It is important to be aware that as with all surgery, complications can occur. Serious complications are uncommon and occur in 1% or less of patients. Here is a list of the more common complications:

1. Under or over-correction

Due to individual differences in wound healing, under or over-correction is less acceptable than under-correction. While an under-corrected eye can still see well for near without lenses, an over-corrected eye will need lenses to see well for both near and distance. If significant under-correction has occurred, re-treatment may be recommended. For over-correction, treatment is difficult. For these reasons, most doctors will deliberately aim for a slight under-correction when doing myopia refractive surgery in patients with high myopia (near sightedness).



2. Loss of Best Corrected Visual Acuity

As a result of poor wound healing or cornea flap complications, irregular astigmatism, cornea scarring or haze may develop. The problem usually improves with time and use of steroid eye drops. Affected patients may suffer a drop in their best-corrected visual acuity. Usually the loss is limited to one or two lines of the standard vision chart.



3. Glare and Halos

Some patients may experience bothersome light sensitivity and glare or complain halos. The effect are usually most noticeable at night, when looking at light sources or in patients with large pupils. These can limit one's ability to drive, work or operate certain equipment particularly at night. The problem usually improves with time. However, the problems may persist indefinitely in some patients.



4. Contact Lens Intolerance

There is the risk that should you want to wear contact lenses after the procedure, they may not fit comfortably. This is due to changes in the cornea shape which affect how the contact lens sits on it.

5. Other Complications

The procedure may be aborted because of problems in creating a proper cornea flap. The cornea flap may dislodge soon after the surgery if there is trauma, rubbing or squeezing of the eyelids. Infections is one of the most feared complications as it can lead to cornea scarring and severe loss of vision. Poor epithelium healing can lead to recurrent cornea erosions or migration of cornea epithelial cells underneath the flap causing a "melting" syndrome. Retinal detachment and glaucoma have also been reported.