LASIK Eye Surgery - Risks and Benefits

The idea of having a doctor go anywhere near your eye for eye surgery can certainly be daunting. At the same time, however, many people opt to forego the risks about what could occur because they are interested in enjoying the benefits of having perfect vision. With LASIK eye surgery, as with any surgery, there are some risks as well as benefits.

The benefits of LASIK eye surgery are, of course, that you will be able to see perfectly after the procedure is done. It may take a little bit of time before your vision is perfectly clear, about a month or two, but when the surgery is done you will be able to get rid of your glasses and contacts permanently. Additionally, this type of surgery is one that it is possible to recover from fairly quickly, making it possible for people to have it without having to miss out on work or spend a lot of time convalescing.

There are, however, some risks that patients need to be aware of with LASIK--the first and most scary one is losing vision. There have been some instances where patients have lost lines of vision on the eye chart that the optometrist uses. This cannot be fixed with contact lenses, glasses, or surgery. There have also been reports of patients who have wound up getting double vision, glare, or even halos, and patients who cannot see well at night with their new eyes.

If you are under-treated, you may need to have glasses or contact lenses after surgery, although the prescription may not be as strong. And some patients have actually been over-treated, which require glasses or contact lenses to fix as well. Some patients who have had eye surgery have wound up with severe dry eye syndrome, and those who are farsighted may find that their results may diminish the older that they get.

There are plenty of risks that go along with LASIK eye surgery, but there are also plenty of benefits that can be found from having the surgery. It is up to you and your eye surgeon to discuss if you are a good candidate for this type of surgery or if you would be better served by sticking to glasses or contacts.

For more information on LASIK as well as corneal transplant for Fuchs’ Dystrophy as well as refractive surgery vision correction and laser eye surgery technology, it is important to visit our laser vision correction office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.