Laser vision correction - “my detailed story about laser vision correction and why I was not delighted after the operation.” What to do if you see double after laser correction? Double vision after laser vision correction

Unpleasant consequences of laser vision correction are possible, despite the speed, painlessness and accuracy of the procedure. They can occur both due to incorrect manipulations during the operation process itself, and due to non-compliance with medical recommendations in postoperative period. Correction of such complications is real, but no ophthalmologist can ever give a 100% guarantee.

The use of laser techniques for vision correction is not a medical procedure. These are corrective manipulations that make it possible to eliminate the consequences of eye diseases, restoring vigilance, but not to treat the disease itself.

The use of such correction is recommended for severe myopia or farsightedness, sometimes complicated by astigmatism. A similar restorative technique is recommended for people who, due to professional factors or the individual structure of their visual organs, are not able to wear glasses or contacts. A person with big difference diopters in different eyes to avoid constant overwork of one of them.

Before the procedure, the patient must undergo certain preparation.

This may include:

full examination to identify contraindications;
checking visual acuity immediately before manipulation;
application of anesthetic drops immediately afterwards.

During the day before the procedure, you should not use decorative cosmetics or drink alcohol.

During the operation, a laser is used to target certain areas of the cornea, changing its shape. Many correction methods have currently been developed, for example, PRK, Lasik, Lasek, Epi-Lasik, Super-Lasik, Femtolasik. The first of them is a laser effect on the surface of the cornea in order to strengthen it and restore vision. The return of vigilance occurs gradually over the course of a month. Lasik techniques involve affecting the deep corneal layers, and vision returns to normal faster.

Not everyone is allowed to correct imperfections in their eyes.

This cannot be done:

minors (sometimes young people under 25 years of age);
those over forty to forty-five years old;
pregnant and nursing mothers;
in the presence of keratoconus;
people with certain immune system or metabolic dysfunctions;
for serious eye diseases.

Correction is not carried out during periods of exacerbation of any chronic ailments. If contraindications are ignored, the risk side effects may increase greatly.

During the operation, a failure may occur, most often caused by technical reasons or insufficient professionalism of the doctor.

Risk factors for such problems include:

Incorrect indicators entered into the computer.
Incorrectly selected tools.
Lack or interruption of vacuum supply.
The cut is too thin or split.

This or that complication can lead to clouding of the cornea, astigmatism, monocular double vision, and decreased vigilance. According to statistics unpleasant consequences occur in 27 percent of cases.

Postoperative side effects

After laser vision correction, the operated organ becomes fragile and vulnerable. Any, even the smallest damage can lead to serious consequences, including blindness. It is very important for those undergoing the procedure to follow all the doctor’s recommendations.

Prohibitions may include:

touching the operated eye within 24 hours, rubbing it for at least three months after surgery;
washing and washing your hair for 72 hours after laser vision correction;
drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics;
heavy physical work, professional sports for 90 days after eye surgery;
swimming, sunbathing and applying decorative cosmetics for a similar time;
driving at dusk and at night for approximately two months after the procedure due to a temporary decrease in contrast sensitivity.

During the postoperative period, clinic clients sometimes complain about the appearance of stars or circles in the eyes, as well as dry vision.

Also after laser vision correction you may experience:

swelling,
retinal rejection,
conjunctivitis,
epithelial ingrowth,
hemorrhages,
sensation of a foreign object in the eyes.

Such side effects do not occur due to low qualifications of the doctor or malfunctioning devices. Such complications are caused by the body’s individual reaction to surgery. In some cases, they go away after a rehabilitation period, but sometimes additional treatment is required.

Another type of complication is called undercorrection, when instead of one result another is obtained. For example, vision decreases in the form of residual myopia. Or instead of myopia, a person develops farsightedness. This will require repeated correction after a period of one to three months.

Long-term consequences of surgery

Complications may appear later long time after laser vision correction. Such long-term troubles pose the greatest danger to health.

Correction removes the consequences of eye diseases that lead to decreased vision. But she is unable to eliminate the causes of these ailments. In this case, as the disease progresses, vision may deteriorate after laser correction after several years. True, it will be difficult to say whether this is due to hidden problems during the operation or the patient’s lifestyle.

Each of the following problems may appear months after the procedure:

disappearance of the positive effect of laser intervention;
thinning of the tissues affected by the device;
clouding of the corneal layer;
development of eye diseases that did not exist before.

To ensure that the operated patient’s vision does not subsequently decline, he must maintain healthy image life, say goodbye to bad habits, eliminate excessive physical or visual stress and follow other doctor’s instructions.

If a person feels that his vision is deteriorating after correction, he should immediately consult an ophthalmologist.

