Potential Side Effects of Laser Eye Surgery You Should Know

Since the inception of LASER eye surgery, it is regarded as life-changing and revolutionary for a number of patients. Alike other surgical process it also has some potential risks associated with it. You can minimise and eliminate the chance as well. The best way to do so is to consult with a good eye surgeon for the procedure.

You must check that the surgeon has an impressive track record. Even the surgeon who will carry out the surgery must conduct the necessary test during consultation. Even the clinic should have necessary technology for the procedure along with trained staffs to ensure proper care till your recover fully. Continue reading to know about some potential side effects and how they you can control them.

Dry eye

Followed by LASER eye surgery, dry eye is typical temporary issue which has the ability to become long-term as well if proper evaluation is not done. Often after PRK and LASIK, patients experience this problem because the endings of superficial nerve require time to heal and regenerate. Due to the numbness and lack of sensation in cornea it can’t trigger the production of tear.

Moreover, nerve endings will generate cytokines (chemical messengers) to interact within the surface cells to promote the growth. Regeneration of nerves will take 6-12 weeks and hence eyes will tend to dryness. But if the problem persists for a long period of time then there might be some serious issue which needs adequate attention and treatment.

Symptoms:

• Pain
• Fluctuating vision
• Burning
• Grittiness

Avoidance:

1. Ensure that before the surgery dry eye test is conducted- TBUT (Tear Break-Up Time) and Schirmer’s test for tear production. Check that the surgeon is really knowledgeable and experienced person especially regarding dry eye.
2. Ask the surgeon to check if there is Meibomian Gland Disease. The glands are present in eyelids secreting vital oils that resist the tear from evaporation at fast rate.
3. Prior to the surgery take re-esterified Omega 3 supplements for enhancing function of Meibomian gland
4. Preservative eye drops must be taken frequently once the process is over
5. Once in every 20 minutes take break from the computer screen. Close the eyes for 20-second and look outside for more 20-sec before you jump back into work again.

Glare and halos

Every patient experiences halos few days after undergoing LASER eye surgery (both surface ablation and LASIK). It is so; because fluid within the treated cornea enables scattering of light. Once it clears, the halos will subside. There is a risk to get permanent halos as well by the patients.

They experience terribly bad especially at night. The induced aberrations due to laser that served to the corrected zone or non-Aspheric traditional form resulted in this problem. But it is rarely found if the customised treatment offers to the patient in correct manner. It mainly happens if the procedure is not done up to the mark.

Avoidance:

1. Make sure that size of pupil is taken in dark/dim light.
2. Make sure that surgeon has a good grasp on LASER eye surgery and understands higher order aberration significance perfectly.
3. Inquire from the surgeon if you are going to have aspheric treatment for cornea. Every good quality spectacles and cameras possess of this lens for better picture and vision. Be sure that your cornea is going to make aspheric.
4. Check if the clinic has advanced and well-maintained laser technology or not.

Infection

Alike in all other surgeries, LASER eye surgery also possesses a pale infection risk. The order of lowest to highest infection risk is LASER, IntraLASIK, blade-LASIK, PRK and LASEK. The intraLASIK possesses below 1% chance of risk.

Avoidance:

1. Always choose to visit a popular eye clinic that has fantastic CQC (Care Quality Commission) rating.
2. Inquire if air HEPA filtered environment is used or not for carrying out the procedure.
3. Also ask about the antibiotics used before and during the operation. Basically, fourth generation fluoroquinolone like Gatifloxacin or Moxifloxacin is used. These are strong antibiotics and can eradicate an array of bacteria.

Ectasia

This condition is represented to the problem in which cornea becomes extremely elastic making the surgery unsuitable and unstable. As a result, it thins and bulges over the course of time. This fluctuation makes you to put on the glasses to see the objects clearly. It raises the chance of developing astigmatism.

It can happen after undergoing either of the PRK/LASEK or LASIK surgery. Some tell-tale signs are cornea is easy to pick up by corneal epithelial thickness mapping, biomechanic checks and sophisticated corneal mapping.

Avoidance:

1. Only the surgeon especially cornea specialist can determine if you have the chance to develop this issue. They are particularly trained in Keratoconus referring to bulging and elasticity in cornea. They do certain similar tests to figure out the occurrence of this condition as well.
2. Investigate if they use 3-dimensional tomography device such as Pentacam to assess the cornea extensively.
3. Whether they use biomechanical checks for the determination of corneal elasticity.

Flap complications

Number of flap complications like abnormal fragmented flaps, partial flaps and button holes get reported due to the use of blade microkeratome to make the flap. Thankfully, now flap complication becomes rare due to the inception of IntraLASE femtosecond laser to make the flap.

Centre for Sight has introduced it to UK in 2004. Now the blade microkeratome is of no use and femtosecond laser regards as gold standard to make it.

Avoidance:

1. Inquire from the eye centre if they will use IntraLASE laser to make corneal flap for LASIK surgery.
2. Ask the surgeon how they perform LASIK since when they are using IntraLASER.

With the introduction, LASER eye surgery becomes an outstanding option to fix your vision problem. Of course, you have to make the correct choice. So, having basic knowledge is important regarding the procedure.

Then you have to put effort to look a reliable and experienced eye care clinic and surgeon respectively to obtain phenomenal care. Always choose the clinic where eye surgeons used to visit for their individual visual care. Visit here for more info on this topic.