With LASIK vision correction, the surgeon uses a special laser to reshape the eye’s cornea. Doing so can often eliminate the patient’s need to wear glasses or contact lenses. Unfortunately, some patients also experience severe complications of laser eye surgery that can even result in vision loss. Review the most common type of LASIK surgery injuries and learn how these issues occur.
Overcorrection
Sometimes, the surgeon removes too much tissue from the cornea during the reshaping process. Doing this can result in nearsightedness when the patient was previously farsighted. While under-correction can often be fixed with a second surgery, overcorrection may be permanent. The patient can sometimes undergo a second surgery to fix overcorrection but usually continues to need corrective lenses.
Flap Complications
During LASIK, the surgeon creates a flap to access the cornea and then replaces the flap to protect the area during recovery. If the surgeon makes an error during this procedure, the patient can experience irregular astigmatism, double vision, reflected “ghost images,” blurred vision, infection, inflammation, tissue damage, and even permanent vision loss.
Cornea Damage
In rare cases, patients experience severe chronic nerve pain after LASIK surgery. Because the laser used in the procedure destroys part of the cornea, some people develop inflammation or painful neuromas as the nerves attempt to grow back. Many of these individuals also experience vision aberrations as well as mental health issues that occur in response to coping with chronic pain.
If you or a loved one has developed painful or bothersome complications after vision correction, consult the attorneys at Leav & Steinberg LLP. We assist clients throughout New York with LASIK surgery injuries caused by health care provider negligence and have achieved impressive results for many of these individuals. Call 212-766-5222 or contact us online to schedule an appointment today.