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LASIK Side Effect: Inconsistent Vision

While the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery reported a worldwide satisfaction rate of 95.4 percent among LASIK eye surgery patients, LASIK treatment is not completely absent of side effects. Inconsistent vision is one side effect of this vision correction procedure.

  1. Identification

    • After eye surgery, the healing process may cause inconsistent vision, which means, for example, that while vision seems improved on the first morning following surgery, the patient can wake up with blurry vision or double vision the following morning. Vision can fluctuate between clear and blurry, improved or worsened.

    Significance

    • Inconsistent vision caused by LASIK eye surgery can be indicative of an eye problem or resulting complication that requires another eye surgery.

    Causes

    • Vision inconsistency after LASIK surgery is caused by the wrinkling or improper adherence of the corneal flap (which the surgeon creates, lifts, works beneath and closes). Excessive pupil dilation just after surgery is also a cause of vision blurriness and inconsistency.

    Duration of Side Effects

    • Occurrence and duration vary by individual. AllAboutVIsion.com's in-depth report on LASIK surgery says that it is not uncommon to experience inconsistent vision for the first few weeks after surgery, but that if vision is still fluctuating after three months, an enhancement surgery is probably necessary.

    Types

    • Other types of vision inconsistency include halos and starbursts--night vision effects that cause extreme glares around light sources that, according to DocShop.com, are a common month-long side effect. Double vision, or "ghosting," is when light objects double or triple in visual layers outlined by a white glow. Blurriness and loss of clarity and contrast are other vision deficiencies.

    Treatment

    • AllAboutVision.com reports that fluctuating vision that still remains after three months may require enhancement surgery. Enhancement surgery is essentially the same as the initial LASIK surgery, but much faster, since the surgeon uses the corneal flap made during the first surgery. Some surgeons will not charge for enhancement surgery.

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