Is Laser Eye Surgery or LASIK Risky?

A person’s vision is often underappreciated until it starts to deteriorate. We take for granted all the wonderful and amazing things that our eyes allow us to see. As someone's vision deteriorates, there is a natural resistance to this. People will seek out methods to improve their vision. The temporary answer is glasses. Glasses are the traditional way to keep a person’s vision correct. However for a more permanent result, there are surgical options.

The development of laser eye surgery suddenly showed that a person could have their vision problems completely reversed permanently. It’s a magnificent medical technique with proven results and many professionals able to complete it. But many people have concerns and questions. The dangers of a mistake around the eye seem quite harmful. Before considering laser eye surgery, all of a person’s questions should be answered until they are comfortable.

How Does Laser Eye Surgery Work?

There are several different techniques that have been developed for the surgical repair of a person’s eye. The most common of these is the LASIK surgery, and it is often used synonymously with laser eye surgery at this point.

The basic concept is fairly simple. Laser surgery is used to adjust the cornea of a person’s eye. The way it’s adjusted depends on the type of vision problems the person is having. It can be molded steeper or flattened as necessary. In cases of astigmatism, the irregularities in the cornea are instead ironed out so that it appears normal.

The main difference between LASIK and other eye surgeries is how the lasers get access to the cornea. This can be through laser thin incisions, or folding the flap above the cornea. While it may seem like a dangerous procedure, the use of LASIK and laser eye surgery has become ritualized to the point that it is in fact on of the safer procedures a person may undergo.

The Checklist: What to Consider Before Getting Laser Eye Surgery

It’s good to consider exactly what you want before going in for laser eye surgery. The number one thing has to be a wish to stop using glasses. This desire to stop using glasses pushes most people into laser eye surgery.

Laser eye surgery is not cheap. It can cost several thousand dollars per eye. It’s expensive in the case of lump sums, but is not that bad when considered over the long term. People who would otherwise wear glasses for decades know that they can actually save quite a bit of money in the long term if they get laser eye surgery early on in life.

There’s also a recovery time associated with laser eye surgery. It’s crucial to take some time off work during this to allow the eyes to heal up fully. The recovery time isn’t that long and it’s often quite quick. Some people feel fine almost immediately, but need to give it a little bit of a break.

Questions and Answers

Hopefully many of your questions have been answered by now. If not, here are some more answers to very common questions that many people may have:  

Q: What Happens if I Move During Surgery?

A: The short answer is nothing. Modern lasers actually account for slight movements of the body and adjust for them. In addition, the eye will be sedated.

Q: Can I Leave on My Own After Surgery?

A: You will need to be picked up. While vision is usually okay, there’s the potential for blurred vision and other issues.

Q: Is Any Vision Made Worse by Laser Eye Surgery?

A: Typically, every aspect of viewing will be improved. This includes short range, long range and night vision.

Q: Can I have laser eye surgery if I have cataracts?

A: This is one case when laser eye surgery is not a good idea. People with cataracts need to have surgery to correct the cataracts first. After that’s completed, it’s possible to have laser eye surgery. However it’s often not needed anymore.

Q: Is it true that contact lenses affect laser eye surgery?

A: Contact lenses restrict the amount of oxygen that gets to the front of an eye. This in turn can cause swelling in the cornea. Most doctors will recommend patients need to stop wearing contacts at least 2 weeks before the operation. They may require it being even longer.