Of course, problems after eye surgery can be eliminated. But there is no absolute guarantee that after the new correction everything will get better. Although doctors can still predict the chances.

They divide all complications after laser vision correction into three large subgroups:

If there are no vital important indications to eye operations, it is better not to perform them. Then you won’t have to deal with complications after laser vision correction. But if correction is necessary, you should choose a trusted clinic and a doctor who has performed many successful operations.

After laser (excimer) vision correction, patients often encounter various complications. One of them is diplopia, that is, double vision. Why does it occur and is this phenomenon considered normal for the postoperative period? Read the answers to these questions in our article.

Vision correction using LASIK surgery is considered today one of the widely advertised and very effective procedures. It is often recommended for myopia, farsightedness and astigmatism. Thousands of similar operations are carried out every day all over the world.
Quite a lot is known about the benefits of LASIK or other types of laser vision correction. Technologies for their implementation are constantly being improved, however, this does not completely eliminate the risk of possible complications.

What complications occur most often after surgery?

According to ophthalmologists, the most common side effects after surgery include:

decreased vision in the dark, as well as in unfavorable weather conditions;
feeling foreign body in the eye, which may persist for several days;

increased tearfulness, especially on the first day after surgery;
the occurrence of “dry eye” syndrome due to drying of the upper layer of the cornea after LASIK;
eye sensitivity to bright light.

Double vision after surgery. Is this normal?

During the first three days after laser vision correction, the patient may see a blurred or double image. In most cases, this effect disappears within the next few days after the operation, but it can also “accompany” the patient for quite a long time. Doctors note that such a reaction is absolutely normal, but only if you see double for a short time. This can be especially pronounced when the level of lighting is insufficient, for example, while working table lamp, as well as in adverse weather conditions.

Typically, patients complain to their doctors about the appearance of halos around the object they see or double image. Moreover, such defects do not depend in any way on the time of day, that is, they can appear both during the day and in the evening.

What to do if you see double vision for more than three months?

It also happens that the double image does not go away after three, five days or a week. It can persist for several months, which causes significant discomfort to the patient. In most cases, in the first days, patients who have undergone laser correction do not attach much importance to this, considering it a normal consequence after LASIK. Doctors themselves share a similar opinion. However, after a certain time, this ceases to be the norm characteristic of the rehabilitation period, and begins to cause anxiety in patients. The experience is even more intensified in cases where all other postoperative effects have passed quickly enough, and double vision remains unchanged. Concern in this case is completely justified. In such situations, ophthalmologists recommend performing keratotopography and drawing conclusions based on its results.

It often happens that the reason lies in the characteristics of the patient’s cornea itself. It is believed that the outcome of surgery can be assessed no earlier than three months after LASIK. If double vision does not go away even after this period, then most likely the doctor will recommend repeated intervention or, as it is also called, additional vision correction.

Diagnosis of double vision and its causes

As ophthalmologists explain, double vision after surgery can be explained by the manifestation of a prismatic effect. If, for example, double vision is observed in only one eye, then astigmatism is most likely to blame. It provokes blurriness of the image along one of the axes, while on the other everything remains unchanged. If the examination shows that the problem lies in the imperfection of the surface of the cornea (this is usually seen during examination with a keratotopograph), then we are talking about coma - one of the most complex spherical disorders, consisting of asymmetrical coloring relative to the central part of the pupil.

If the results of the keratotopogram are negative and do not show any abnormalities, then the cause of double vision is a violation between the stroma - the transparent layer that forms the basis of the cornea, and the flap - a flap of the cornea.

Good day to all!

Today, almost 2 months after laser vision correction (LVC), I want to describe my story, results, my sensations and feelings that I experienced after the operation. I hope that for those who are about to make a decision to do or not to do LKZ, my long and detailed review will be useful.

HOW I DECIDED...

To be honest, I didn’t even think about doing laser vision correction. The mere thought that they would interfere with my eyes and do something there terrified me. In addition, the unknown consequences that could occur after the operation were frightening.

One of my close friends had such an operation and strongly recommended that I take the plunge, but I long and stubbornly rejected this idea until...

...one day, somewhere on the Internet, I read an article about LKZ and found out that after 40-45 years it is no longer done, due to age-related changes eye. And then something clicked inside me! I'm already 38! Another couple of years and I'll never be able to see well their eyes! And here I had a HUGE desire to make LKZ!

My vision at that time was -4.75 and -4.5 plus astigmatism. With such vision, I always wore glasses, but in them I saw only 80 percent, it annoyed me, astigmatism did not allow me to correct my vision to the proper level. And the special glasses were expensive and the optician never recommended them to me. I tried wearing contact lenses, but I felt uncomfortable wearing them, so I preferred glasses.

