RISKS
Make sure you are entirely informed about all possible complications before surgery.
In the post-surgical period of laser lasik surgery, the possibility of having a sight worse than before is very low.
However, there might be a slight risk as you might have in all medical operations. The complications ratio for laser lasik surgery is below 1%. Possible complications are:
Dry eyes
Almost all patients would have this problem. Patients use eye drops for a while against it. Rarely it takes to 6 months to one year.
Glare
In LASİK treatment, only a part of the cornea is treated with laser; that is to say “ablation” is applied to cornea. The higher the sight deficiency is, the smaller is this part. The sight deficiency on the remaining cornea abides. This does not result in a problem in bright areas or daylight as the pupil shrinks when exposed to light and thus the light beam is projected only onto the part of the cornea that is treated. However, as the pupil intensifies at dawn or twilight, there might be some glare and images of rings, or clouds. These changes are usually observed in cases where myopia or hypermetropia is over 5 dioptre.
Late recovery
In case the patient suffers from rheumatism, healing period might be delayed. In the meantime, you must get your eye controlled by the doctor.
Dislocated cornea lid
A second surgery might be very rarely possible when the cornea lid is dislocated as the patient rubs his eyes a few later than the lasik surgery. Therefore, it is very important that you must not rub your eyes during the first 48 hours after the surgery!
Repeating Sight Defiencieny in Post-Surgical Period
Depending on the level of sight deficiency in the pre-surgical period, some patients might have a repeating sight deficiency in the post-surgical period, though very rarely. When this occurs, there might be a lasik surgery again on condition of a fixed correction and thus this remaining sight deficiency might be corrected with laser treatment.
Permanent low degrees
The possibility of having a worse sight in the post-surgical period is very low. However, sight deficiency might increase in the post-surgical period depending on that it is not fixed during the surgical operation or on the recovery period. Sometimes, a second operation is necessary for a delicate treatment in that case. However, in some occasions, the remaining sight deficiency may also be corrected with the help of eyeglasses or contact lenses with low degrees.
Flap complications
In laser lasik surgery, cornea flap is removed via an automatic ceratome: a cornea layer flap of 0.16 mm is cut via a vibrating knife and it functions like a hinge. Although it very rare, sometimes, in less than 1 % of the cases, complications may occur during this process:
Thin flap: A very thin flap is cut during this process and that may cause a folding in the cornea. In that case, the eye has to be regularly checked after wearing contact lenses immediately in the post-surgical period. In case this recommendation is taken into consideration, it will not be a problem.
The term “buttonhole” refers to that a very thin cornea flap having a hole in the center is cut. In that case, flap has to be placed back before making any laser application and the patient has to wear contact lenses. It is possible to have a laser eye surgery with a deeper cut, 3 or 4 months later.
Free flap: It might be rarely possible to have a cornea flap entirely cut. In that case, the cornea flap or cornea lenticel has to be placed back and stitched temporarily and/or a contact lenses has to be placed right on it. It is possible to have a laser lasik eye treatment with a new cut, 3 or 4 months later; without experiencing any problem.
In femto lasik method, a special laser is used for this cutting process instead of microceratome and therefore it is possible to avoid all kinds of complication based on cutting.
Ingrown Epithe
Another rare complication is that the surface cornea layer, that is epithel, starts ingrowing beneath the cornea lid, during the first weeks in post-surgical period. This has to be removed via a second surgery. This side effect can only be seen within 4 or 6 weeks later than the lasik application. Therefore, it is very important that you attend your scheduled medical checks
Bulged forward cornea
It is very infrequent to have a bulged forward cornea (keratectasia) and an apparent sight deficiency along with a weakened cornea. In exceptional cases, a cornea has to be transferred from a donor in order to correct this kind of complication
Infections
In very rare occasions, infections based on scars might occur. There are very effective antibiotics for these infections
Other risks in LASEK/PRK laser treatments
After a LASEK/PRK operation, there might be slight and temporary corneal defiencies. These can be cured via medical treatment. In the long run, these deficiencies naturally disappear (within 1 or 2 years).
What can you do to have good vision in post-surgical period?
- In case you have rheumatism, please indicate.
- Do not rub your eyes on the first days of post-surgical period!
- Use your prescribed eye drops regularly but only within the period of time indicated by your doctor. The use of medication with a high efficiency for a period of time longer than recommended can actually damage your eyes.
- Make sure you attend your scheduled medical checks
- In case you feel too much pain or have any sudden sight deficiency, immediately inform your doctor.
- solarium activity for 4 weeks
