Is LASIK Eye Surgery Safe?

[ryan_mercer]

"HI, I just wanted to know about the risks of LASIK surgery. But couldn't find any recently updated threads here about LASIK. So I think I should start a new thread.

My story began when I started wearing glasses in high school. Even though I never liked wearing glasses. Had to use them because I was very nearsighted. And since I'm careless I had to change my glasses occasionally. Then I thought contact lenses will be good and started using it. However, contact lenses were worse than glasses. Wearing them was really difficult. Whenever I wear them it made my eyes dry along with irritation and burning. Lenses popping out from the eyes was another problem. Now that I'm starting med school, I need to solve this problem. I mean, every med student should have excellent eyesight. And both glasses and contact lenses are not convenient options for me.

So I decided to go to an eye and cosmetic clinic in Toronto for LASIK eye surgery. I heard people saying that LASIK surgery is not a safe procedure. And it might make our vision worse. Also heard the reasons why you shouldn't do it. But some people are saying that now that we have bladeless LASIK surgery there is no need to panic. So I just want to know your opinion in doing LASIK. What do you guys think?"

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[ball123]

I think every case is different. I certainly would recommend at least consulting with a cornea and refractive surgeon to get their opinion.
Overall, most patients seem to be happy with their LASIK surgery, especially with the newer generation platforms. I think the number is around 97%. However, it is still surgery, and there are the few anomalies, in which sometimes things just don't go according to plan.

Overall, patients with prior dry eyes seem to have residual dryness after surgery, although this has shown to improve with time. Depending on how nearsighted you are and your degree of astigmatism, I think it would be beneficial to seek a consult. There are other options as well such as PRK (the old method that also produces great results albeit with slower visual recovery) and SMILE (the newest type of refractive surgery that theoretically reduces dry eye symptoms) that may be advantageous in your case. I'd search the literature/PubMed (I'm guessing you're in medicine) and see what's out there.

healio com/ophthalmology/refractive-surgery/news/online/%7Bcb9f434a-67fa-4610-9fa6-3da08c94be88%7D/latest-lasik-platforms-boost-patient-reported-outcomes

 

[Slide]

This is not the place to ask for medical advice or for a professional opinion. If you need advice, seek a second opinion and get another eye exam.

 

[evilbooyaa]

SDN is not for medical advice. Please discuss with an ophthalmologist in regards to your question. Closing.