On the recommendation of my friend, I decided to have surgery in Interregional Laser Center (ILC) Tolyatti. I chose Togliatti because, firstly, it is the closest city to the village where I live, and secondly, there are reviews from real people I personally know who had vision correction done there and were satisfied with the result.

The center has its own official website. , where you can find all the information you are interested in.

I carefully studied everything necessary information, I read all the reviews about this operation on Airek and other sites, and after hesitating for a while, weighing all the PROS and CONS, I decided!

First, it was necessary to undergo diagnostics costing 2000 rubles. At that time, the ILC had a promotion: if you have surgery within a month after the diagnosis, the money for the diagnosis will be returned.

DIAGNOSTICS

It is needed to determine the condition of the eyes, whether it is possible to have surgery at all, and to choose the method of the operation to be performed. The method is determined by the doctor.

My eyes were checked using various machines and instruments, my visual acuity, corneal thickness, retinal condition and a bunch of other indicators were measured.

The doctor said that there were no contraindications to the operation, only the retina needed to be strengthened in the right eye. I was prescribed laser coagulation of the retina. Without this procedure, LKZ surgery cannot be performed.

After diagnosis, the doctor prescribed surgery using the MAGEK method.

MAGEK (contact lens protected superficial keratectomy using mitomycin) is a modification of superficial techniques using a special drug "Mitomycin-S".
MAGEK is an improved knifeless laser correction technique. MAGEK is technically no different from PRK (photorefractive keratectomy), but there is a significant difference in the drugs used. After laser exposure, as a result of which parts of the collagen layer of the cornea evaporate, the cells begin to regenerate, which may manifest itself in the form of a slight regression (deterioration of the initial result) of your vision after surgery. With MAGEK, before applying a protective contact lens to the eye, the perimeter of laser exposure is treated with a special drug Metomycin-C, which stops the regenerative processes of corneal cells, and thereby eliminates visual regression after surgery. Vision remains stable forever.

The main difference between MAGEK. from the LASIK method is that the rehabilitation process after surgery takes longer.

Cost 40,000 rub. on both eyes.

The diagnosing doctor immediately warned me that vision in the right eye would be restored by 100%, and in the left - 90%. Those. I will be able to see the last 10 and 9 rows on the check table respectively. (By the way, without glasses, I didn’t even see the largest line with letters Sh And B) They promised to remove the astigmatism completely. The effect of the operation should last a lifetime.

PREPARATION FOR OPERATION

Before the operation, all patients are given such a leaflet, which describes in detail what and how to do, what are the requirements before and restrictions after the operation.

Before surgery:

the patient must be completely healthy (no runny nose, cough, fever, herpes on the lips). If you have had a cold, 14 days must pass after complete recovery so that there are no residual effects at the time of surgery.
do not wear lenses 2 weeks before surgery
take a shower beforehand, wash your hair
on the day of surgery, do not use deodorant, eau de toilette,
do not drink alcohol 48 hours before surgery
3 days before surgery do not use eye cosmetics
wear non-woolen clothes (preferably cotton)
take sunglasses with you

DAY OF OPERATION

Was I scared? Of course yes! I was tormented by “vague doubts” whether it was in vain that I agreed to all this. Vision is no joke.

While waiting for the preparatory events, I was sitting in the corridor and saw a guest book on the table. I managed to read it all, there were quite a lot of reviews. After reading it, I felt much calmer: I received so many positive emotions from these reviews! So many happy people described their delight at the acquired excellent vision that my last doubts disappeared and I became more confident in the correctness of my decision.

There were 6 of us (patients). We were previously examined by a doctor; on the day of the operation everyone should be healthy, without residual signs of illness, so as not to cough or sneeze during the operation.)))

After the examination, everyone was taken to the preoperative ward. They gave us a set of disposable clothing: a robe, shoe covers, and a cap. They told us to turn off our phones because... they may adversely affect laser performance.

Astigmatism manifests itself as a consequence of a violation of the cornea of the eye, which occurs due to injury, hereditary predisposition, occupational factors, etc.

Side effects include diseases of the visual organs; visual impairment, lack of effect from surgery, retinal rejection and other consequences are also possible. Sometimes complications appear immediately after surgery and, often, depending on the severity, a repeat operation is performed.

However, there are cases where symptoms of complications appear after some time. This may occur due to a malfunction of the installed lens. Immediately after the operation, strict restrictions are imposed for a period from several days to 90 days, but, for example, visual and physical stress must be avoided for life.

What is astigmatism?

Astigmatism - consequences after laser correction Source: Astigmatism - consequences after laser correction

All information on the site is provided for informational purposes. Before using any recommendations, be sure to consult your doctor. Self-medication can be dangerous to your health. Astigmatism is one of the three most common vision defects.

