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Whenever a patient undergoes
any type of surgical procedure there is a possibility for complications. It
is natural that when a person’s body is opened up and tools are in use that
bacteria of some can enter the patient or the body could have a reaction
related to the medication. LASIK surgery is no different, there are risks
to LASIK surgery, but they are few and far between.
LASIK risk continues to drop
as doctors and engineers perfect the equipment used in the process. The
risks involved in LASIK also drop as doctors continue to screen for the
right candidates to have the surgery. Research now shows that with the
right pre-testing and surgical care the risk of any complications in LASIK
surgery are less than 1%.
The most common risk with
LASIK surgery is a complication with the flap created by the surgeon to
cover the cornea. In traditional LASIK surgery the flap is created when
tissue is cut by a surgical tool known as a microkeratome. Since this tool,
a metal blade is used by a human being there remains a risk related to human
error.
When this type of traditional
LASIK is performed the risk is when the flap is then used as the natural
bandage at the end of the surgery it is not the right size. Therefore, the
complication is an irregular bandage that irritates the eye and causes what
is known as an irregular astigmatism. This LASIK risk is greatly reduced by
a newer “bladeless” LASIK procedure.
In bladeless LASIK the risk
of complication is reduced because the blade or microkeratome is no longer
used. It is replaced by IntraLase, or another type of laser, that
eliminates the human error.
When assessing these LASIK
risks it is recommended that when you are considering LASIK surgery that you
ask your doctor how he/she goes about correcting these problems. Some
complications that arise from LASIK can be made even worse by over or under
correction. Ask your doctor as part of your original process how they
handle this situation.
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