How Long Does Dry Eye Last After Lasik?

Dry eye symptoms following by refractive surgery are relatively mild. Typically  disappear in 3-6 months. However some patients have severe dry eye symptoms that might need to be treated with additional eye drops.

Almost every single patient I see with dry eyes after Lasik, actually had dry eyes before the procedure. The nature of Lasik makes dry eyes more apparent during the healing period. It will typically subside within the 1 to 3 months after your surgery. For people who are naturally more prone to dry eyes, it may last a bit longer. I recommend trying Refresh Gel Drops. The gel drop are very long lasting and my patients really find them relieving.

The preoperative evaluation of your ocular surface by your surgeon is critical to the process of deciding whether or not lasik is the right procedure for you. Although it isn't rare to have some dry eye symptoms in the first few days to weeks after lasik, most patients have a completely uncomplicated course. 90% of patients that get dry eyes from lasik resolve in the first 3 months. An even smaller percentage remain with dry eye disease beyond 6 months, with improvements still being seen at the 1 year mark. Patients that do poorly have some level of dry eye identified BEFORE surgery or they are at higher risk to develop it (ie doing lasik on a 50 year old female is typically not the same as a 21 year old, for numerous reasons). As far as which procedure produces more dry eye, PRK vs LASIK, we now know from very large-scale retrospective reports that both procedures are essentially the same. Some very high treatments (farsighted or nearsighted) may increase your risk as well. The more educated you are as a patient going into the surgery the better, because these sort of discussions should be tailored to your particular eyes. - Lee Katzman MD

Dry eye symptoms may vary from patient to patient. Younger individuals tend to recover faster. Most patients will return to preoperative conditions between 6-9 months following LASIK.

If you did not experience dry eye before LASIK, then you most likely will improve within 3-6 months, but there are treatments if dry eye persists.

In LASIK, we are creating some stress to the eye in the creation of a corneal flap and the ablation of corneal tissue.  There is loss of nerve endings and this in turn leads to dry eye of varying degrees.  In patients who already have borderline dry eye this can tip them into a symptomatic situation.

Fortunately, as the eye heals, these nerve endings are restored naturally and the typical symptoms of dry eye after LASIK are limited to a few months.  In some cases it can last longer.

Diagnosing dry eye pre-operatively, treating it appropriately when it occurs, and newer surgical and medicines all have helped to make this a problem that usually can be controlled.

Some types of treatment like farsighted treatments are more prone to dry eye symptoms after surgery.

Dry eye does not occur in everyone after LASIK.  In some individuals, the dryness may persist and in most, it diminishes over the first three to six months.  Some prescriptions and individuals are more prone to dryness so make sure you discuss this with the doctor performing your LASIK.  Dryness can often be treated with eye drops, ointments at bedtime and plugs, which result in closure of the outflow path of tears. Oral flax seed oil and omega 3's are often helpful as well.

Dry eye can be a temporary (3-6 months) reaction after either LASIK or PRK. This has become less of an issue over the past several years, as the lasers have improved, however, if this occurs eyedrops can be used to improve things. Years ago, dry eye was a bigger issue when the corneal flaps were created mechanically. Now that we use a bladeless method (Intralase) to create the flap there is less of a concern. Additionally, if you travel in an airplane shortly after your procedure (which is fine) you might notice the dryness a little more, because the air on an airplane is about the driest air anywhere. We can provide you with eyedrops to make air travel more comfortable.