One of the most common reasons that puts people off having laser eye surgery are the worry of the so called ‘long term risks’ or ‘long term effects’ of laser eye surgery. If you ask someone exactly what they mean by that you are likely to get the following responses:
- Laser eye surgery has not been around long enough for it to be certain that it is safe.
- We don’t know what the long term effects are on the eyes, as people have not been having the surgery for long enough.
- Laser eye surgery has only been around for a few years so I am waiting for the technology to get better.
- Laser eye surgery only lasts a few years and most people have to have it done again.
Generally speaking people have probably heard someone else questioning the long term effects of laser eye surgery without them ever asking a professional such as a surgeon or Optometrist. It’s one of those things about laser eye surgery that just seems to ‘stick’ and people keep repeating it, without ever actually being certain if it is true. Below is a list of answers to the questions from above:
- How long has laser eye surgery been around: Laser eye surgery has been around a lot longer than most people think, with the first procedure carried out over 25 years ago. If ever you ask someone how long they think laser eye surgery has been carried out for, their typical response is about 5-10 years. In the early days of laser vision correction there were lots of complications, recovery times were long and the vision often reverted back to what it was prior to the surgery after only a few years.
- Long term effects on people’s eyes: People have been having laser eye surgery for about 25 years, which you would think could be considered as long term. As of yet, there have been no long term effects of laser eye surgery as people have got older. This is especially reassuring as the earlier laser eye surgery techniques were far more invasive and much less refined than today’s procedures.
- Laser technology is still not at its best: You could argue that no technology is ever at its best as improvements are continually being made. Laser eye surgery has however shown considerable improvements over the past 25 years or so and is now considered an extremely safe, accurate and well understood procedure. The laser eye surgery results are at an all time high, whilst the laser eye surgery risks and complications have never been lower. The best laser eye surgery you can have is Intralase lasik with wavefront and this really is cutting edge technology.
- Laser eye surgery only lasts a few years: Again this is one of those things that people hear and repeat without actually really knowing if it is true. For the vast majority of people, laser vision correction lasts for their lifetime – this is backed up by the fact that only around 5% of people need a laser re-treatment. No surgeon would ever guarantee that the surgery will last forever but for the majority of people this is the case. If you want to know more about these issue you can read my previous blog post titled how long does laser eye surgery last.
So I think you can see from this blog post that the so called long term effects of laser eye surgery are somewhat unfounded. Up until now, there have been no reported long term effects of laser eye surgery and the procedure has been around for over 25 years. Yes there are risks involved with laser eye surgery but these typically manifest during the actual surgery or within the first few months following your treatment. Once your eyes have fully healed it is extremely rare that any complications will arise. You can think of the process as similar to that of a healing wound. Once the healing has taken place and the wound has scarred over, complications will not occur later down the line. It’s the same with laser eye surgery – once your eyes have fully healed then that is the end of it.
Hope this blog post has been helpful and please feel free to leave a comment if there is anything you are still unsure of. Alternatively you could always ask a question in our laser eye surgery forum.
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As with other surgery research your surgeon well and make sure you are happy with everything before going ahead. This is not a time to be cutting costs or doing it on credit.
Thank you for this article. I’ve been doing a lot of research into laser eye surgery recently and I have indeed found many instances of the unsubstantiated fears which you mention above. I know it’s been around for awhile but so often all the references and warnings I read refer to it as ‘a relatively new procedure’ with ‘unknown long term effects’. It’s refreshing to read an article that is actually fair and balanced.
Lasik is definitely a less painful procedure and has a quicker recovery period. Most people tend to choose Lasik unless their surgeon has suggested they need to have Lasek for reasons such as having a thin cornea.
Interesting article, thanks!
In reply to the comment about lasek, I had this as contact sport meant lasik wasnt really suitable. Its a bit painful for a couple of days, until the bandage lens comes out but its not that bad!
I also had to have my left eye done again with lasek after 2 years, but this was because I wasnt completely happy with the result. The second ‘enhancement’ made very little difference and to be perfectly honest I think it wasnt worth doing.
All in all I am happy with the results and at a recent visit to an opticians they couldnt even tell that I had had any eye surgery.
I just hope it is permenant and wont start to fade at some point soon, it will be 3 years in 2012 since my initial treatment.
Thanks