Lazik (laser eye surgery): potential side effects

Laser eye correction surgery, or Lazik, can correct near-sightedness and enable you to live without glasses or contact lenses. First of all, you should be aware that the correction is not permanent; your vision will keep changing with age and eventually you’ll need to have the procedure again or go back to wearing corrective lenses. That said, it can still be life-changing in a very positive way.

There are some potential side effects. Most patients will experience dry eyes temporarily after surgery, returning to normal after a few months. But for some patients this can be a permanent condition. Fortunately, there are some tests they can run to determine how likely it is you’ll suffer from dry eyes; if it’s likely, they should not advise surgery. There are also a couple of treatments for dry eyes: punctal plugs which are inserted into the tear ducts (the procedure is easy and painless, even though it sounds scary) and a prescription eye drop called Restasis.

Some people begin to see halos or glares around lights at night or, if they were already seeing those with their corrective lenses, the effect may be worsened. Unfortunately there is no way to test who’s likely to develop this problem. Treatments are being developed, but there is no certain way to prevent or treat this effect.

Seeing mild haze around objects is not uncommon, but does not impact the quality of vision. Haze that’s more severe and does impact vision can occur as well.

Over- or undercorrection can also be an issue. Despite continual advancements in the accuracy of the technology, there are too many unpredictable factors to guarantee that your vision will be restored to precisely 20/20. However, many patients are still quite happy with the prescription they end up with, and other can have it adjusted with a re-treatment.

Pain and light sensitivity are common in the first few days. If the condition becomes intense, it can be treated with anti-inflammatory eye drops.