmetic reasons.
• Having the convenience of not wearing any corrective eyewear.
• Willing to participate in sports which require sportsmen not to wear contact lenses or glasses.

How Long Do the Side Effects of LASIK Surgery Last?

In general, it takes a few weeks or months for the side effects of LASIK Eye Surgery to subside. This depends on the patient’s own experiences while healing. You should remain in contact with your ophthalmologists in the months following your Laser Eye Surgery for follow-up care. You are free to ask questions during the post-operative care period so that all matters can get addressed and any potential complications can be treated before they become serious. 

Tips For Dealing With LASIK Side Effects

A few things one should do to reduce the severity of LASIK Eye Surgery Symptoms. They are-

• Avoid bright light and direct sunlight after the surgery has been performed.
• Avoid getting your eyes exposed to harsh light. You can do so by either wearing sunglasses or a hat with a brim.
• Avoid dry, dusty, or smoky areas to avoid irritation in the eyes.
• Keep liquid tears with you all the time to avoid dry eyes.

By doing so you can protect your eyes from feeling discomfort.

Alternatives To LASIK Eye Surgery

LASIK Surgery is an effective method of treating vision problems. However, there are a variety of alternatives to LASIK Eye Surgery available to people who are not fit to undergo Laser Eye Surgery. A few of them are:

• Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK)
• LASEK
• SMILE
• Refractive Lens Exchange
• Phakic Intraocular lenses

Conclusion

LASIK Eye Surgery is preferred to remove vision problems and help you see clearly without glasses or contact lenses. Laser Eye Surgery is a preferred treatment as it provides a permanent solution for people with vision problems.

Researches show that people who have undergone LASIK Eye Surgery rarely experienced any long-term side effects. People successfully achieved a 20/40 vision and were quite satisfied with their treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions-