As with any surgical procedure, infection is an important complication to watch out for. That is why all patients are advised to stop wearing contact lenses at least three days before coming for the procedure and to take at least four days of rest after the op to rest and recuperate in the clean confines of their own home.
After the procedure, patients must adhere to the regime for instilling the antibiotic and steroid eye drops. Fortunately, the overall risk of a serious eye infection following TransPRK is extremely low at 1 in 5,000 eyes.
The other complication to watch out for is cornea hazing. With modern TransPRK, this is very unlikely to happen as the eye surgeons will use Mitomycin C 0.02% intra-operatively and also prescribed steroid eye drops to use for six weeks or more.
Cornea hazing will happen if the patient is not compliant to follow the post-surgery steroid eye drops regime or when the patient ignore the instruction to avoid outdoor activities in the hot sun and wear eye shades when outdoor in the sun for six weeks post-op.