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Halos After LASIK Eye Surgery

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Johnny Khoury, M.D.

Medically Reviewed by Johnny Khoury, M.D.

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One of the most popular options out there for achieving excellent vision is LASIK. By undergoing LASIK, people are able to see clearly without the need for corrective lenses. It’s an ideal treatment option for people suffering from refractive errors, which you may know better by the following names:

With that said, LASIK surgery is not without side effects, some of which can be more serious than others. As the surgeon here at Teplick Custom Vision, An NVISION Company, in Portland, Oregon, I’d like to take a few moments to go over one particular LASIK side effect: halos.

About LASIK Surgery

It’s helpful to first look at the LASIK surgery itself since it helps explain why halos occur. During LASIK, I create a flap in the topmost portion of the cornea. Through this flap, a laser is used to reshape the cornea and improve the way light passes through the eye. Once the reshaping is completed, the flap is set down to heal.

Halos as a Side Effect of LASIK

Halos are one of many light sensitivity and light-related side effects that are associated with LASIK. By halos, we simply mean cases in which rings appear around bright lights and light sources. Also common and related to halos are starbursts, excessive glare, and issues with low-light and night vision.

Why Halos Occur After LASIK Surgery

When the corneal flap is created and the cornea reshaped with the excimer laser, it’s necessary for the eye to heal. While healing from LASIK, the way that you perceive and view light will change. It’s one of the side effects that we let all patients know about when they visit us for a consultation.

How Common are Halos After LASK Surgery?

Halos after LASIK are essentially a fact of the healing process. They are unavoidable to a certain degree, though they only tend to last a few weeks. Thankfully, there are things that can be done to reduce the duration and severity of halos.

Reducing the Severity of Halos After LASIK

One of the great advances in eye care over recent years is the advent of custom LASIK surgery. Using precise digital mapping of the corneas, we are able to pinpoint and reshape very minor imperfections in corneal shape. These lasers emit anti-glare patterns that provide an incredible quality of vision during the day and night.

How Patients Can Deal with LASIK Halos

To help improve recovery time and experience, it’s important that patients follow pre-operative and post-operative instructions to the letter. This will help reduce the duration of side effects following LASIK and also reduce the chances of complications occurring.

Patients should wear sunglasses when outdoors in order to reduce the severity of halos and glare during daytime. When it comes to night vision issues related to glare, patients should be wary of bright lights. If night vision is severely impaired, patients should avoid driving at night and instead rely on public transportation, a ride share service, or on friends/family members for rides.

Learn More About Laser Vision Correction

For more information about LASIK surgery, be sure to fill out the “Book an Appointment” button to schedule a free LASIK consultation.

If you are in the Portland area, our entire team looks forward to meeting you in person and helping you achieve the best possible results!

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