Eye Floaters and LASIK

It is generally felt that LASIK and PRK laser vision correction do not make floaters worse — nor do they make them better.

A patient from Santa Barbara recently asked me what effect having LASIK would have on floaters. It turns out this is a question I often am asked. As I reassured her, LASIK is not expected to make her floaters worse — or better. LASIK, of course, is not a treatment for floaters.

First, a few words about floaters in the eye. Floaters are very common and usually are normal. In some cases though, new floaters or a change in the character of floaters can be a sign of a retinal problem and deserves immediate medical attention.

The eye is a hollow sphere that mostly is filled with a jelly like substance called the vitreous. Small opacities such as protein deposits or dense parts of the vitreous can bob around in the vitreous, particularly as you move your eye and “fling” your vitreous around inside the eye. These opacities appear to float around in the eye and therefore are called “floaters.” Nearly everybody has some floaters. They are often most visible when looking against a certain type of background, such as a blue sky or a white wall. What distinguishes floaters is that they move in the eye in the general direction of eye movement, but they slightly lag the actual movement of your eye. They tend not to be exactly fixed in one point in the vision as you move your eye and often keep moving after you’ve stopped moving your eye. Many people describe floaters as looking like small bugs or cobwebs. They tend to have a slightly translucent, but dark, quality to them.

LASIK should not affect floaters: LASIK should not make floaters worse nor should LASIK make floaters better. I have found that some patients seem more aware of their floaters after laser eye surgery, but it is generally felt that this is because they are simply paying more attention to all aspects of their exciting “new” vision — even the “old” floaters! One study, however, did suggest that floaters might actually become worse after LASIK. Other studies, though, do not prove a cause and effect relationship between LASIK and changes in the vitreous.

A sudden change in the character of your floaters — either many more floaters, new floaters, peripheral light flashes accompanying your floaters, or a giant floater — could indicate a problem with your retina. If you experience this — whether or not you’ve ever had LASIK or PRK laser vision correction — you should immediately call your eye doctor.

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