LASIK Risks

Is LASIK eye surgery safe? LASIK outcomes put forward a number of advantages that attest to the safety features of this surgery. Some key advantages are

• LASIK is reasonably safer vision correction surgical procedure as compared to the earlier PRK technique
• The LASIK Risk of visual loss is significantly less
• It leads to minor surgical complications (both intra-operative and post operative) and low post-surgical ocular health risks in patients
• The surgery is performed on patients as outpatient basis and takes a few hours only
• The post surgical healing process is faster than that in other conventional refractive error surgeries
• No major cuts and wounds or surgical trauma is found in normal circumstances
• It can correct low to moderate levels of myopia, hyperopia and low degrees of astigmatism
• It provides stable, predictable and consistent outcomes in almost all patients
• It provides 20/20 corrected vision and better
• Quality vision and better visual acuity are restored
• LASIK has no long term harmful surgical side effects or potential threats to sight-threatening diseases or defects
• The types and standards of technology, clinical appliances and surgical skills applied in LASIK are most advanced and effective.

Hence, LASIK is believed to an effective surgical solution for vision correction. The reported figures about achieving the desired results after LASIK surgeries, followed by numbers of surgeries conducted in single year across the developed nations and the US in particular, the growth of specialized clinics and LASIK eye centers worldwide and the constant boom in the Laser surgical options offered by them - all necessarily advocates an upsurge in its popularity among all and sundry. And, all these impressive trend reports and track records conform to the safety and efficacy of LASIK procedures.

Is LASIK Eye Surgery safe? This question is still open to arguments and need proper evaluation. Several researches and clinical studies have been done to ascertain the merits of this procedure and the extent of patients' safety. Some studies talk in favor of this surgical procedure whilst there are a few observations which explain possible adverse impacts and patients' dissatisfactions. Some important points that are being raised regarding safety are:

• A study report published in 2003 by the Medical Defence Union (MDU), says that huge compensation claims are made by LASIK patients against doctors because they were not satisfied with the surgical outcomes
• Clinical reports also observe that with aging, the initial refractive error correction does not hold good and LASIK patients sometimes require re-treatment
• Sometimes LASIK performed for myopia correction may give rise to astigmatism
• LASIK Treatment can not correct high degrees of myopia and hyperopia
• Recent statistics also reveal higher incidence of infection on LASIK eyes when patients are sometimes prescribed to wear contact lens for additional power correction
• LASIK may result in problems and complication when it is performed on patients who do have any pre existing corneal problems, cataract or glaucoma, or uncontrolled diabetes.