This vision defect is more complex than myopia and farsightedness. The disease is caused by a disruption of the outer layer of the eyeball: the cornea and/or lens. The image seen by an astigmatic person is unclear and blurred in different axes of vision.

This eye defect can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses. The laser allows you to get rid of astigmatism once and for all. The disease results in poor visibility of all objects, regardless of whether they are nearby or far away. Typically occurs when the cornea is shaped like an elongated ellipsoid rather than a sphere.

The uneven shape causes light rays entering the eye to be focused in many places, not just on the retina. With astigmatism, the eye that looks at a point sees not a point image, but two linear ones, called focal ones.

Most often this happens because the cornea does not have a constant radius of curvature, i.e. it is not spherical. When the eyes are constructed correctly, light rays are focused at one point: the retina.

With astigmatism, due to irregularities in the curvature of the cornea, the beam of rays passing into the eye is focused at 2 points, causing image blurring effects. The irregular shape of the cornea (resembling a fragment of a rugby ball) is responsible for 98% of cases of eye defect (so-called corneal astigmatism).

In rare cases, this visual defect may also be due to irregular shape lens (so-called lens astigmatism). As a rule, it appears as a result of a congenital defect of the lens. Sometimes congenital astigmatism develops as a result of cataracts.

The disease is very common, affecting 1/3 of the population, usually from birth. In many cases, people with nearsightedness or farsightedness have slight astigmatism. A small degree of this refractive error is considered normal and does not require correction.

In mixed astigmatism, the symptoms of nearsightedness and farsightedness occur simultaneously. This combination causes the inability to see clearly.

Contraindications for correction

A person with a large difference in diopters in different eyes can also undergo correction in order to avoid constant overwork of one of them. Before the procedure, the patient must undergo certain preparation. This may include:

full examination to identify contraindications;
checking visual acuity immediately before manipulation;
application of anesthetic drops immediately afterwards.

During the day before the procedure, you should not use decorative cosmetics or drink alcohol. During the operation, a laser is used to target certain areas of the cornea, changing its shape. Many correction methods have currently been developed, for example, PRK, Lasik, Lasek, Epi-Lasik, Super-Lasik, Femtolasik.

Lasik machine

The first of them is a laser effect on the surface of the cornea in order to strengthen it and restore vision. The return of vigilance occurs gradually over the course of a month. Lasik techniques involve affecting the deep corneal layers, and vision returns to normal faster.

Not everyone is allowed to correct imperfections in their eyes. This cannot be done:

minors (sometimes young people under 25 years of age);
those over forty to forty-five years old;
pregnant and nursing mothers;
in the presence of keratoconus;
people with certain immune system or metabolic dysfunctions;
for serious eye diseases.

Correction is not carried out during periods of exacerbation of any chronic ailments. If contraindications are neglected, the risk of side effects can greatly increase. During the operation, a failure may occur, most often caused by technical reasons or insufficient professionalism of the doctor.

Risk factors for such problems include: Incorrect values entered into the computer. Incorrectly selected tools. Lack or interruption of vacuum supply. The cut is too thin or split.

This or that complication can lead to clouding of the cornea, astigmatism, monocular double vision, and decreased vigilance. According to statistics, unpleasant consequences occur in 27 percent of cases.

Possibility of complications

During the first time after surgery in the dark, contrast sensitivity is significantly reduced; patients have difficulty distinguishing the boundaries of colors and the boundaries of objects. Therefore, driving at night and at dusk is strictly undesirable.

Patients also noticed the appearance of stars and circles before their eyes. Cases of excessive dry eyes are common. Inflammatory processes such as edema, conjunctivitis, epithelial ingrowth, inflammation, hemorrhage may also appear as postoperative complications.

The likelihood of their occurrence does not depend on the qualifications of the surgeon or on the apparatus with which the operation was performed. The reason for them is individual features patients' bodies.

Such complications may require long-term and quite expensive treatment, which, however, is not guaranteed to give a 100% result (full recovery). There is also the possibility of “undercorrection”.

This is the so-called residual myopia, which is corrected by repeated laser correction two months after the first operation. This is another additional burden on an already weakened eye. There is a possibility of long-term consequences of laser vision correction.

Such consequences have not yet been practically studied, because It is difficult to calculate whether the complications that appeared 3 years after the operation were the result of the operation itself or whether these were characteristics of the body or even the patient’s lifestyle.

In the absence of serious medical indications, all ophthalmologists do not recommend resorting to laser vision correction or any other eye intervention. Although the percentage of successful operations is very high, it is still not 100% and, as you understand, there is a possibility of complications.

