Laser eye surgery
Vision problems caused by refractive errors, including myopia (near-sightedness), hyperopia (far-sightedness) and astigmatism (distorted vision when looking at objects at any distance) are effectively corrected with laser eye surgery.
During laser eye surgery, a laser device is used to make permanent changes to the shape of the cornea. The most popular is the Excimer laser, which produces a beam of ultraviolet light to vaporize tissue. Surgically altering the shape of the cornea can correct mild to moderate refractive errors in most patients.
Your eye doctor will likely recommend that you try other ways of correcting your vision before you turn to laser eye surgery or similar procedure, with glasses or contact lenses being the first option. Unlike sight-threatening eye diseases, refractive errors aren’t progressive in themselves, and they may actually improve in middle age. Some doctors are reluctant to endorse laser eye surgery, saying your eyes are basically healthy even if you have nearsightedness or farsightedness. A good surgical outcome depends on careful evaluation of your eye before the surgery.
As with any surgery, laser surgery carries risks, including:
- Undercorrections. If the laser removes too little tissue from your eye, you won’t get the vision results you were hoping for. Undercorrections are more common for people who are nearsighted. You may need another surgery (enhancement surgery) within a year to remove more tissue.
- Overcorrections. It’s also possible that the laser will remove too much tissue from your eye. Overcorrections may be more difficult to fix than undercorrections.
- Astigmatism. Astigmatism can be caused by uneven tissue removal. This sometimes occurs if your eye moves too much during surgery. It may require additional surgery.
- Many patients experience difficulty seeing at night. They notice glare, halos around bright lights or double vision. Sometimes these signs and symptoms can be treated with special eyedrops, but sometimes a second surgery is required.
- Dry eyes. For the first six months or so after your surgery, your eyes might feel unusually dry. Your eye doctor might recommend that you use eyedrops during this time. If you experience severe dry eye, you could opt for another procedure to get special plugs put in your tear ducts to prevent your tears from draining away from the surface of your eyes.
Most patients have a reasonably comfortable period after surgery and can be back at work within a few days to a week. Depending on the vision correction attempted, driving may be unsafe for one to two weeks. For the first three months you will need tinted glasses with ultraviolet protection for staying out in the sun.
It’s important to remember that laser surgery is still in its infancy. And while the thought of throwing glasses and contact lenses in the trash might be very tempting, one shouldn’t take any unnecessary risks when it comes to eyes. After all, unlike glasses or contact lenses, you only get one pair.