LASIK surgery is a relatively new concept in the treatment of eye problems. It stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and involves carefully cutting and reshaping the cornea in the eye to improve a person’s vision.

Initially the treatment was quite primitive, but the modern day LASIK machine offers a range of eye treatments by making use of a variety of technological developments, such as wave front technology and blade-free LASIK therapy.

The right technology depends on the type of treatment the patient requires.

However, is it safe?

This is a question that will invariably cross the mind of those undergoing LASIK therapy.

The short answer is yes, but there are risks. And those risks really relate to the problem being treated. Further, not everyone with an eye problem is a suitable candidate for LASIK treatment. For instance, risks include vision loss, debilitating visual symptoms, glare and/or double vision and affected night-time vision. It is also known to cause severe dry eye syndrome in some patients.

There are other potential risks, including continual corrective surgery or, ironically, the need to wear glasses or contact lenses.

What about age? While getting old is itself not a risk, older people may not be suitable for treatment.

A question often asked by patients is whether they should have both eyes treated at the same time or just one eye. Again, there is no definitive answer to this. What matters is health and safety, which should always be paramount and more important than a patient’s convenience. Consequently, the advice is to talk to the therapist and follow any instructions given before and after treatment.

Being safe rather than sorry is very apt where LASIK eye surgery is concerned, as it is a medical procedure.

So, provided a patient allows the LASIK surgeon to do the job properly then the therapy is as safe as any medical operation.