The eyes are your own, after all, and it’s better not to expose them to the laser. Glasses or lenses practically do not create problems and they can always be removed, unlike the results of an intervention, even by an experienced surgeon.

Diagnosis of the disease

To see if you have astigmatism, you will need to see an ophthalmologist. When such a vision problem was identified, the first tool for detecting it was the keratoscope - the invention of the Portuguese ophthalmologist A. Placido.

It is a disk with white and black consecutive circles. The study involves observing the shape of their reflection on the cornea. The degree and axis of astigmatism in the eyes is measured by an ophthalmometer (keratometer).

It uses an image of the Placido disk reflected on the surface of the cornea, which is recorded using a camera and then transferred to a computer and analyzed. The result of the study is a colorful map and section of the surface of the cornea, a map of the digital value of its curvature.

The last study is necessary before the procedure for laser correction of eye defects. In everyday practice, an autorefractometer equipped with a topograph is used. All these studies are painless and are carried out during an eye examination by an ophthalmologist using instruments.

What happens after surgery?

After laser vision correction, the patient does not experience any significant pain, but within 2-3 hours after the operation it can be very disturbing:

Tearing
Stinging in the eyes
Feeling "sand"
Photophobia

Bright light may aggravate these complaints, so you should bring sunglasses with you to the clinic. It is advisable to wash the frame well with soap in advance. After laser vision correction, the patient may experience pain in the eyes, a feeling of blockage, and watery eyes. After 3 hours these phenomena disappear.

During the first hour after surgery, your vision without glasses will improve, but there will still be fog and blurriness. In just a few hours, these complaints will subside, and just a feeling of discomfort will remain.

You should definitely have a follow-up examination at a slit lamp to ensure that the corneal flaps are properly seated. In extremely rare cases, if the patient accidentally roughly rubs the eyes, a slight displacement of them may occur, which requires the supervision of a doctor.

1-2 hours after the correction, you should undergo a control examination using a microscope and be allowed to go home until the next day of examination. After the doctor’s examination, you will be able to go home. We do not recommend that you drive yourself after the correction, as post-operative discomfort symptoms will not allow you to drive safely.

Take a taxi or ask your loved ones to take you. Public transport is not contraindicated, but one must be wary of eye infections and colds. It is better to leave the clinic by taxi or ask your loved ones to take you home. Driving is prohibited immediately after surgery.

In some clinics, which take a particularly responsible approach to the prevention of complications, patients are given special occluders for the eyes - transparent protective screens With ventilation holes, which eliminate the possibility of mechanical pressure on the eye, so as not to damage the cornea during sleep or accidental touch.

Many patients are afraid of the undesirable consequences of laser vision correction. Yes, they exist, but their percentage is so small that with proper selection of patients and exclusion of contraindications, it does not exceed 0.02-0.05%. Deterioration of vision after laser vision correction can be due to several reasons:

Firstly, this is the progression of myopia.

If the patient is young and his eye continues to grow in length, then the corrected myopia may partially return.
This issue is always discussed with the patient during the preoperative examination. If myopia returns, then it is possible to discuss with your doctor a repeat operation.

With careful preoperative diagnosis, undesirable consequences of laser vision correction occur in 0.02-0.05% of cases.

Secondly, the reason for dissatisfaction with the result may be incomplete correction.

Those. the patient has a residual 0.5 - 0.75 diopters of myopia, farsightedness or astigmatism. In this case, as a rule, additional correction is proposed to achieve the desired result, but not earlier than after 2-3 months. Experience shows that such cases of additional correction are infrequent: 1 eye per 100-200 operations, or even less often.

Thirdly, the cause of some changes in vision in the long-term period after vision correction may be mild cloud-like opacities.

These phenomena are extremely rare. A carefully collected anamnesis allows you to identify patients at risk and almost completely eliminate these problems.

Fluctuations in hormonal levels during pregnancy can adversely affect the healing of corneal tissue.
It is precisely because of the occurrence of corneal opacities that ophthalmologists recommend not planning childbirth or pregnancy after laser vision correction for at least six months.

This is due to the unfavorable effect of hormonal fluctuations on the healing processes of corneal tissue. Complications after laser vision correction can occur if the operation itself deviates from the planned plan. Most of these problems improve over time or with active treatment.

Postoperative restrictions

touching the operated eye within 24 hours, rubbing it for at least three months after surgery;
washing and washing your hair for 72 hours after laser vision correction;
drinking alcohol while taking antibiotics;
heavy physical work, professional sports for 90 days after eye surgery;
swimming, sunbathing and applying decorative cosmetics for a similar time;
driving at dusk and at night for approximately two months after the procedure due to a temporary decrease in contrast sensitivity.

