Regression after LASIK is incredibly rare, with less than 1 percent of patients experiencing it. Factors such as age and changes in vision, such as presbyopia or astigmatism, can affect the longevity of the procedure. According to the American Council on Refractive Surgery, the rate of improvement ranges from one to two percent during the first year, and then averages about one percent per year. In patients who underwent MM-LASIK, the cumulative probability of myopic regression after 12 months was 59 to 89%, while in patients who underwent FS-LASIK, the cumulative probability of myopic regression after 12 months was 51 to 73%.
If the initial results of LASIK are not satisfactory or the patient's eyes change over time, a second LASIK procedure or an improvement to LASIK may be recommended. Cataracts are still possible even after LASIK surgery. To investigate the predictive factors of postoperative myopic regression in subjects who underwent laser-assisted subepithelial keratomileusis (LASEK), a laser-assisted keratomileusis flap (LASIK) created with a mechanical microkeratoma (MM) and the LASIK created with a femtosecond (FS) laser, a study was conducted that included 496 eyes in the LASEK group, 1054 eyes in the FS-LASIK group, and 910 eyes in the MM-LASIK group. The MM-LASIK group experienced the most myopic regression, followed by the FS-LASIK and LASEK groups.
The procedure for improving LASIK surgery after 10 years is almost identical to that of the initial surgery. Anyone considering a serious medical procedure such as Lasik should carefully weigh the pros and cons beforehand. Selection bias could not be completely avoided and it is possible that some covariates are confounding variables when evaluating regression between the LASEK, FS-LASIK and MM-LASIK groups. Overall, LASIK is considered a permanent vision correction solution because it permanently corrects your current visual prescription.
However, any underlying condition that progresses over time can cause changes in vision, making the original Lasik procedure less effective. Case 1 was an eye of a 33-year-old patient with an upper myopia of − 8.00D who underwent MM-LASIK, spherical ablation, OZ of 5.5 mm and TZ of 7.0 mm.
