Before you decide to undergo laser eye surgery it is important that you fully research all the laser eye surgery risks to ensure you are fully informed as to what could go potentially wrong. Having said this, laser eye surgery is generally considered to be an extremely safe procedure with most surgeons reporting a complication rate of only around 1 in 1000 procedures.

Of these complications the vast majority can be easily treated by your surgeon to ensure no long lasting visual problems. People often want to know what the chances are that the procedure could blind you and the best answer to give is that to date laser eye surgery has never resulted in anyone going blind. You can read more about this at the following article: Can laser eye surgery make you blind?

Generally speaking most of the problems associated with laser eye surgery tend to be mild and non-vision threatening. However there can be dissatisfaction following the procedure if these potential problems were not fully explained prior to undergoing the treatment. The most common examples of these problems are as follows:

Struggling to read after surgery: If you are currently short sighted (e.g. minus prescription) you will be able to read things close to you when you have your glasses or contact lenses out. If you are over the age of 45 years old and decide to have laser eye surgery to correct this short sightedness, following the procedure you will have perfect distance vision but you will now need glasses for close vision tasks for the first time in your life. This will mean that you will have to use reading glasses for the first time in your life for checking texts, using the computer etc. If this has not been fully explained to you prior to surgery it can lead to you being unhappy with your vision. This natural loss of reading vision with age is called presbyopia and is something you should read up on. There are now laser eye surgery procedures that can correct both your distance and reading vision and they are monovision laser eye surgery, laser blended vision and Kamra vision Inlays. If you are over the age of 40 years old you should discuss these possible treatments during a laser consultation.

Dry eyes following surgery: Most people will experience dry eyes following laser eye surgery which can be a bit annoying especially if you work in a dry, air conditioned environment. This will generally improve over the 6 months following surgery and you will be prescribed eye drops that will help. You can read more about this at the following link: Laser eye surgery and dry eyes.

Night vision problems: A common problem following laser eye surgery is night glare which is particularly noticeable when driving at night. The chances of getting night vision problems are significantly reduced if you have wavefront laser eye surgery but it is something which could still occur. As with dry eyes this does generally improve over time and you can read more about it at the following helpful link: Laser eye surgery and night vision problems.

Under/Over correction: This is quite common and simply means that your prescription has not been perfectly corrected. For example if your prescription was -5.00 before surgery and then after laser eye surgery it had been reduced to  -0.75 then you have been under corrected and consequently your vision will not be perfect. As frustrating as this may be, the chances are you will be able to have a laser re-enhancement once your eyes have fully healed. During your initial consultation your surgeon will generally ensure that your cornea is thick enough to perform a top up procedure should you end up being under or over corrected. Most clinics perform laser re-treatments for free, although this is something you will need to check with them prior to surgery.

In summary, laser eye surgery can go wrong but for the vast majority of people the procedure is both safe and successful, leaving you with perfect vision. Laser eye surgery is now safer than ever before with blade-free advancements such as Intralase.

If you are still not convinced you may find the following article helpful: Is laser eye surgery safe?

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• Diabetic retinopathy: This is damage to the blood vessels of the retina which is particularly common in type 1 diabetics. Diabetic retinopathy is often treated by laser although this is different to what is used in laser eye surgery.
• Wet macular degeneration: A laser can be used in certain instances of wet macular degeneration.
• Post cataract surgery: A laser is sometimes needed if the cataract grows back.

All of the above examples of laser treatment are different to the type of laser that is used to treat people who are long sighted, short sighted or who have astigmatism. The NHS state that they will carry out laser treatment on people who ”if they did not have treatment could end up with loss of vision.” Carrying out laser eye surgery on people who have a visual prescription is not deemed essential as these people have alternatives such as glasses and contact lenses which will enable them to see clearly.

So if you are reading this wearing glasses or contact lenses wondering if the NHS would perform laser eye surgery on you to free you of your glasses or contact lenses then the answer is no.

If you are thinking about having laser eye surgery make sure you fully research the laser eye surgery risks before you go ahead with the treatment. You can compare laser eye surgery cost at TreatmentSaver.com to ensure you are getting the best deal.

Laser eye surgery risks are now at an all-time low and laser eye surgery results are more impressive than ever. The procedure which gives the best combination of safety and results is Intralase Lasik with Wavefront. It also has the quickest recovery period following surgery, with most people returning to work within 48 hours.

