Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is LASIK Surgery?Reasons for LASIK FailureChanges In Vision After LASIKLASIK RetreatmentWhat You Can DoNext in LASIK Eye Surgery GuideLASIK Eye Surgery: Factors to Consider
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is LASIK Surgery?
Reasons for LASIK Failure
Changes In Vision After LASIK
LASIK Retreatment
What You Can Do
Next in LASIK Eye Surgery Guide
Laser-assisted in situ keratomileuses (LASIK)surgery is a procedure that reshapes corneal tissues with lasers. For most people, LASIK can offer permanent vision correction, but cannot change certain factors that undermine vision or eye health. While some of these factors, like age, are non-modifiable, others may be. People who undergo the procedure can still experience vision deterioration later in life. So it is important to continue to get regular eye exams after having LASIK surgery, even if vision is good.
Verywell / Jessica Olah
LASIK surgery permanently changes the shape of the cornea (the clear covering of the front of the eye). Lasers used during the procedure can include a femtosecond laser to create the corneal flap and an excimer ultraviolet laser to reshape the corneal tissue. A microkeratome blade is used to make the flap in most cases.
Pulses from the laser vaporize and reshape a portion of the cornea. After the procedure is completed, the flap is replaced on the cornea (corneal repositioning) without the need for stitches.
The conditions that LASIK treats include:
Who Should Not Get LASIK?
Not everyone will achieve 20/20 vision with LASIK, and some may even experience unsatisfactory results.
LASIK is not recommended if you:
People with certain medical conditions or who take certain medications should refrain from having LASIK because of possible trouble with healing.
Possible contraindications include:
Discuss with your healthcare provider if you have a history of any of the following:
What to Expect After LASIK
While most people will experience an immediate improvement in vision after surgery, it could take two to three months for the cornea to fully heal.
During that time, you should refrain from:
How Effective Is LASIK Surgery?A 2016 study that assessed vision-related quality-of-life outcomes and satisfaction five years after LASIK surgery noted that 91% of patients were satisfied with their vision and 94.9% did not wear distance correction. Less than 2% of patients noticed visual phenomena (halos and glares around bright lights), even with spectacle correction.At the May 2016 annual meeting of the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery, updates of several high-profile research studies of LASIK safety and performance showed impressively and consistently high marks for safety, outcomes, and patient satisfaction.Two studies found:Patient satisfaction rate of up to 98%Nearly 100% of patients achieving at least 20/40 vision, with more than 90% achieving 20/20 visionLess than 1% of patients lost two or more lines (on the eye chart) of best-corrected visual acuity
How Effective Is LASIK Surgery?
A 2016 study that assessed vision-related quality-of-life outcomes and satisfaction five years after LASIK surgery noted that 91% of patients were satisfied with their vision and 94.9% did not wear distance correction. Less than 2% of patients noticed visual phenomena (halos and glares around bright lights), even with spectacle correction.At the May 2016 annual meeting of the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery, updates of several high-profile research studies of LASIK safety and performance showed impressively and consistently high marks for safety, outcomes, and patient satisfaction.Two studies found:Patient satisfaction rate of up to 98%Nearly 100% of patients achieving at least 20/40 vision, with more than 90% achieving 20/20 visionLess than 1% of patients lost two or more lines (on the eye chart) of best-corrected visual acuity
A 2016 study that assessed vision-related quality-of-life outcomes and satisfaction five years after LASIK surgery noted that 91% of patients were satisfied with their vision and 94.9% did not wear distance correction. Less than 2% of patients noticed visual phenomena (halos and glares around bright lights), even with spectacle correction.
At the May 2016 annual meeting of the American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery, updates of several high-profile research studies of LASIK safety and performance showed impressively and consistently high marks for safety, outcomes, and patient satisfaction.
Two studies found:
Laser Cataract Surgery: Everything You Need to Know
Some of the common complications of Lasik surgery are:
The Patient-Reported Outcomes with LASIK (PROWL) Study noted that approximately 5% of patients have some type of complication after surgery. Some of the effects can subside on their own during healing, and others may become permanent if too much or too little corneal tissue is removed or if it is irregularly removed.
Complications can also arise from infections or dislocation of the corneal flap.
The study also showed that less than 1% of study participants experienced “a lot of difficulty” with or inability to do usual activities without corrective lenses because of a visual symptom (starbursts, ghosting, halos, glare) after LASIK surgery.
The Importance of Proper Wound CareFor the best results after surgery, follow wound care instructions carefully. It is important to maintain your after-surgery schedule of eye drops, usually a combination of antibiotic and steroids for two weeks, in addition to preservative-free artificial tears for a minimum of one month, or whatever your healthcare provider directs. Smoking can also contribute to dry eye syndrome.
The Importance of Proper Wound Care
For the best results after surgery, follow wound care instructions carefully. It is important to maintain your after-surgery schedule of eye drops, usually a combination of antibiotic and steroids for two weeks, in addition to preservative-free artificial tears for a minimum of one month, or whatever your healthcare provider directs. Smoking can also contribute to dry eye syndrome.
Although LASIK is generally an effective and usually safe way to correct vision problems for most people, other conditions and aging can affect vision and eye health. These are not related to LASIK surgery.
Here are some conditions to watch for:
Night Vision After Lasik
While LASIK has highly positive outcomes, some people are likely to need retreatment or additional surgery.
A 2017 study inBioMed Internationalsuggests that approximately 75% of people who undergo LASIK surgery will maintain vision correction for at least 2 years, and possibly permanently. However, 10% will experience age-related vision problems.In such cases, retreatment may be needed. One study in theTaiwan Journal of Ophthalmologysuggests that as many as 35% of people who undergo LASIK may need additional surgery when their vision starts to fail.
More than 10% of LASIK patients in the United States require a second surgery called retreatment to restore the desired vision correction.
This is more likely for people who:
While some factors that affect vision cannot be changed, we can keep our eyes healthy in many ways.
Remember to get regular eye exams to spot any early changes in vision when they are most treatable.
17 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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American Refractive Surgery Council.New Research: LASIK Safety and Performance Continue To Impress.
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U.S. Food & Drug Administration.LASIK Quality of Life Collaboration Project.
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