During the postoperative period, clinic clients sometimes complain about the appearance of stars or circles in the eyes, as well as dry vision. Also after laser vision correction you may experience:

swelling,
retinal rejection,
conjunctivitis,
epithelial ingrowth,
hemorrhages,
sensation of a foreign object in the eyes.

Long-term consequences of surgery

Complications can appear long after laser vision correction. Such long-term troubles pose the greatest danger to health. Correction removes the consequences of eye diseases that lead to decreased vision.

But she is unable to eliminate the causes of these ailments. In this case, as the disease progresses, vision may deteriorate after laser correction after several years. True, it will be difficult to say whether this is due to hidden problems during the operation or the patient’s lifestyle. Each of the following problems may appear months after the procedure:

disappearance of the positive effect of laser intervention;
thinning of the tissues affected by the device;
clouding of the corneal layer;
development of eye diseases that did not exist before.

To prevent the operated patient’s vision from subsequently deteriorating, he must lead a healthy lifestyle, say goodbye to bad habits, avoid excessive physical or visual stress, and follow other doctor’s instructions.

If a person feels that his vision is deteriorating after correction, he should immediately consult an ophthalmologist. Of course, problems after eye surgery can be eliminated. But there is no absolute guarantee that after the new correction everything will get better. Although doctors can still predict the chances.

If there are no vital indications for eye surgery, it is better not to perform it. Then you won’t have to deal with complications after laser vision correction. But if correction is necessary, you should choose a trusted clinic and a doctor who has performed many successful operations.

Laser correction of astigmatism - consequences

Source: bolezniglaznet.ru

Laser vision correction is used in Lately deserved popularity. One of the most popular techniques is currently considered LASIK (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis) - a type of vision correction using an excimer laser.

Device capabilities

This operation allows a person to regain vision and corrects almost all deviations from the norm. Restoring vision through laser vision correction has many positive aspects, but we should also not forget about the dangers of this operation, which can affect the human body in various ways.

You need to be interested in and know this before resorting to such a method. Of course, these are postoperative difficulties in restoring the body that can be overcome. But researchers also talk about cases of deterioration in the quality of vision after surgery.

With such complications, vision is no longer amenable to such correction. The statistics of Russian colleagues also largely coincide with foreign studies. Scientists studied 12,500 operations performed using the Lasik technique, noting that subsequently various complications and side effects were observed in 18.61 percent of cases.

This is already a serious reason to think about it. Moreover, these operations were performed by the best doctors using only the best and modern equipment. Scientists also note that in 12.8 percent of cases the operation had to be repeated. Here are the complications you may encounter after laser correction.

These are various difficulties of postoperative recovery of the body. First of all, this includes the usual inflammatory reactions: inflammation, swelling, conjunctivitis, epithelial ingrowth, “sand in the eye” syndrome, hemorrhages, retinal detachment, binocular vision disorders and much more.

These consequences do not depend on the skill of the operation performed, but are purely individual and related to the characteristics of the body of each client. The treatment period is also quite long and requires special attention and the use of quality medicines.

In some cases, repeated operations are even required. But in such situations, it is imperative to consult with your doctor. Also, postoperative complications are also understood as simply the client’s dissatisfaction with the result and quality of the operation.

Surgical complications. Unlike postoperative complications, here everything depends on the quality of the equipment and professional level your doctor. According to the data, the percentage of such complications is 27, and the proportion of surgical complications that subsequently affect the quality and result of laser vision correction is approximately 0.15 percent.

And it entails both a decrease in maximum visual acuity, monocular double vision, induced astigmatism and irregular astigmatism, and corneal opacification. Although the percentage of these complications is small, nevertheless, no one is immune from such consequences.

No doctor will give a 100% guarantee about the outcome of the operation. Therefore, before resorting to surgical intervention, think carefully and weigh the pros and cons.

Complications associated with ablation. This type occurs quite often and is associated with unsatisfactory results after laser correction. Most often this manifests itself in residual myopia. In such situations, doctors resort to repeat surgery after 1-2 months.

If the doctors did more than was initially expected, then they will also have to perform another operation, but after 2 or 3 months. But, as in previous cases, this does not mean that a repeat operation will fix everything. But, nevertheless, not everything is as scary as it might seem at first glance.

Long-term consequences of laser vision correction. Such consequences are the most dangerous for the human body. This is due to the fact that laser vision correction surgery does not cure myopia, farsightedness, or astigmatism, but only corrects the shape of the eye so that the image becomes clear without affecting the disease itself.

Therefore, over time, the result of this correction weakens and returns the person to his previous vision. There are more deplorable cases. It has been recorded that sometimes the patient, over time, acquires a list of additional diseases of the body.