The advantage of Intralase is that a laser is used to create the flap that is required during the procedure and this means the flap is thinner and more precise. This has the advantage of having fewer complications, better night vision, lower chance of needing a laser re-enhancement and a quicker recovery time. Although standard Lasik which uses a surgical blade to create the flap works fine for most people, Intralase is considered the gold standard treatment.

Wavefront produces a more accurate visual correction meaning you have a greater chance of achieving 20:20 vision.  For this reason it is becoming increasingly popular and along with Intralase is regarded as the gold standard in laser vision correction.

To read more about laser eye surgery please visit TreatmentSaver.com

Laser eye surgery can also treat presbyopia which describes the natural deterioration of your reading vision with age. This typically occurs in your mid-forties and up until recently was not treatable by laser eye surgery. The 3 methods for treating presbyopia are monovision laser eye surgery, Laser blended vision and CK treatment.

Laser eye surgery cannot however treat a lazy eye and you are unlikely to be suitable for surgery if you have this condition. Laser eye surgery can give you the vision that you can currently achieve with your glasses on but no better than this. Put another way, if you can only read the very biggest letter on the eye test chart with your glasses on, then this is the best you can expect to see after laser eye surgery. You can read more about this by reading the following guide: Laser eye surgery for lazy eyes.

To read more about laser eye surgery you can visit TreatmentSaver.com

• Although the theory behind the use of lasers in refractive surgery had been around for years, the first laser eye surgery (PRK) was performed in Germany in 1988.
• The first USA FDA trial of Lasik began in 1989.
• In 1998 the FDA (food and drug administration) approved the use of Lasik for correcting long sightedness, short sightedness and astigmatism.
• Since Lasik began, the laser technology has improved dramatically. Today’s lasers are quicker and more precise giving a safer and more accurate visual correction.
• Recent developments in laser eye surgery include both Intralase and wavefront laser eye surgery. Both these developments result in an improvement in both the safety and accuracy of the procedure. This means that there are fewer laser eye surgery risks but these premium treatments do increase the cost of laser eye surgery.

To read more about laser eye surgery please visit TreatmentSaver.com

How exactly does laser eye surgery help?

• Laser eye surgery aims to reshape your cornea, which is the outer surface of your eye. By reshaping the cornea the prescription in your glasses/contact lenses can be eliminated. If you are short sighted the curvature of your cornea is reduced to make it less powerful, whereas if you are long sighted the opposite is true. The aim of laser eye surgery is to ensure that the light entering your eye is focused directly onto your retina which is what is required for perfect vision.
• Although there are no guarantees, the vast majority of people will have a permanent correction of their vision for life. You can read more about this in the following helpful guide:  is laser eye surgery permanent?
• Laser eye surgery can now help people who need glasses for reading as well as distance vision. In the past laser eye surgery was only really effective at treating distance vision problems but there are now newer techniques that can also treat reading vision. The most common methods used to treat reading vision are as follows: laser blended vision, CK treatment and Monovision laser eye surgery.
• Although there are laser eye surgery risks, the complication rate is now lower than it ever has been. Most surgeons have a complication rate of less than 1 in 1000 procedures and most of these problems can be rectified by your surgeon. You can read more about this in the following guide: Is laser eye surgery dangerous?

In summary laser eye surgery helps by changing the shape of the surface of your eye to eliminate the prescription in your glasses or contact lenses. Although there are no guarantees as to the effectiveness of the procedure, most people will end up with 20:20 vision or better.

Visit TreatmentSaver to find out more about laser eye surgery

Why is our vision blurred in the first place?

• In order to see perfectly the light entering our eye must be focused precisely onto the retina at the back of our eye. If the light is focused either in front or behind the retina our vision will be blurred.
• If the light is focused in front of the retina you are short sighted. The further in front of the retina the light is focussed the more short sighted you are.
• If the light is focused behind the retina you are long sighted. The further behind the retina the light is focused the more long sighted you are.
• Astigmatism describes a prescription where half of the light entering your eye is focused at one point and the other half is focused at another point.

How does laser eye surgery correct this blurred vision?

• The aim of laser eye surgery is to refocus the light that is entering your eye so that it is focused exactly onto your retina. The laser reshapes your cornea which alters the power of your eye.
• If you are short sighted the laser changes the shape of your cornea to reduce its power.
• If you are long sighted the laser changes the shape of your cornea to increase its power.
• If you have astigmatism the laser aims to increase the power of your eye in one direction and decrease it in the other direction.

