Laser Eye Surgery Risks Blindness
But it is vital to know and understand the risks.
Laser eye surgery risks blindness. I ve been doing laser eye surgery for 20 years and i ve never seen an infection although they do happen. Most people s biggest fear associated with laser eye surgery is going blind. These problems typically are temporary but rarely can be permanent.
Josef bille the pioneering scientist who invented eye surgery using laser actually an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation at his. But it is possible for blindess to result from an untreated complication of surgery. To those who worry they could go blind from laser eye surgery joel hunter md refractive surgeon hunter vision updated 10 31 18 10 46 am i m always surprised that the most common fear about laser vision correction i hear in clinic is my eyes work now they just need contacts or glasses.
As stated above there have been no reported cases of blindness as a result of undergoing laser eye surgery. Even complications that are not treated and cause permanent damage to the cornea can be remedied by replacing the cornea with donor tissue. More severe complications including significant vision loss are possible but very uncommon.
Most of the time you will have a good outcome if they are dealt with promptly and managed properly. July 27 2018 dry eyes glare halos and starbursts are all possible side effects of lasik surgery. So the risk of infection at laser eye surgery is much less than the risk of infection if you wear contact.
Glaucoma surgery is effective in lowering eye pressure but can be associated with glaucoma surgery complications. The reality is that no patient has ever become blind after undergoing laser eye surgery in australia. Blindness is always listed as a potential side effect of any eye surgery but this would usually only result from serious complications inside the eye e g.
But you can be reassured by the fact that blindness as a result of laser eye surgery has never occurred in australia. In fact laser eye surgery is one of the safest medical procedures carried out. Leading the charge is dr.
But some people may also get long term complications like eye infections vision loss. The most serious that could happen would be an infection. As our expert laser eye surgeon mr glenn carp describes in the short video below there is an incredibly small chance of going blind as a result of laser eye surgery.
Some complications are more difficult to manage than others and may require repeat surgery and or frequent outpatient visits.