Also, various physical stress and damage to the eye can lead to rupture of the membrane. The consequences of which are by no means happy. Also, do not forget about groups of people who are strictly prohibited from resorting to laser vision correction.

Of course, these are young people under 18 years old. Some people are talking about a limit of up to 25 years. Also, after the age of 40, farsightedness develops. These visual defects are already associated with the aging of the body, and not with the disease as such. It is also worth mentioning the complications after laser correction that occur in the evening.

Farsightedness as a complication

People with such consequences have circles in their eyes when looking at the lights and headlights of cars. This puts car drivers at particular risk. Particular complications arise when correcting myopia. Professor John Marshall from St. Thomas's Hospital in London says that in some cases cornea transplants were even required.

In any case, no matter what, the patient must be informed about all possible complications before resorting to laser vision correction. However, the risk from such a new method has not yet been fully studied, but the Lasik method is already very popular and that’s all more people resorts to precisely this treatment of the disease.

What are the most serious complications?

Complications with LASIK are up to 6%, with femtoLASIK and FLEX - up to 2%, with SMILE - 0.5-1% (depending on the generation of lasers, 0.5% is the sixth).

One of the worst complications of any correction other than PRK is keratoectasia (when the cornea bulges, as in keratoconus). As a result of surgery, this can happen due to a significant violation of the biomechanics of the eye - as a rule, either due to incomplete diagnosis, or due to a surprise that the doctor's diagnostic tools could not detect.

This is why it is important to diagnose very carefully and different methods. It must be admitted that clinics often skimp on the most expensive “reinsurance” equipment. On the other hand, if a patient already comes in with keratoectasia, then he will most likely have a direct indication for good old PRK.

In general, any thin cornea, and even one that is not completely smooth, can be smoothed well by PRK. IN early stages keratotonus PRK levels the surface and immediately on top we also do cross-linking (treatment with a product containing high content B12, then the release of oxygen due to laser heating and fixation of collagen in ultraviolet light - everything to make it tough, but more on that later).

This niche will ensure the life of PRK for at least another 10 years. Keratoconus is a complex complication in the medium term. Cross-linking is done immediately, that is, cartectasis is treated as usual. Intracorneal half-rings can be inserted.

Historically, some of the keratoectasia after SMILE are cases where the surgeon discovered a diseased cornea and decided not to do the invasive procedure LASIK or its derivative, but for some reason decided that ReLEx could “ride” due to its low invasiveness. A diseased cornea does not need to be corrected without strengthening. You can do cross-linking, rings, transplantation.

Our next most popular flap is the flap after LASIK, femtoLASIK or FLEX. More often, of course, they get LASIK - they have a total risk of various side effects of 6%, and at the same time they are still being done a lot in the country. Any patchwork correction methods are a contraindication for contact sports.

You can give birth, but getting punched in the face is undesirable. There were cases when the flap was torn off because a child simply inaccurately poked his finger in his mother’s face, because a woman caught her eye on a tomato stick - in general, all sorts of things.

The crux of the problem is that with these methods, a “lid” is cut, which is “folded back” to create a lens inside the cornea, and then this “lid” is closed back. It is connected to the eye by a thin bridge-“loop” and a thin layer of epithelium that has grown on top.

The flap does not grow in, and is held in place without opening, only with the help of the superficial epithelium on top. The LASIK flap itself can be removed even after 8-10 years (there have been cases) - and it will come out exactly where it was on the day of the operation.

In the case of femtoLASIK and FLEX, the flap holds more firmly, there is often scarring along the edges (a thin white stripe) - after 2-3 years you can already try to tear it off with your teeth, and it will not give in. In the case of SMILE, there is no flap at all, but there is a “tunnel” (2.5 mm incision) through which the lenticule is removed from the cornea - it is also covered with epithelium, but before it heals, you cannot wash, so as not to cause an infection.

Contrary to popular myth, Bowman's membrane, which is located on top of the cornea (which is destroyed during PRK and severely damaged during femtoLASIK methods) does not provide protection against impact-type mechanical damage. It provides “slow” type stability, in particular, it compensates for pressure from inside the eye.

Now it’s worth talking about the halo effect - this is a halo around light sources at night. Any laser correction can give it. It depends on the size of the correction zone in relation to the pupil. The usual correction zone is 7 millimeters. Some people's pupils open up to 8 millimeters in complete darkness.

Previously, correction zones of 4-5 millimeters were generally made. The second reason for a halo (more relevant to modern surgeries) is how flat your cornea is in the center. The center should be elevated (a healthy cornea has more diopters in the center than at the edges - for example, 38 D in the center, 42 D at the edges).

