Does Eye Dryness After Lasik Affect the Vision?

Yes, the eyes do tend to become drier after LASIK surgery and less so with surface ablation surgeries such as PRK and LASEK. The reason is due to temporary corneal nerve damage from the cutting of the LASIK flap. When a cornea is dry the surface becomes less regular and less clear and therefore the vision will often be adversely affected.

This is also true in people who have not had LASIK but who have dry eyes. The dryness after LASIK surgery typically returns to normal about 6 months after the surgery. For the best vision after LASIK surgery any dry eye conditions should be aggressively treated preoperatively and continued postoperatively.

An appearance of dryness of the front surface of the eye can contribute to visual fluctuations after LASIK.  Usually, this occurs in the first few months after the procedure and will improve over time as the eye heals. In the meantime, I would speak with your eye MD about the best treatment for your eyes. 

Many patients seeking LASIK have borderline dry eye to begin with and this is why they are having difficulty wearing contact lenses.  LASIK many times makes dry eye worse, mostly on a temporary basis while healing is occurring.  This is not always felt as dryness by the patient, but the surface of the eye needs to be properly covered in the tear film for normal vision.  Many patients who report symptoms of blurred vision will be found on exam to have signs of a dryness problem. 

Fortunately we can easily treat this problem, restoring the clear vision while the eye heals.  This is done with artificial tears, punctal plugs, or other medications such as Restasis.  Your doctor will be able to diagnose and treat dry eye appropriately after LASIK if needed.  This is one more reason to pick your doctor and not just a "brand" for LASIK vision correction.

Dryness after LASIK is extremely common, and it can blur the vision.  This blur can be either intermittent or contstant.  Fortunately, as the eyes heal, the dryness typically resolves, but it can persist for several weeks to months, and in some cases, it can be permanent. 

While waiting for it to improve, frequent use of artificial tears during the day, and even nighttime lubricating ointment, can be of great help.  For more severe cases of dryness, the medication Restasis can be useful to stimulate tear production, and punctum plug insertion into the tear ducts can also help reduce dryness by slowing the outflow of natural tears from the eyes.