Reducing the Side Effects of Laser Eye Surgery
Author: Joseph J. Trail
While laser eye surgery is a straight forward and methodically performed procedure, it is not without some risks or the possibility of complications that can be temporary or permanent.
As with all forms of refractive surgery such as, Lasik, Z-Lasik, Lasek and others, the condition known as dry eye is the most common complication of laser eye surgery and can become permanent. Recurrent erosion can occur while the patient is sleeping, when the dry corneal adheres to or sticks to the upper eyelid. This causes pain during periods of REM sleep.
Laser eye surgery is sometimes performed on one eye at a time so that the results of the procedure can be easily assessed and help ensure adequate vision during the laser eye surgery healing process. Some patient activities that require good binocular (dual eye) vision may have to be suspended between surgeries as well as during extended healing periods.
A few post-laser eye surgery patients have complained of glare, halos, and star shaped aberrations, that are the result of postoperative corneal haze that can develop during the laser eye surgery healing period. With the use of the more modern lasers, these aberrations have become quite rare. Most patients report the disappearance of these after 6 months, but symptoms have occasionally lingered for longer than a year. A chemotherapeutic agent, Mitomycin-C, in a diluted concentration applied briefly at the end of the laser eye surgery procedure, has reduced the incidence of haze formation.
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