Jimmy Roos

The "Real" Risks Associated with LASIK Surgery

There are certain risks, however small, associatedwith Lasik Laser Eye Surgery and it's best one knowswhat they are and minimise them.

Every surgical procedure poses inherent risks and inthis respect LASIK is no different. It just so happensthat when a patient's body is opened up and differenttools are used that bacteria of some sort can enterthe body. Not only that, the patient may have areaction caused by the medication. There are risks toLASIK surgery too, but they are fewer and far inbetween.

The risks associated with LASIK continue to drop asthe medical establishment perfect the equipment andrefine their processes.  The risks involved in LASIKfurther drop as patients become better informed andtherefore choose the best doctors for their surgery.

Doctors too improved their screening methods toensure that only the right candidates are admitted tohave LASIK surgery. The latest research now shows thatwith the right pre-testing and surgical care in place,the risk of complications occurring in LASIK surgeryis less than 1%.

The risk most common in LASIK surgery is acomplication relating to the flap created by thesurgeon to cover the cornea.  In traditional LASIKsurgery the flap is created when the surgeon cutstissue with a surgical tool called a microkeratome.Since this tool, which is basically a metal blade ishandled by a human being there is the risk of humanerror occurring.

When this type of traditional LASIK is performed therisk is that when the flap is used as the naturalbandage after the surgery it may not be the rightsize. Hence, the complication is an irregular bandagewhich irritates the eye and causes what is called anirregular astigmatism.  This specific LASIK risk isgreatly decreased by a newer "bladeless" LASIKprocedure.

In bladeless LASIK the blade or microkeratome is nolonger used and the risk of complication is hencedecreased. It is replaced by another type of lasercalled IntraLase, which eliminates the potential humanerror.

Ask your doctor as part of your original process howthey deal with a similar situation.

When evaluating these LASIK risks it is recommendedthat you ask you LASIK surgeon how he/she wouldcorrect such problems. Some complications that resultfrom LASIK surgery can be made even worse by over orunder correction. Ask your doctor as part of youroriginal process how they deal with this specificsituation.

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