Although there are no guarantees that the laser vision correction will last forever, in the vast majority of people this is the case. You can read the following blog post to learn more about whether or not laser eye surgery is permanent:  is laser eye surgery permanent? In summary, laser eye surgery is now considered to be extremely effective at correcting vision even for those people who have very high prescriptions.

To read more about laser eye surgery you can visit TreatmentSaver.com

Unfortunately as with any types of surgery there is never any absolute guarantee as to the safety of procedure and if any surgeon tells you that this is the case then they are simply not telling you the truth. 

As to whether or not laser eye surgery is dangerous, this really does depend on how you define this term. To date around 5 million laser eye surgery procedures have been carried out worldwide with no cases of blindness reported. There are inevitably some laser eye surgery risks but these are generally relatively minor causing very few problems. The more serious complications may require surgical intervention but most can be treated by a competent surgeon. Most surgeons have a complication rate of around 1 in 1000 procedures but rarely do these cause any loss of vision. It is estimated that only around 1 in 20,000 procedures result in a complication that cannot be treated by your surgeon. These may result in some loss of vision but it is not going to result in blindness.

In summary, laser eye surgery is considered to be an extremely safe procedure and this is the reason that around 100,000 people in the UK each year undergo the procedure. As the lasers improve and the technology advances, laser eye surgery is set to become safer and safer. The results of laser eye surgery are also continually improving with nearly 100% of recipients achieving the driving standard of vision or better following the procedure. Providing you attend all your laser eye surgery aftercares and follow the instructions given to you by your surgeon, you are likely to have a safe and effective laser eye surgery procedure.

Another article on this topic that may interest you is as follows: Is laser eye surgery safe?

To find out more about laser eye surgery you can visit TreatmentSaver

Although the figures will vary between clinics, it is generally agreed that around 5% of people having laser eye surgery will need a re-treatment. This re-enhancement is generally carried out free of charge from the clinic that originally did your treatment, although this is something you will need to check. Although not everyone is suitable for a laser re-treatment, most people will be as the surgeon generally takes this into account when carrying out your initial assessment.

The following explains the factors that will increase the likelihood that you will not a re-treatment:

• High prescriptions: The higher your prescription the greater the chance of needing a re-treatment.
• Long sighted prescriptions: Long sighted prescriptions (e.g. +3.00) are more likely to regress and need re-treating than short sighted prescriptions.
• High astigmatism: The higher your astigmatism the greater the chance of needing a re-treatment.

What is important to mention here is that although there is a 5% chance that your prescription will regress, it is generally only to a fraction of what your prescription was originally. For example, someone whose prescription was originally -5.00 Dioptres may find their prescription regresses to -0.50 Dioptres.

In summary, although there is no guarantee that laser eye surgery is permanent, the vast majority of people will find that their treatment lasts forever. If your prescription does regress the chances are that you will be suitable to have a re-treatment at no cost to you. If you are extremely unlucky and you are not suitable for a re-treatment, the likelihood is that your prescription will only have returned to a fraction of what it was prior to surgery and you therefore may only need glasses in certain situations.

To find out more about laser eye surgery visit TreatmentSaver.com

The following lists the key statistics that you need to know about laser eye surgery risks:

• The chance of going blind from laser eye surgery is about 1 in 5 million. To date there have be no reported cases of blindness from laser eye surgery and this is taking into account the fact that 30 million procedures have been carried out worldwide.
• Most surgeons have a complication rate of around 1 in 1000 treatments and 99.9% of these complications are treatable by the surgeon.
• It is estimated that around 1 in 25,000 procedures result in a complication that cannot be treated by the surgeon although this is not a complication that is going to blind you.

In order to minimise the chance of anything going wrong during laser eye surgery you should adhere to the following bits of advice:

• Check the complication rates of the surgeon who is carrying out your procedure. You should expect this to be no higher than 1 in 1000 treatments.
• Ensure you follow all the laser eye surgery aftercare instructions that are given to you as non-compliance will increase your chances of having problems.
• You should seek immediate attention from your surgeon should you be in anyway worried about your vision or if you have any unexpected symptoms.
• You should avoid sport and strenuous activity for a period of time following surgery. Your surgeon will give you advice on this.

In summary, although there is the possibility of laser eye surgery going wrong, the chance of a serious complication is very small. Providing you stick to the instructions given to you by your surgeon then you are unlikely to have any problems at all. Just remember each year that around 100,000 people have laser eye surgery in the UK and the vast majority end up with 20:20 vision with no problems whatsoever.

You may also find the following article of interest: Is laser eye surgery safe?

To find out more about laser eye surgery visit Treatmentsaver.com