Complications of Laser Eye Surgery
When undergoing any form of corrective eye surgery, it is important that you know what to expect after the surgery. As with any other forms of surgery, laser correction surgery results in a number of complications. The most common form of risks experienced by patients who undergo laser eye surgery are higher-order aberrations.
Higher-order aberrations are problems in your eye sight that cannot be diagnosed in a typical eye examination. Examples of these so-called higher-order aberrations include halos, starbursts, glare, ghosting and even double vision.
Not only are higher-order aberrations very irritating, but if severe enough, they can cause severe impairment in one’s eyes. Severe cases of higher-order aberrations have resulted in almost complete loss of contrast enhancement, especially when lighting is inadequate.
In the past, corrective eye surgery almost always produced higher-order aberrations. The bad thing is with older techniques is that the higher-order aberrations they tended to produce sometimes cannot be corrected with the use of glasses or contact lenses. With the innovation of the latest techniques involving the use of the excimer laser, such as LASIK, the occurrence of these higher-order aberrations has also decreased significantly. Nowadays, wavefront technology used in laser eye surgery is able to minimize the occurrence of these higher-order aberrations.
There is one thing that has been determined to increase the risk of developing higher-order aberrations: pupil size. Researches revealed that the bigger the size of the pupil, the higher the risk that the patient will develop these higher-order aberrations. This is the reason why a patient who has undergone laser eye surgery has better vision during the day – because the pupil is smaller during the day than at night. When the pupil gets bigger, light is able to pass through the edge of the corneal flap that was created during surgery. This causes the occurrence of higher-order aberrations.
Typically, these higher-order aberrations resolve on its own, given enough time; in most instances, higher-order aberrations are already resolved 6 months after the laser eye surgery. If any of these higher-order aberrations persist past the 6-month mark, the aberrations are likely to be permanent and may require additional treatment; thus, it is essential that you consult your ophthalmologist regarding these complications.
Treatment of mild forms of higher-order aberrations is via the use of corrective lenses; however, more severe forms may require repeat surgery. Higher-order aberrations can be measured and treated with wavefront technology. Wavefront-guided customized laser eye surgery is the best way to manage these higher-order aberrations.