As with any invasive procedure, there are surgical risks, and the
recovery process often varies with each individual. Post-LASIK
patients report experiencing mild irritation, sensitivity to bright light,
and tearing for a few days after surgery. For most, vision stabilizes
within 3 months to near-predicted results, and residual night glare
usually diminishes within 6 months. In rare cases, symptoms have
lingered longer than a year. Earlier versions of LASIK used a smaller
ablation zone which sometimes resulted in glare problems at night.
Ablation zones have an area of transition between treated and
untreated corneal tissue. As the pupil dilates and becomes larger than
the ablation zone, light (car headlights, streetlights, and traf c signals
lights) entering through these transition areas becomes distorted,
resulting in aberrations perceived as glare. These patients often
complain of dif culties seeing under low-light conditions.
Patients that develop postoperative haze during the healing process
have complained of glare (halos and starbursts). Furthermore, it has
been reported that exposure to ultraviolet radiation or bright sunlight
may result in refractive regression and late-onset corneal haze. It
is therefore recommended that all refractive surgery patients wear
sunglasses with UV protection and to refrain from using tanning beds
for several months after surgery.
For those with larger amounts of refractive correction, the
predictability of the resulting refractive correction is less exact.
This can lead to under-correction (requiring an additional laser
enhancement procedure and/or corrective lenses) or over-correction
of the refractive error. In the case of overcorrection, premature
presbyopia and the need for reading glasses can result.
It has been reported that there can be a slower recovery of BCVA and
UCVA with hyperopic LASIK compared with those having myopic
LASIK. This is especially true for older patients who may be even
less likely to achieve UCVA of 20/20 or better. (Note: Loss of BCVA
is reportedly 5 to 15 times more likely with refractive surgery than
from the use of extended-wear contact lenses.)
Older patients with presbyopia may opt for monovision LASIK,
which corrects the dominant eye for distant vision and the other
eye for near vision. The procedure is intended to eliminate the need
for a patient to wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision.
Anisometropia (difference in correction between the eyes) induced