LASIK - laser eye surgery > Potential operative and postoperative complications

No surgical procedure is always one hundred percent successful and the same stands for LASIK eye surgery during which various complications can occur. LASIK method carries with it higher risk of postoperative complications which are mainly connected with the creation of the corneal lamella. Other complications can be divided into complications which occur during the surgery and during the use of a laser and the postoperative complications.

The complications which are connected with the creation of the lamella include irregular or uncompleted incision, total or decentered lamella. Early postoperative complications which are typical for LASIK surgery include a shift of the lamella from its original position, epithelial invasion (growth of the epithelium under the lamella), cell debris in between contact surfaces or diffuse lamellar keratitis (sterile inflammation of the cornea on the immunological basis). However, this is a complication which is of relatively low seriousness and it can be therapeutically handled.

The complications which occur during the LASIK laser eye surgery include bleeding from limbal blood vessels (on the edge of the cornea) - it is not a serious type of complication and it occurs mainly in patients who have been wearing contact lenses for a very long time. Moreover, a suction ring may not adhere properly - in this case the procedure can be repeated after 1 or 2 weeks or there can be some complications connected with the creation of the lamella.

As far as the complications during the use of a laser are concerned, a decentration of a laser procedure can occur - it is due to the inaccurate fixation on red light by a patient during the procedure which can lead to decentration (shifting the laser ray out of the patient´s optic axis). In most of the cases it is possible to laser it after some time after the primary procedure.

The postoperative complications in LASIK surgery can occur after couple of hours or days after the procedure. Early postoperative complications include a shift of the lamella from its original position. This shift occurs most commonly 24 hours after the procedure (during careless application of eye drops, sharp blinking or rubbing your eyes). When the shift occurs it is necessary to surgically move the lamella and return it to its original position but this type of complication does not affect the resulting visual sharpness. Other postoperative complications include an infection which is usually well treatable.

Later also some other postoperative complications can occur. Scarring of the cornea can occur in patients with higher diopters, worse healing ability of the cornea or in the cases of defects of the lamella. Consequently, these complications can result in permanent decrease in the visual sharpness or light scattering (so-called glare). Other complications can occur such as induced astigmatism, higher intraocular pressure, dry eye syndrome, progression and regression of the disorder or the complications connected with the posterior part of the eye (the vitreous body, the retina).