A good professional calculates the profile for laser cutting so that the cornea is flattened over a large area. Excimer lasers have different aspheric profiles for this purpose. ReLEx SMILE itself is aspherical in its very intervention architecture. Yes, the natural state of the cornea worsens with any correction, but with SMILE - a little less.

Then we have photophobia and tissue overgrowth. The problem is with the medications. In PRK in Russia, metamycin, “usual” for this operation, is not used (it is not approved for state level). Analogs are a little riskier. Now ophthalmologists are trying to lobby for the approval of this drug for operations.

The next case is incomplete extraction of the lenticule during SMILE surgery. There were extremely rare cases when there was a part left that could not be picked up with tweezers. In this case, cortisone is injected, which stains the small fragment and then you can go inside and remove it.

In London, one of the very expensive surgeons makes a second cut for such a case opposite the first - he does not use it, but keeps it in case of problems during the operation. Usually, if the laser did not cut something in the lenticule, this is the problem of the surgeon, who for some reason went in and tried to separate the place where there was no cut.

That's right - let it heal and do PRK with topography. Or, as an option, switch to FLEX instead of SMILE. Then tearing the edge of the incision is a very unlikely thing in in experienced hands when the surgeon uses an instrument to tear open the entrance to the “tunnel” leading to the lenticule.

For this to happen in practice, you need to push him in the shoulder during the operation. However, there is usually no problem: the incision was 3 mm, it will become 3.5 mm - no big deal, really. In the vast majority of cases, the incision is torn radially, but there was one example at the very beginning of the history of corrections, when a tear of 1.5 mm occurred towards the center.

From a zone of 7.8 mm to a zone of 6.8 mm, the patient received a halo effect in deep darkness. The solution is simple - you need to hold the eye with tweezers with your other hand, since then this has been included in the mandatory SMILE protocol. One of the serious (but, fortunately, reversible) cases is keratitis.

This is an inflammation of the cornea, most often as a result of an infection. Its three stages - in the second, usually cortisone and treatment at the discretion of the doctor, and in the third, rinsing the pocket is mandatory (there is a risk of irreversible scarring). Therefore, after the operation, you are observed the next day and several more times.

Everything else, as a rule, goes away within a week or two after surgery, and is associated with the body’s reaction to mechanical damage tissues, or characteristics of medications. Yes, you may cry for a couple of hours, yes, it may sting, yes, in some people the painkiller then causes a wild desire to touch the eyes (which you should not do). And yes, for the first couple of days it is better for you not to appear at the beauty contest and take portraits for the dating site. Then everything will be fine.

Daily Life Forecast

The disease interferes with Everyday life, in activities requiring good vision both from afar and up close. The difficulties depend on the extent of the vision defect and how it can be effectively corrected.

Absence or ineffective correction can lead to diseases such as chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva, eyelid margins or constant headaches, increased fatigue when working on a computer.

Children sometimes develop a reluctance to learn, and adults experience blurred vision and increased fatigue when driving a car, which is why they cannot see the lights of other cars. Therefore, contact lenses and corrective glasses for this eye defect must be precisely selected.

Vision can be corrected with glasses with cylindrical glasses or soft toric lenses, but if the surface of the cornea is destroyed to a significant extent (for example, due to scars, diseases) or the astigmatism is large, then with an optical disc.

If the vision defect is corneal, eye astigmatism can be treated with laser correction. If the origin of the defect is related to the lens, for example, it arose as a result of cataracts, then the problem disappears after surgery to remove the underlying disease.

Using Alternative Methods

In the case of cataracts, surgery involves replacing the clouded natural lens with an artificial one. With slight astigmatism (up to 1 diopter), glasses are generally worn only for studying, driving a car, or working on a computer.

And almost every person experiences so-called physiological astigmatism: about 0.5 diopters, because the correct cornea is destroyed more vertically than horizontally.

Tips for patients

You need to find out who is a real professional in this field. To do this, you should chat with people on forums on the Internet. You should also consult with an ophthalmologist or ophthalmologist. Please note that surgery to restore vision will not be cheap.

Once you have an appointment with a specialist, do not be afraid to ask him all the questions that interest you. Examination before surgery makes it possible to identify those people for whom this operation is unlikely to significantly help. The specialist must conduct a thorough examination of the eyeball.

The doctor measures the size of the pupil in the dark, determines the thickness of the cornea, as well as its topography, and carefully examines the fundus of the eye (there may be a retinal detachment or rupture). Be sure to inform your ophthalmologist about all, even minor, diseases.

For competent doctors, the rate of surgical complications does not reach even one percent. All major clinics monitor and provide assistance after surgery, right up to correction after surgery (if necessary).