One of the risks which you probably will not hear about is Herpes.  Imagine going in for laser eye surgery and coming out with not only cut and burned corneas, but also a dreaded disease!  Like a lot of things about LASIK, LASEK and other procedures, there are a lot of unknowns.

TITLE: Aerosolization of infectious virus by excimer laser.

SOURCE: Am J Ophthalmol; 123(3):297-302 1997 UI: 97217217

ABSTRACT:

PURPOSE: To determine the potential for aerosolization of infectious virus present within the tear film during excimer laser photoablation of the cornea.

METHODS: Cell monolayers infected with herpes simplex virus or adenovirus, simulating virus-infected corneas, were ablated with the 193-nm excimer laser. Adjacent dishes containing noninfected cell monolayers were subsequently assayed for viral infection.

RESULTS: Viral spread to sentinel dishes occurred with both herpes simplex and adenovirus. The titer of virus present in the infected cell monolayers influenced the likelihood of spread to adjacent dishes. The presence of a vacuum aspiration system appeared to influence the direction of virus spread, with dishes located in the direction of the vacuum most likely to contain virus.

CONCLUSIONS: The potential for aerosolization of infectious virus exists with photoablation using a large-diameter excimer laser beam. Our experimental design, however, does not prove that spread of infectious virus is likely to occur in the clinical setting. Appropriate measures should be taken to reduce the possibility of the spread of virus from the patient to the surgeon, other medical staff, or other patients.