But what are the risks of laser eye treatment?

Though the chances of having a serious vision-threatening complication, or severe eye injury, after laser eye treatment are minimal, treatment is not risk-free and in this brief article we will look at some of the more often seen problems.

Decrease in Best-Corrected Vision: Following laser eye treatment, a few patients discover that the best vision that they can obtain with corrective lenses is not as good as it was prior to the procedure. This can happen because of irregular tissue removal or be produced by corneal haze.

Undercorrection/Overcorrection: Each individual's eye is unique and it is not possible to predict perfectly it will respond to laser eye treatment. As a result, you might find that you continue to require corrective lenses following surgery to obtain good vision. In some instances, a second procedure can be done to improve the result.

Infection and delayed healing: The chance of the cornea becoming infected after laser eye treatment is less than 1 in 1,000. Generally, this means added discomfort and a delay in healing, but showing no lasting effects over a period of four years following surgery.

Regression: In the months following laser eye treatment some patients find that the effects of the procedure are gradually lost. This is similar to an undercorrection, and a re-treatment is often feasible.

Excessive Corneal Haze: Corneal haze can occur as part of the healing process following laser eye treatment. Usually, it has little or no effect on the final vision and will only be detected by an experienced eye doctor with the support of a microscope. In spite of this, there are some cases of excessive haze that interferes with vision which can commonly be cured using further laser eye surgey.

Distorted Flap: Distortion to the cornea can be produced by the irregular healing of the corneal tissue flap, resulting in a decrease of best-corrected vision.

Flap Damage or Loss: Occasionally, the flap of tissue which is supposed to remain hinged to the central cornea becomes detached. If this occurs it can be replaced after the laser treatment, however, damage to, or loss of, the flap remains a risk.

Halo Effect: Noticed in dim light, the halo effect is an optical effect. That part of the periferal cornea that remains untreated creates a second faded image as the pupil enlarges. The halo effect can create problems with driving at night for some patients.

Problems with a Perfect Procedure: Even when everything goes smoothly, the procedure can produce effects that may well cause some dissatisfaction. Older patients need to be aware that they cannot have both good distance vision and good near vision in the same eye without corrective lenses. A few myopic patients rely on their shortsightedness (by taking off their glasses, or by wearing a weaker prescription) so that they can read. Such patients could well need to use glasses when reading after the myopia has been surgically corrected.

Severe dry eye syndrome: The eye may be unable to produce sufficient tears to keep the eye both moist and comfortable because of laser eye treatment. Dry eye does not merely lead to discomfort, but may cause a drop in visual quality as a result of intermittent blurring and other visual symptoms. This problem may be permanent. Intensive eye drop treatment or further surgery could be necessary.

Now at this point you've probably decided that laser eye treatment is just too risky, but let's just put things into perspective.

Though the risks mentioned here are very real risks and do arise on occasion, the chances of coming across any of these problems is very small indeed. Literally thousands of procedures are carried out around the world every day and, in the vast majority of cases, patients are more than happy with the results.

The purpose of this article is not to scare you off, but simply to help you to make a reasoned decision balancing both the pro's and the con's before opting for laser eye treatment.