The iris may become lighter due to iris depigmentation. Some medications of certain varieties can cause iris hyperpigmentation, which darkens the iris. LASIK will not turn brown eyes blue. A sudden change in iris colour should be seen by an ophthalmologist immediately.
It is not affected by laser vision correction in any way. Your eyes may appear to be more open and clear, as some people with a refractive error can narrow their eyelids together (often called 'squinting') to improve the clarity of vision through a pin-hole effect.
The optical reason why nearsighted glasses minify and farsighted glasses magnify is that the lenses of the glasses sit off the plane of the eye. By contrast, both LASIK and contact lenses sit directly on the eye and therefore do not alter image size at all.
LASIK's Most Common After-Effects
In the two to three hours immediately after surgery, your vision will be blurry. Although your eyesight will greatly improve within 24 hours, you may still experience intermittent blurriness and fluctuations in your vision for some time as your eyes adjust to the reshaped cornea.
Your eyes can change, but they will never go back to being as bad as they were prior to LASIK. PARKHURST: We think some of the basis for this myth is the reality of presbyopia – LASIK doesn't prevent it, but it happens to most everyone. Presbyopia typically begins somewhere around the age of 40.
There is a myth that LASIK, after 10 years, wears off. But, LASIK is permanent. LASIK permanently corrects the vision prescription that you have at the time of surgery. This means that it cannot wear off.
The outer edges of the flap seal down in the epithelium within a day or so. Then, the deeper layers of the cornea continue to gradually anchor more tightly to the overlying flap. Full LASIK eye flap healing time usually takes a few weeks to a few months.
Once the full healing process after Eye LASIK surgery has been completed, your optimum visual acuity will be reached. After 3 to 6 months your eyesight will have reached its optimum benefit from the surgery. In many cases 20/20 vision is achieved, but some patients find they need reading glasses for close work.
Eye protection is especially important at this time, as the flap created in your cornea during surgery is now re-attaching as part of the body's natural healing process. Rubbing or touching the eyes at this time could cause the flap to become dislodged, interrupting the healing process.
During the LASIK procedure, the corneal tissues are altered, and there is a permanent change in the shape of the eye—which can lead to light sensitivity during the healing process.
Fewer blinks and partial blinking can lead to dry eyes, eye fatigue, and a condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome. Right after LASIK, your eyes are healing and these computer related effects can lead to complications from your surgery.
Many people wonder if LASIK eye surgery can be used to permanently change eye color. The answer is, quite simply, no; LASIK does not alter the color of the eye.
Generally speaking, most LASIK eye surgeons agree on 25-40 as the ideal age range for LASIK eye surgery candidacy for a few reasons. By the age of 25, eyeglasses and contact lens prescriptions have most likely stabilized. A stable prescription is one of the hallmarks of a good LASIK candidate.
For most patients, the results of LASIK will last a lifetime. About 10-12% of patients nationwide will need an enhancement surgery because of anatomical changes to the eye/eyes.
You have a thin or irregular cornea
If you have a predisposition to corneal shape irregularity, this can be made worse by laser eye surgery, and a condition called corneal ectasia may develop. This occurs infrequently and can often be treated successfully without the need for a corneal transplant.
Unlike glasses and contact lenses, Laser Eye Surgery addresses and treats vision impairment at the source. The changes achieved through Laser Eye Surgery are permanent and can often lead to better visual acuity than other options.
So how long should you avoid rubbing your eyes after LASIK? As a general rule, you should completely avoid rubbing the eyes for the first two weeks post-op. After this time, it is okay to gently rub your eyes, although it is always best to avoid eye rubbing if possible whether you have had LASIK or not.
Generally speaking, there isn't a limit to how many times you can get LASIK surgery during your lifetime, but that doesn't mean that you're a good candidate for an enhancement. The main driving factor in whether or not you can continue to get LASIK is how thick your cornea is.
How should I sleep after LASIK? Generally speaking, lying face up or on the side that wasn't operated on allows you to rest or sleep. It would help if you slept raised on pillows after some surgeries to reduce swelling. You should typically put a plastic shield over your eye to relieve pressure.
Most patients see clearly within 24 hours after vision correction surgery, but others take two to five days to recover. Some patients may experience some blurred vision and fluctuations in their vision for several weeks after LASIK.
The best thing you can do is keep your eyes closed for at least 3 hours after LASIK. It's okay if you don't fall asleep. The act of closing your eyes and resting them can make a big difference during the recovery process. When you close your eyes, make sure to wear the eye shields provided.
Wear the plastic shield(s) or goggles every night for the next 5 nights. This prevents you from rubbing your eye(s) while sleeping. For the first two weeks following surgery, wear sunglasses when you are outdoors, even when it is cloudy.
The lack of flap creation in SMILE has some benefits, such as less risk of dry eye or flap complications. However, patients may have a slightly longer trajectory to full visual recovery after SMILE vs. LASIK. Ultimately, both SMILE and LASIK are safe procedures.
Is it possible to have LASIK surgery twice? The short answer is yes, though this is usually only done 5 – 10 years after the initial treatment. However, rest assured that LASIK offers long-term vision correction, and very few people require a second session.