Symptoms after getting your vision correction surgery are very common and are usually a good sign. It means your body and eyes are healing. In some cases, the healing time can take up to six months but depending on the type of procedure you get it can also be just a few days of real side effects or symptoms and then just gradual healing for a few months.
It is important for the patient to know which type of symptoms could occur after laser vision surgery so that patients do not get scared or anxious when they do occur. One thing that should be noted is that only about 1 in10,000 people have complications from vision correction surgery, and usually these are minor complications and easily treatable. That is 0.01% of the cases!
Dry or itchy eyes
It is very common to experience dry and itchy eyes after surgery. The reason why you may experience dry eyes after LASIK for example are: The procedure alters or cuts the nerves in the cornea when your doctor creates the flap to correct your vision. This makes your eyes less sensitive, and they may not produce enough moisturizing tears while you heal. Dry eye usually last up to six months. If the dry eye is very severe make sure you follow up with your ophthalmologist.
Light sensitivity or glare
Some people may also experience light sensitivity or glare. This can last for a few days or weeks after the procedure. Light sensitivity means you may feel some discomfort at night when looking at lights or you could experience double vision or a halo effect around lights. It’s important to note that not every patient has glare as a side effect, but when they do, it’s usually comparable to what they’ve experienced with contact lenses. Luckily there is a procedure that can minimize this side effect. Wavefront-guided procedure (also known as Custom LASIK) actually decreases the chance of developing long-term glare symptoms. According to FDA trials, after a custom LASIK procedure, patients are more likely to report improvement rather than worsening of their night vision.
Focus
It is normal for your vision to go in and out of focus, especially during the first few weeks after your surgery. Although visual recovery is slower for some patients, vision should stabilize substantially by the second week after the procedure. Patients who were nearsighted before surgery tend to see their vision stabilize more quickly than those who were farsighted.
Blurred vision
It is very common to have blurred vision right after laser eye surgery but this usually only lasts for a few hours to days. It happens because the cornea after laser eye surgery is swollen, which gives you blurred vision. Patients might feel some anxiety but it is very normal and should be expected. The time of blurriness will depend on the type of procedure. Blurriness due to LASEK might last a bit longer than blurriness due to SMILE.
Other
In some cases you may experience symptoms due to Doctor inexperience or error. These include:
– Under or Overcorrection: If the surgeon removes too much corneal tissue (overcorrection) or too little (under correction), you may not achieve clear vision. Under corrections can often be resolved with another LASIK procedure, however, overcorrections are more difficult to treat. This is why it is very important to choose the right clinic with experienced and professional doctors.
– Uneven tissue removal: Uneven tissue removal during LASIK can cause astigmatism, a misshapen cornea that results in blurry vision. Treating astigmatism may require glasses, contacts, or additional surgery.
Now that we know some of the side effects, let’s see what we can do to minimize them.
Reducing your risks
One of the most important and most effective ways you can go about reducing and minimizing your risks to side effects caused due to laser vision correction surgery is to do your research. By doing your own research you have the power to make sure the clinic you are using is reliable and has trustworthy results. You can make sure the doctors at the clinic are certified and have a good track record. You can also look at the reviews online by doing a simple google search. Another way to verify the quality of the clinic is to book a consultation and take a tour of the clinic and request to meet the doctors.
For a consultation at B&VIIT please contact us at https://english.bnviit.com/