Can I have laser eye surgery more than once?

Published on 19th April 2016

At Visualase, we’re often asked whether laser eye surgery can be performed more than once. The simple answer to the question is yes, in most cases laser eye surgery can be repeated, and this is the same for both LASIK and LASEK procedure.

It is worth saying that regression is not very common with only about 3% of those people having the surgery requiring a re-treatment.

If a patient falls into this category, then this will usually present itself within the first couple of months post-operatively. It is very unusual for a patient’s prescription to change many years after having treatment.

However there are cases where this does occur so it’s good to know that, once you have been assessed for suitability, you should be able to be re-treated. There may be a few factors though that might affect your chances of having laser eye re-treatment though the main two are;

• The thickness of your corneal tissue

• • • The amount of corneal tissue that needs to be removed.
      

During laser eye surgery the surgeon effectively removes some of your corneal tissue to reshape the surface of your eye. The higher your prescription the greater the amount of corneal tissue that needs to be removed.

During your initial laser eye surgery consultation the thickness of your cornea will be accurately measured. Most surgeons like to make sure that there will be sufficient corneal tissue remaining after your initial surgery to ensure that it would be safe to perform an enhancement should it be required. If your surgeon calculates that your cornea would not be thick enough for a second procedure they will most likely inform you of this during your initial consultation.

If you have previously had LASIK or LASEK surgery many years ago and were happy with the results, but your prescription has now deteriorated or you now need to wear reading glasses then it would stand to reason that you would think about being re-treated.

If you are considering laser eye surgery, please do get in touch with us to arrange an appointment with one of our surgeons for an assessment and consultation.

All eye surgical procedures carry a level of risk including not obtaining the desired outcome, through to varying levels of visual loss. Your eye surgeon will discuss the risks and benefits, including ones specific to your circumstances, at the time of your pre-operative consultation.