Laser eye treatment is a well-recognised medical procedure for treating eye conditions like astigmatism, myopia and hyper myopia. Laser eye surgery is being widely accepted and it is a better alternative to contact lenses and glasses as more number of people are turning to it. In this surgical procedure, a laser is used to reshape the cornea underneath the corneal flap. The laser is designed to reduce/eliminate the need to wear contact lenses or glasses, improve vision and treat the refractive errors. But certain risks are associated with the laser eye treatment.
Laser eye treatment is not completely risk-free. Rare cases of severe eye injury or other vision threatening complications are encountered. Few of these risks are mentioned below –
- Decrease in Corrected Vision: After undergoing laser eye surgery, some patients may experience a vision loss. Sometimes their corrected vision may get worse than the condition before they underwent the eye surgery. This happens due to corneal haze development or irregular removal of tissue.
- Delayed Healing and Infection: The chances of acquiring corneal infection following laser eye surgery is less than 1 in 1,000. But if the cornea gets infected, a delay in the healing process is observed.
- Overcorrection/Undercorrection: It is very difficult to predict the final outcome of laser eye surgery. To obtain a good vision, corrective lenses may still be recommended following the eye surgery.
- Excessive Corneal Haze: This may occur post-surgery as a part of the recovery process. Usually it has a little effect on the final vision. Further laser surgery is suggested for those patients who experience excessive haze that interferes with their vision.
You should remember that though these risks are very real, the chances of encountering these risks are very rare.
