LASIK surgery and Night Vision

San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose, California

Millions of people a year had LASIK vision correction and are extremely satisfied with the results. The satisfaction rate for the procedure is in the 90s. As with all surgeries however, there may be some complications, including changes in your night vision. At Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, we work hard to minimize any complications with LASIK and night vision by conducting a thorough screening and evaluation.

Night vision issues

Vision correction with LASIK allows for a very narrow range of variance. The amount of corneal tissue that is removed, or ablated, is very small. In some cases, over or under correction and unexpected healing occurrences can bend light in ways that may be somewhat annoying, especially at night. The most common night vision issues following LASIK treatment include:

• Glare
• Starbursts
• Halos

These conditions are expected immediately post operatively as the eye adjusts and heals, but if the conditions persist beyond a few months, you may be re-evaluated to see if you should come back for a LASIK enhancement procedure.

Contributing factors

The size of the pupils is one of the primary factors that are considered before you undergo LASIK surgery. At night, when your pupils enlarge to let in more light, some of the transition area between the corrected cornea and the uncorrected cornea may bend incoming light inappropriately, causing the glare or halos to appear. Dr. Kawesch takes careful measurements to account for large pupil size in order to minimize the improper refraction in the transitional area of the cornea.

In some cases, the ablated tissue does not heal properly, which causes the light coming through that portion of the cornea to bend incorrectly and create a starburst appearance around bright lights. These complications are mostly noted at night when the pupils are enlarged and points of light, like those from oncoming vehicles, are affected.

Treatments

LASIK enhancement is the most common treatment to correct persistent night vision problems. The over or under correction can be changed to repair or correct the problem area of the cornea. Coming in for your post-operative appointments will help Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley discover and correct any problems with glare, halos, and starbursts as quickly as possible.

To find our more information about LASIK and other vision correction alternatives, please contact Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley in the San Jose, California area today.

1.800.725.0740