How Many Times Can LASIK Be Repeated?

LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis) eye surgery is used to reduce nearsightedness and farsightedness in patients by permanently changing the shape of the cornea. The cornea is the delicate tissue covering the eye, which can be cut only so many times. While success of the LASIK procedure is very high for first-time surgeries, a small percentage of people will experience adverse side effects after three months of healing.

After the First Surgery

• The main complaint patients have after undergoing a LASIK procedure is farsightedness, the result of under- or over-correcting. All people have different peculiarities to their eyes. Your eye surgeon will determine if the surgery, given the current condition of your eye and the amount of cornea tissue available, would be beneficial to you. All patients lose clarity of things close up around the age of 40. This does not make you a candidate for repeat surgery, as this is a normal process of aging that LASIK cannot remedy.

After the Second Surgery

• A small piece of your cornea is removed every time the LASIK procedure is performed. LASIK could, theoretically, be repeated over and over as long as your corneas are not too thin; however, the risks greatly increase after the second operation to correct the problem. LASIK is associated with the following possible risks: eye loss, loss of cornea, infection, under-correction and over-correction, halos and glares, displaced corneal flap and vision regression. While infections to the eye can heal themselves repeatedly, subjecting the eye to multiple bouts of cornea loss can be much more problematic. Ophthalmologists sometimes will follow up LASIK treatments with other refractive procedures to correct existing problems, based on the specifics of a patient's eyes.