Possible side-effects and complications of the refractive surgery

As is the case for all surgical interventions, complications may arise.
Serious long-term complications are rare though. The most common side-effects that may eventually occur in the period right after the operation are:

1. Sensitivity to light:
Your eyes may be sensitive to light during the healing. Seldom complaints persevere.

2. Stray-light:
In the evening, during a certain period, you may experience halo's, coming from strong sources of light. Very seldom these complaints last.

3. Fluctuation of sight:

- Radial keratotomy: During the initial stabilizing period a fluctuating visual acuity is normal. It disappears gradually and will usually have vanished around the third week.

- Excimer Laser and Holmium Laser: As long as you suffer pain the sight is bad. When the pain has disappeared, this is very fast after Holmium Laser (24h) and relatively fast after Excimer Laser (2-3 days), the sight begins to improve sometimes even the same day.

- After Lasik treatment no pain will follow the treatment and the eye will see well the next day.

4. Under-correction - Overcorrection:
Regression: After the operation you can become myopic again. This process is called regression. When the correction regresses to a too high degree of myopia the operation will be performed again, when your ophthalmic surgeon thinks it necessary. Sometimes the under-correction is deliberate as in this way the advantages of myopia (e.g. reading easily without glasses) are not completely undone. In case a new operation is not wanted, lighter glasses or contact lenses can be worn for certain activities.
Overcorrection results in a normal sight for long distances and may also be touched up, in most of the cases, when necessary.

5. Haze:
After the Excimer Laser surgery the eyesight does sometimes not become perfect till after weeks, because of the corneal haze healing phenomenon. With Lasik treatment recuperation of good eyesight is almost immediate.

6. Infections occur seldom, especially while the UV spectrum of the Excimer laser has a sterilising effect. If an infection will become manifest, an early diagnosis and efficient treatment may prevent serious complications. In case of radial keratotomy, refractive lens surgery and Lasik, infections are rare (less than 1/1.000).

7. Specific problem with Lasik:
With the Lasik technique, in some rare cases, a displacement of the flap or the presence of irregularities (folds or cell invasion) may occur. A minor reintervention, with repositioning of the flap and/or treatment of the folds with eventual curettage of cells, may then become necessary.
(see Lasik)