Complications after laser vision correction are rare, but some patients are more likely to experience complications. For example, the procedure is not recommended for the elderly and people with thin corneas. Alexander Rodin, an ophthalmologist at the DocDeti and DocMed clinics, told Gazeta.Ru about this.
“Laser vision correction is one of the safest types of eye surgery and the most popular operation in ophthalmology. More than 8 million people in the world have been operated on using the latest Relex SMILE technology alone. But as with any surgery, there are complications with laser correction. According to scientific studies, the frequency of complications does not exceed 1-2%,” said the doctor.
Most often, patients experience dry eyes. Less common is the need for repeated correction due to the lack of the desired effect. Repeated surgery eliminates the problem if enough corneal tissue remains after the first surgery. Even less common are problems with tissue healing. For example, if a patient actively rubs their eye after LASIK surgery, they may dislodge the superficial flap of tissue.
Although doctors know how to deal with all these complications, preventing them is certainly better than treating them. Modern diagnostic equipment today makes it easier to identify those patients for whom surgery is not recommended.
“Laser correction is definitely not recommended for those patients whose vision is undergoing active changes, for example, children. For older patients, it is also better not to undergo correction: due to the deterioration in the ability of the lens to switch from distance to near, it is difficult to select the focus of the laser during the procedure. There are also individual contraindications, for example, thin or extremely soft corneal tissue. Sometimes the procedure is denied for conditions that may affect recovery from surgery, such as ocular herpes or inflammatory connective tissue diseases,” Rodin noted.
