lights blurry after LASIK

Question

i was -8.5/-9 with -3.5 astigmatism. i was qualified by three doctors because of thick cornea with room for enhancement. i was slightly undercorrected due to regression(?) and as of yday i am at -.5/-.25 with -1.0/-.5 astigmatism. my day vision is good but lights are not in focus - they look circular and flat though i can read signs. i tried alphagen as well with little improvement. my surgery was only 3 weeks ago but i don't understand how healing alone will fix this? is it the astigmatism?

Martin L. Fox, MD · Answer

With a prescription as high as yours  quality of vision issues are not uncommon even with corneas that have adequate thickness. Large volume tissue ablation can create corneal bed irregularities than can influence how light is focused and create issues especially with night time vision. For this reason we will usually recommend ICL implantation surgery as an alternative to lasik with such prescriptions.If the symptoms persist you might be a candidate for a custom refinement procedure which can identify the areas of irregularity and regularized them. In our hand fully 90% of patients can achieve correction of these iregularities and with that acheive better night time vision.

Mazin Yaldo, MD · Answer

Your measurements (myopia and
astigmatism) can change for up to three months following LASIK.  I use the analogy of a golf ball
rolling near the hole…  it may roll
in by itself, you don’t want to hit the ball again until it stops moving.

Your halos around lights at
night can be due to the nearsightedness and/or the astigmatism.  If bothersome, have your doctor
prescribe a pair of night driving glasses.  If you do this, and the glasses DON’T help with the halos,
then the halos may be secondary to what is called high order aberrations
(HOAs), a bit more common with higher corrections such as yours.

In any case, wait the full three
months, and there is a good chance problems will have resolved.  If you’re  still having issues, work with your surgeon to determine the
cause as above and the proper approach to treat.

lights blurry after LASIK

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lights blurry after LASIK

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