Over 28 million eyes have undergone LASIK over more than 15 years. As surgery goes, LASIK has established itself as one of the safest medical procedures around. However, it is not as if LASIK does not have complications. There are certainly complications after LASIK, which can range from mild to vision threatening. LASIK complications affect not only visual acuity, they can also affect quality of vision and quality of life.
Like with all procedures, you need to undergo LASIK only after a thorough analysis of the risks and benefits. Many eye surgeons often underestimate the risk of LASIK, and fail to inform their patients of the full likelihood of problems. Many eye surgeons get into the trap of thinking that complications only occur to other eye surgeons, not to them. But the truth is that complications with most medical procedures are not a matter of which surgeon you choose, but are limitations of the procedure themselves. Statistics have a way of catching up with even the best surgeon. If he/she operates enough, they will experience the full range of complications associated with the procedure. The bottom line is-don’t allow yourself to be befooled by some eye surgeon who claims that in their hands, complications are rare or non-existent.
Having said this, you are perhaps best advised to choose an experienced eye surgeon over someone who is not that experienced with the procedure. Lot of peer-reviewed litererature has documented that there is a learning curve associated with LASIK. A surgeon experiences a lot more complications in their first few hundred cases than in later cases. You don’t have to choose some surgeon who has done more than 50000 cases!! But make sure you choose someone who has at least performed a few thousand cases.
Another point that is worth expanding on is that the amount of LASIK complications has come down over time. Complications which used to be relatively commmonplace in the late 1990’s are relatively rare as we approach 2010. This has been because of a few factors. The first is that there is a better understanding amongst LASIK surgeons about the possibility of complications, and the way to prevent them. Second, there is a great improvement in excimer laser technology, beginning with better treatment profiles to better eye tracking. Third, there is a great improvement in microkeratome technology, both with mechanical microkeratomes, and especially with femtosecond no blade lasik.
This improvement in the LASIK complication profile had made the procedure much safer, and LASIK patients today has a much better chance of getting rid of their spectacle and contact lenses safely and effectively, than someone a decade today.
Later posts will expand on the theme of LASIK complications, and try and explain the various intra-operative and post-operative complications.