Insufficient corrections: If the laser removes too little tissue from the eye, you won't get the clearest vision results you expected. LASIK patients often suffer from unpleasant post-operative problems, especially dry eye and night vision problems. And while it's rare, there are much more serious potential consequences if you go “under the knife” instead of opting for a seamless laser eye surgery method. Let's look at LASIK specifically, as it is still the most popular laser eye surgery in New York City and nationwide.
All surgeries carry some risk of complications and side effects, but LASIK is generally considered a safe procedure with a low complication rate. LASIK surgeons at the Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute are pioneers in laser vision correction and refractive surgery, and have extensive experience performing LASIK. The truth is that dangerous or debilitating errors almost never occur during LASIK surgery (however, as with any surgery, they are possible). Laser eye surgeries, such as LASIK, correct these vision problems by reshaping the cornea so that it correctly focuses light on the back of the eye.
This practice was first applied to contact lens wearers and, more recently, to LASIK surgery and other refractive surgeries. While the convenience of having both eyes operated on the same day is appealing, this practice is riskier than having two separate surgeries. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved LASIK eye surgery more than 25 years ago as a safe (but expensive) alternative to eyeglasses and contact lenses. Along with this sudden improvement, LASIK also claims to have the fastest and easiest recovery period of any laser eye surgery.
During your consultation, your LASIK surgeon at the Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute will be sure to answer all your questions about the side effects, complications, and benefits of LASIK. If the expert ophthalmologists at the Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute determine that your particular case has risk factors that exclude LASIK from your treatment plan, they will recommend an alternative to LASIK, such as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), implantable contact lenses (ICL), or refractive lens exchange (RLE). This project led to the development of the study with a questionnaire on symptoms and satisfaction reported by patients with LASIK (PROWL), in which 574 people (divided into two groups) who had undergone LASIK participated. You may think that LASIK surgery is your best option because you don't currently participate in activities that pose a risk for LASIK surgery.
