Causes of relapsing after LASIK surgery and how to prevent it

The article is professionally consulted by Master, Doctor Hoang Thanh Nga - Department of Medical Examination and Internal Medicine - Vinmec Ha Long International Hospital. The doctor has 10 years of experience in the field of ophthalmology.

Lasik surgery is currently considered an effective method of improving vision for people with myopia. However, there are still some cases of myopia after surgery, let's learn more about the causes of myopia after lasik surgery and find appropriate ways to prevent it.

Lasik surgery (short for “Laser Insitu Keratomileusis”) is a refractive surgery method that uses a laser beam to shine on the surface of the cornea to correct refractive errors (including nearsightedness).
Advantages of Lasik surgery in treating myopia:
Short surgery time (under 15 minutes). No bleeding, no pain. Fast recovery. Positive effects: 80% of lasik people will have improved vision after surgery. About 1 day after surgery, the surrounding objects can be clearly seen with the naked eye. No need to use glasses again: without glasses or contact lenses, the patient can still see things clearly. See also: Some possible signs after LASIK
myopia surgery

However, it is a fact that all laser refractive surgery patients in general and lasik surgery in particular, will have a certain rate of re-myopia. Depending on the severity of the refractive error, the rate of this re-myopia can range from 1-2% to 12-15%.
Causes of relapsing after Lasik surgery often include:

If before surgery, the determination of myopia is incorrect, the input parameters before lasik surgery will be wrong, leading to the myopia not being completely eliminated, causing residual refractive error after surgery. Depending on the degree of residual myopia, the patient's vision will be affected more or less.
Therefore, it is extremely important to accurately calculate the refractive index before lasik surgery. To prevent errors when measuring vision, patients need to follow pre-operative notes such as:
How to avoid
Stop using soft contact lenses at least 3 days before the day of intensive examination before surgery. lasik. Discontinue use of rigid keratoconical contact lenses (eg Ortho-K lenses) at least 3 weeks prior to the in-depth examination to allow the eye to return to its original refractive state. Choosing the quality assessment and examination process will help to make the refractive measurement results more accurate and reliable.

The refractive index is said to be stable when increased by no more than 1 degree in the past 6 months. People under the age of 18, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding for 6 months can still change myopia. If lasik surgery is performed at this time, even though the degree of myopia has been completely eliminated, the process of myopia will still progress and cause re-myopia.
See more: Avoid re-exposure after surgery: Things to know

Over time, the lens in the eye will tend to gradually age, lose its elasticity and transparency because of metabolic changes. For patients with severe myopia, the change of refraction of the lens occurs earlier and affects the change of refractive index, thereby causing re-myopia.

In some cases, the patient has an unfavorable eye structure for surgery such as: small eye size, too narrow eye socket, too high or too low radius of curvature of the cornea.
Lasik surgery to improve refractive error only achieves the best effect if the patient's eyes meet all safe and suitable conditions for surgery such as:
Stable refraction. Corneal structure was normal, thickness and curvature consistent, with no abnormalities (eg, pyramidal, overly straight cornea). Eyes without strabismus, amblyopia, inflammation or diseases of the retina, vitreous.

The essence of Lasik surgery is to use a laser to erode the cornea to change the curvature, thereby eliminating myopia. The higher the degree of myopia, the more the cornea is eroded. In case the patient has too much myopia, if you choose lasik surgery, the remaining cornea will be very thin, uncomfortable with pressure, leading to corneal dilatation and re-myopia. Therefore, choosing the right surgical method is very important.

After Lasik surgery, the most important thing is that the patient needs to rest and relax his eyes for a while. However, there are still cases where patients refuse to take care of their eyes and have many habits such as: staying up late, lack of sleep, looking at the screen too close, using a dark screen phone, using strong light in the dark, looking at Objects are too bright ... can cause the eyes to re-myopia after surgery.

The above causes of re-myopia can be completely controlled and avoided if measures are taken:
In-depth examination at a reputable facility to accurately determine eye parameters. Only perform lasik surgery when the eyes meet the conditions and the nearsightedness is stable. Eliminate bad habits, take good care of your eyes after surgery. Select the appropriate surgical method for the condition of the eye. Carry out routine eye care and examination. Doctor's advice: Patients with relapsing vision after lasik surgery should go to the doctor early to find out the cause and have appropriate interventions, avoiding long-term exposure will cause myopia to increase rapidly and be difficult for later treatment. this.
Vinmec Hospital has all the necessary equipment as well as a team of experienced specialists to treat this disease.
If you have a need for consultation and examination at Vinmec Hospitals under the national health system, please book an appointment on the website for service.