While the majority of people who undergo LASIK treatment will not need glasses after surgery, some individuals may still require glasses for optimum vision. LASIK also does not protect against age-related vision changes, so it's likely you may eventually need reading glasses.
The truth is, having LASIK doesn't guarantee you'll never have to wear glasses or contacts again. But chances are, you may not need them for a very long time, depending on how old you are when you have your procedure done.
With success rates that range between 90% and 99%, LASIK is incredibly effective and, for most, it eliminates the need for corrective lenses, at least in the foreseeable future.
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.
These sunglasses should be worn the rest of the day following treatment. After that, sunglasses should be worn while patients are outdoors or around bright sources of light, for at least the first week of LASIK recovery.
In general, most people who have laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) eye surgery achieve 20/20 vision or better, which works well for most activities. But most people still eventually need glasses for driving at night or reading as they get older.
We know that when patients return unhappy with their vision about 10 years after a LASIK procedure, the chief suspects are presbyopia and cataract. So the answer is: “It's almost always the lens, not the LASIK.”
If you develop blurry vision 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years after surgery, your eyes have likely changed with age. Visit your doctor for a comprehensive eye exam to rule out issues like glaucoma and cataracts. If your eyes are healthy, you may have age-related nearsightedness LASIK can't prevent or treat.
LASIK Statistics to Know
Various reported studies report the LASIK percent success rate is at least 96%. The American refractive surgery council reports an even higher 99% of successful Lasik eye surgery.
Recovery can vary from person to person, however most people see 20/20 by the next morning after their LASIK procedure. Although the patient's vision is usually very good, that does not mean that healing is complete. It is common for healing to go on for weeks to months after the procedure.
While the results of LASIK are long-lasting, sometimes your vision can change over time. So, is it possible or even safe to have laser eye surgery more than once? In many cases, yes! Because each patient and their vision is unique, it is best to visit with a trained eye professional before scheduling LASIK twice.
Scarring from a previous eye injury or surgery can impede the surgeon's ability to perform the operation safely. Other eye diseases that affect the cornea or infections must be resolved before you can get LASIK. In some cases, you may find that because of eye diseases or another procedure, you cannot get LASIK.
Putting it into perspective
It's estimated that the chances of going blind as a result of laser eye surgery are around 1 in 5 million.
The ultra-precise lasers used for LASIK surgery can be programmed to reshape the cornea so the front surface of the eye is more symmetrical, thereby eliminating vision problems caused by astigmatism. Most of the time astigmatism can be fully corrected with a single LASIK procedure.
As with other refractive surgeries, it can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and even astigmatism. Due to the coloration of the eye residing in the iris, Lasik surgery does not cause changes. It is possible for the iris color to change but this is most likely the result of other ocular health issues.
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.
PISK is an inflammatory reaction caused by the instruments used during the procedure that can erode the corneal stroma. This condition can occur within days or sometimes even years after the surgery. Symptoms of PISK include severe eye pain, blurry vision, redness, and sensitivity to light.
You can get LASIK more than once. But undergoing more than three LASIK procedures can be harmful to your health and cause severe vision problems. Each time you undergo LASIK, the surgeon removes corneal tissue. If your corneas are too thin after the first procedure, you may not be able to have a second LASIK surgery.
LASIK permanently corrects the vision prescription that you have at the time of surgery. This means that it cannot wear off. However, any underlying conditions such as presbyopia that progress over time can cause changes to your vision, making the original LASIK procedure less effective.
In general, the average age range for getting LASIK is between 20 and 40 years of age. The FDA has approved LASIK eye surgery for those 18 years and older, but most providers will encourage patients to wait until their mid-20s after their prescription has stabilized.
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.
The best recorded vision in humans is 20/10 vision—the ability to see objects clearly from 20 feet when a normal human can only see them at 10 feet.
Could my vision change after Lasik? As we mentioned above, the laser makes permanent changes to the shape of the cornea. This cannot be reversed; however, sometimes vision can continue to change as a person ages. In this case, you may notice changes to your vision over the years even if you've undergone Lasik surgery.
According to Market Scope, a leading market researcher in the field of eye care, has found that LASIK surgeries have dropped more than 50 percent between 2007 and 2015. In less than 10 years, this supposedly revolutionary corrective surgery is beginning to slip, a trend that has continued in the last five years.
Many patients fear blindness after LASIK; however, to date, there have not been any reported cases of blindness stemming from LASIK. On the other hand, there have been injuries reported from contact lenses. LASIK eye surgery uses a very precise excimer laser to thin out or reshape the cornea.