Can You Have LASIK Twice?

IF your distance vision has began to become blurry, a second procedure may be possible. This is routinely done if the patients cornea is healthy and there is enough tissue left (we remove a very small amount of tissue every time we do LASIK). The surgeon may also choose to do a different type of refractive procedure for your enhancement. This will depend on the status of your cornea and technology available to the surgeon.

If your distance vision is still fine but your near has began to blur, this is not correctable with a second procedure. All patients with LASIK will inevitably loose their near clarity as the age beyond 40 years old. This is a natural aging process and LASIK will not help the near vision, only reading glasses. Your distance vision should remain stable as you age.

If your degree of refractive error is moderate and you are not too young, it's not realistic to worry about requiring a second procedure. I have performed over 30,000 Lasik procedures and very few of my patients have needed what we call a "touch up". Most experienced surgeons should be able to tell immediately from your degree of refractive error and a few other factors, if you are at risk of needing a second surgery down the road. In this case I usually recommended choosing contact lens implants. 
Needing a touch up shortly after your procedure is even more rare and most surgeons will cover the costs associated with such a procedure as long as its within a year or so. If you have had Lasik in the past and your distance vision is deteriorating I recommending consulting your surgeon although a second surgery should only be performed if required as it may raise your risk of a complication.

Of course it depends on your original treatment and what your eyes look like at the time of your second consultation. Rarely, patients require an enhancement (aka re-treatment) within the first year of surgery to achieve the desired 20/20 or better they sought out to get. But this question is typically directed at whether or not a treatment will be available 5/10/15+ years later. As long as there is enough cornea tissue available, the refraction is stable, and the cornea isn't too irregular, enhancements 10+ years later aren't a problem. There are some risks associated with doing so, but that's beyond the scope of this question. Also on your side is the fact that technology keeps advancing, and even today we can enhance far more patients than was previously capable. 

Yes people can get LASIK a second time and many people do in order to correct their vision years after the first surgery.  You would need to have a surgeon make sure that the eye is healthy and well healed and that there is enough tissue left for the laser to be able to correct your vision.

Lasik does not stop your eyes from changing. So sometimes, a person will have Lasik and the eyes will change enough so that the person will want to improve the vision again. This can be done almost all of the time. And the second treatment is typically even easier than the first treatment.

A second procedure is potentially possible as long as the patient meets the medical requirements needed by the doctor. For example enough prescription and enough cornea thickness.

If the results of your eye exam, including a corneal topography, show that your eyes and cornea are fine to receive a touch-up, then yes, you can have a second LASIK treatment.

This seemingly simple question actually has many possible answers. All of which depend on each individual's case. The ability to have a second LASIK treatment (also known as an enhancement) is dependent upon several factors. Each time we perform LASIK, we remove a small amount of corneal tissue, so we have make sure you have enough corneal tissue left to safely perform the procedure again. The second factor is the status of the flap. After several years, it becomes more difficult to lift the first flap, and this carries greater risk of complications. If it is not possible, other procedures are available, and so your surgeon will need to discuss this with you. Finally, we have to assess the overall status of the eye and make sure that your vision is diminished because your refractive error is changing, and not another issue. For example, it would make little sense to repeat LASIK if in fact you are developing a cataract, which requires a completely different approach to improve your vision. However, if these factors are within suitable ranges, an enhancement can be a safe procedure.

A small number of patients may encounter some change in uncorrected acuity over time. In most instances loss of some of the effect of an original LASIK procedure can occur over time as we age. Resulting changes in your eyes can necessitate a LASIK refinement procedure. Each patient requiring such a refinement will require a thorough evaluation to assess candidacy. If you are approved for a revision procedure your surgeon will discuss two options: lifting the original LASIK flap or doing a surface treatment instead. Your clinical statuswill determine which option is best for you.

Yes, A second surgery is called an enhancement and can frequently be performed. When the enhancement is performed that long after the initial surgery often a PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) is performed because of some additional risks when lifting the original flap. This involves treating the ocular surface rather than lifting the corneal flap

LASIK surgery is safe and effective. During the procedure small amounts of tissue are removed from the cornea to change the shape of the eye. From the 20 year LASIK experience we know that the results are very stable, but sometimes refractive changes do occur over time, leading patients and doctors to consider an enhancement procedure. Whether it is appropriate to proceed with an additional treatment depends on a number of factors:
Find out what is the reason for the change in vision? Is it just a slow drift in prescription or is there something else like a cataract that is now affecting the vision?What is the prescription? Is it amenable to correction with the laser? Is it significant enough to warrant the enhancement?How much cornea is remaining? Is there enough room for treatment to safely proceed with the enhancement?What is the corneal architecture and is it safe to proceed with another treatment?How will the treatment affect the need for reading glasses (presbyopia)?Are there any other factors that could influence the outcome of the procedure, such as newly diagnosed diabetes, or glaucoma?To summarize, LASIK enhancements are safe and effective and there is usually no time or age limit. A consultation with an experienced refractive surgeon with access to modern diagnostic technology like Pentacam and treatment technology like the latest EXCIMER lasers like Allegretto EYEQ 400, is the best way to find out if it’s indicated.