Though it is the most prevalent of laser eye surgeries, LASIK has its share of complications. The post-operative complication rate is estimated from 3% to 6%. LASIK eye surgery involves cutting a flap of the corneal tissue with a hinge being left at one end of the flap. The flap is then folded back to reveal the stroma, the middle section of the cornea. After reshaping the corneal tissue with the aid of a high precision laser, typically the excimer laser, the flap is repositioned so as to remain in place by natural adhesion until it heals completely.

The LASIK procedure entails certain flap complications. Among the post-operative flap complications, a slipped flap is one of the most common. The corneal flap created during the operation may inadvertently detach from the rest of the cornea. It is imperative that the patient goes home and sleeps after surgery so as to let the flap heal, since the chances of flap dislocation are the greatest immediately after the surgery.

Other types of flap complications include folds in flaps and undesired epithelial in-growth. Post-operative folds in flap typically necessitate repositioning of the flap. Flap related problems are relatively common when it comes to LASIK complications. But they rarely lead to a permanent visual acuity loss. Moreover, the occurrence of flap complications decreases with increased surgeon experience. An expert LASIK surgeon, wielding superlative equipment, is far less likely to commit an error during the surgery.

Since LASIK entails the removal of a part of the corneal tissue, the cornea becomes thinner as a result of the procedure. Myopic shifts at extreme altitudes have been attributable to this thinning of the corneal surface. LASIK technology has advanced in leaps and bounds, with much advanced and risk free procedures available today. Owing to this, the chances of flap complications are rather minuscule. Moreover, there isn't a large body of conclusive evidence so as to assert the chances of any long-term flap complications due to LASIK.

In summary, LASIK is a viable and safe procedure when it comes to correcting a variety of refractive errors. Furthermore, whatever small flap complications may arise can be rectified with ease.

Finding a LASIK surgery that you are confident about will be able to give you more information about the risks of laser eye surgery.

LASIK, one of the biggest breakthroughs in eye surgery, is a surgical procedure that uses non-thermal technology to change the shape of the cornea in order to improve vision. LASIK, which is actually an acronym for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis (though few people ever know about it), meaning "reshape the cornea with laser."

There are other kinds of refractive surgical procedures, but LASIK is the most advanced. Although LASIK and PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) use the same type of laser, their procedures are different with the way the stroma, the middle layer of the cornea is exposed. In PRK, the top layer of the cornea is scraped to espose the stromal layer while in LASIK, only a flap is cut in the layer and then folded back.

LASIK involves a two-step procedure. The first step involves the creation of a micro-thin flap of corneal tissue with the use of a disposable blade through microkeratome or with a laser, through IntraLase. Throughout the procedure, a small area of the eye is left untouched at one end to keep it attached to the eye. The second step involves the folding back of the flap and using an excimer laser to treat the corneal tissue. The excimer laser corrects myopia by flattening the cornea, hyperopia by steepening the cornea and astigmatism by making the cornea more symmetrical.

In addition, LASIK also corrects presbyopia, which is a condition that often occurs with old age. Presbyopia is the inability of the eye to see things clearly or to focus sharply on nearby objects. LASIK, however, can only correct one eye for clear distance vision and the other eye for clear near vision. This is called monovision.

The Excimer laser, which is the secret behind the procedure was actually originally developed by IBM for computer chips. The technology makes use of a cool beam of ultraviolet light, meaning that most of the heat generated dissipates quickly. This cooling property makes Excimer laser very ideal for eye surgery because it can vaporize corneal tissue without damaging the eye tissue through heat.

And because it is originally developed with computers in mind, the laser is extremely precise, with an accuracy of 0.25 microns. That is less than one one-thousandth of a millimeter. For most procedures, one need only to remove or correct 50 microns of thickness, which is as thick as a single human hair.

Aside from it being a safe procedure, LASIK also allows for rapid visual recovery and little post-operative discomfort unlike other kinds of surgery. There is also less chance for corneal haze and scarring as well as fluctuations of vision.

As "perfect" as the procedure may seem, LASIK, like any other surgeries, can still result in complications and may involve several risks.

Some temporary conditions that could occur are:

1. Dry eyes 2. Sensitivity to bright lights
3. Glare or streaks around bright lights

The following conditions are also possible, but very rare:

1. Under-corrections and over-corrections that require an enhancement, which has about 10 percent risk

2. Wrinkling of the corneal flap that requires repositioning of the flap, which is really infrequent

3. Permanently blurred vision that may not be corrected by eyeglasses, contact lenses or any other enhancements; and infection of the cornea that leads to the scarring and permanently blurred vision.

Knowing these conditions can happen, it is important that before a person decides to undergo the procedure, he or she consults with specialists. Doctors also provide surgical consent that patients must sign before undergoing any procedure.

Shannon Brown is the editor of EasyLasik.com. This site caters to Lasik enthusiasts. You can visit the site at: http://www.EasyLasik.com

The LASIK procedure

Every patient goes through a full series of eye tests and examinations before consulting with the surgeon to talk about and plan the specifics of personal visual correction.

For the laser surgery itself, you sit comfortably in a professional chair which is tilt back to a horizontal position. Experience with current anesthetics and analgesics mean that no injections are needed. The eye is anaesthetized with drops, to guarantee a painless experience. The lids are gently held open with a lid support. You look at a flashing red light while the laser uses cold energy pulsed to accurately vaporize microscopic layers of tissue to correct the focus. The actual laser surgery time ranges from 10 to 90 seconds in the majority of cases. You will be in the surgery suite for about 15 minutes.

LASIK and long term effects

There is a 9 year follow-up of patients undergoing laser vision correction surgery, and it is very stable. The behavior of an eye that has had LASIK parallels the behavior of a normal eye that has not had LASIK surgery. LASIK has been performed since 1991, and based on what we have learned from doing eye surgery over time, we know that if an eye is stable in its vision after 2 years, then it should remain stable at 20 years and more. The eye behaves in a predictable manner. If a visual result from laser vision correction surgery is stable after 9 years, it should remain stable over a lifetime.

Risks and side effects of LASIK

LASIK adds a controlled lamellar keratectomy to the refractive laser ablation. The laser power treatment is thus performed under the surface of the cornea with some change in risks and benefits of the procedure. The potential risks of LASIK include:

Creating a cap of corneal tissue and not a flap: by fully removing the top of the cornea instead of just lifting it. The removed tissue still heals back into place but require extra care in positioning.

There can be loss or damage of the corneal cap.

Infection can occur; very rare and usually controlled with medications.

Induced regular or irregular astigmatism.

Epithelial tissue growth underneath the new corneal flap. It can usually be solved by lifting the flap and gently removing these tissue cells.

Increased or decreased response to surgery: Surgery can usually be enhanced or modified by lifting the cap to remove more tissue with the laser. Sometimes other types of surgery can be joint with LASIK to get better results.

Side effects are generally minimal with LASIK surgery since most of the surface of the cornea has not been affected by the surgery. But still, people who have the surgery may experience some light sensitivity and glare for a few days or weeks afterwards. Full visual stabilization may take several weeks.