Do you understand possible side effects and complications?

While complications that result in a loss of vision are rare, certain side effects, particularly dry eyes and temporary visual disturbances, are fairly common. But these usually resolve after a few weeks or months, and very few people consider them to be a long-term problem.

• Dry eyes. LASIK surgery causes a temporary decrease in tear production. For the first six months or so after your surgery, your eyes may feel unusually dry as they heal. Even after healing, you may experience an increase in dry eye symptoms. Your eye doctor might recommend that you use eye drops during this time. If you experience severe dry eyes, you could opt for another procedure to get special plugs put in your tear ducts to prevent your tears from draining away from the surface of your eyes.
• Glare, halos and double vision. After surgery you may have difficulty seeing at night. You might notice glare, halos around bright lights or double vision. This generally lasts a few days to a few weeks, but it can also become a chronic problem.
• Undercorrections. If the laser removes too little tissue from your eye, you won't get the clearer vision results you were hoping for. Undercorrections are more common for people who are nearsighted. You may need another refractive surgery (called an enhancement) within a year to remove more tissue.
• Overcorrections. It's also possible that the laser will remove too much tissue from your eye. Overcorrections may be more difficult to fix than undercorrections.
• Astigmatism. Astigmatism can be caused by uneven tissue removal. It may require additional surgery, glasses or contact lenses.
• Corneal ectasia. Corneal ectasia is one of the more-serious complications and occurs because of progressive myopia due to steepening of curvature of the cornea.
• Flap problems. Folding back or removing the flap from the front of your eye during surgery can cause complications, including infection and excess tears. The outermost corneal tissue layer (epithelium) may grow abnormally underneath the flap during the healing process.
• Vision loss or changes. Rarely, you may experience loss of vision due to surgical complications. Some people may also not see as sharply or clearly as previously.