Laser eye treatment has been around for several years now and as technology continues to advance and treatments of this nature gain wider acceptance, so more and more people are turning to laser eye surgery as an alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses.

But what are the risks of laser eye treatment?

Although the chances of having a serious vision-threatening complication, or severe eye injury, following laser eye treatment are minimal, the procedure is not without risk and in this short article we'll examine just some of the more commonly seen problems.

Infection and delayed healing: There is a less than 0.1 percent chance of the cornea becoming infected after laser eye treatment. Generally, this means added discomfort and a delay in healing, with no long-term effects within a period of four years.

Undercorrection/Overcorrection: It is not possible to predict perfectly how the eye will respond to laser eye treatment. As a result, you may still need corrective lenses after the procedure to obtain good vision. In some cases, a second procedure can be done to improve the result.

Decrease in Best-Corrected Vision: After refractive surgery, some patients find that their best obtainable vision with corrective lenses is worse than it was before the surgery. This can occur as a result of irregular tissue removal or the development of corneal haze.

Excessive Corneal Haze: Corneal haze can occur as part of the normal healing process after surgery. In most cases, it has little or no effect on the final vision and can only be seen by an eye doctor with a microscope. However, there are some cases of excessive haze that interferes with vision which can often be dealt with by means of an additional laser treatment.

Regression: In some patients the effect of refractive surgery is gradually lost over several months. This is like an undercorrection, and a re-treatment is often feasible.

Halo Effect: The halo effect is an optical effect that is noticed in dim light. As the pupil enlarges, a second faded image is produced by the untreated peripheral cornea. For some patients this effect can interfere with night driving.

Flap Damage or Loss: Instead of creating a hinged flap of tissue on the central cornea, the entire flap can come off. If this occurs it can be replaced after the laser treatment, however, there is a risk that the flap may be damaged or lost.

Distorted Flap: Irregular healing of the corneal flap can create a distorted corneal shape, resulting in a decrease of best-corrected vision.

Severe dry eye syndrome: As a result of surgery, your eye may not be able to produce enough tears to keep the eye moist and comfortable. Dry eye not only causes discomfort, but can reduce visual quality due to intermittent blurring and other visual symptoms. This condition may be permanent. Intensive drop therapy or other procedures may be required.

Problems with a Perfect Procedure: Even when everything goes perfectly, there are effects that might cause some dissatisfaction. Older patients should be aware that they can't have both good distance vision and good near vision in the same eye without corrective lenses. Some myopic patients rely on their myopia (by taking off their glasses, or by wearing a weaker prescription) to allow them to read. Such a patient may need reading glasses after the myopia is surgically corrected.

Now at this point you've probably decided that laser eye treatment is just too risky, but let's just put things into perspective.

Although each of the risks mentioned here are very real risks and do appear from time to time, the chances of encountering any of these problems is very small indeed. Literally thousands of procedures are carried out around the world every day and, in the vast majority of cases, patients are very happy with the results.

The purpose of this article is not to scare you off, but simply to help you to make a reasoned and thoughtful decision balancing both the pro's and the con's before you embark on laser eye surgery.