Dry eyes can span a spectrum from mild to severe and can affect the eyes in many different ways. In the mildest cases, there is really no difference with any other person who undergoes LASIK surgery.
In drier eyes, it is possible after LASIK surgery for eye discomfort/redness to occur, as well as visual blurring, if the dry eye issue is not addressed.
In other words, identifying patients prone to dry eyes improve LASIK results and patient satisfaction by
- Allowing the dry eye issue to be treated before LASIK is performed. This also involves addressing any contributing factors such as the use of certain medications that dry the eyes
- This may allow more accurate measurements of spectacle power, and thus provide better refractive outcomes after LASIK
- Treating the dry eye problem pre-operatively reduces the risk of post-operative dry eye complications
- In some cases, patients may be advised to consider other types of refractive surgery such as epiLASIK/PRK, or even not to have refractive surgery at all if the dry eye condition is severe enough
