What Are the Risks and Side Effects of LASIK?

This is one of the most important LASIK questions because elective surgery should never be presented as risk-free. Patients deserve an adult conversation: most do well, but side effects can affect quality of life, especially driving at night, screen use, and comfort.

The cornea contains nerves and contributes to focusing light. LASIK creates a flap and reshapes the cornea, which can temporarily disrupt corneal nerves and the tear reflex. Optical symptoms can occur if healing, pupil size, higher-order aberrations, residual prescription, or dry eye affects the quality of the tear film and corneal surface.

Dry eye is common after LASIK because corneal nerves involved in tear feedback are affected during surgery. Symptoms can include burning, gritty feeling, intermittent blur, redness, light sensitivity, and contact lens intolerance. Treatment may include artificial tears, prescription dry eye drops, punctal plugs, lid treatment, and time.

Night-vision symptoms include glare, halos, starbursts, ghosting, and reduced contrast in dim light. These may be temporary, but they are more concerning in patients with large pupils, high prescriptions, residual refractive error, dry eye, or preexisting optical irregularities.

Refractive outcomes can include undercorrection, overcorrection, regression, or residual astigmatism. An enhancement may be possible, but only if the eye is stable and enough corneal tissue remains. Rare complications include infection, diffuse lamellar keratitis, epithelial ingrowth, flap displacement, irregular astigmatism, and ectasia. Ectasia is a weakening and bulging of the cornea and is one reason topography and tomography are so important before surgery.

After LASIK, increasing pain, worsening redness, decreasing vision, significant light sensitivity, discharge, trauma, or a sensation that the flap moved requires urgent eye care. Before LASIK, severe dry eye, suspicious corneal mapping, keratoconus, glaucoma, cataract, uveitis, or unstable refraction may make surgery unsafe.

Risk assessment includes refraction, corneal shape analysis, pachymetry, epithelial mapping when available, tear testing, lid evaluation, pupil assessment, slit-lamp exam, intraocular pressure, medication review, and discussion of occupational needs such as night driving, aviation, military, law enforcement, surgery, and photography.

Management depends on the problem. Dry eye is treated medically. Residual prescription may be managed with glasses, contacts, or enhancement if safe. Inflammation or infection requires urgent treatment. Ectasia may require corneal cross-linking or specialty contact lenses. Prevention through screening is better than rescue.

Do not minimize symptoms to 'get approved.' Do not proceed if you do not understand dry eye, halos, regression, enhancement limits, and rare vision-threatening complications. Do not ignore postoperative instructions or skip follow-up.

Patients in Hanover, York, Adams County, South Central Pennsylvania, northern Maryland, and nearby Virginia should call May Eye Care Center when glasses or contact lenses are interfering with work, driving, sports, photography, surgery, outdoor activities, or quality of life. LASIK is elective, so the decision should be careful, measured, and based on a complete medical eye examination—not an advertisement or a discount offer. May Eye Care Center aims to be the MECCA of Eye Care: a trusted regional destination patients return to regularly for eye exams, surgical guidance, and straight answers about whether LASIK or another option truly fits their eyes.

The real LASIK risk conversation is not meant to scare patients; it is meant to protect them. Good outcomes begin with honest screening and realistic expectations.