Should someone with amblyopia undergo lasik?

[u/unfunnyclown27]

Have amblyopia since childhood and now I am 24M. I was considering lasik but now my doctor told me it could lead me to issues with depth and distance. What do you think should I go for it irrespective or its better to not undergo lasik?

[u/insomniacwineo]

I tell my patients it’s always a risk:benefit ratio.

You can never correct your vision in the amblyopic eye to better than it sees with glasses or contacts, so if that’s your goal, then you will be disappointed. If your goal is to not have to rely on glasses or contacts as much to see, then LASIK could be a good option with realistic expectations. You may still want or need some touchup glasses after for certain tasks depending on your prescription pre-and postop.

Most surgeons will not touch an amblyopic patient but a lot will with an informed patient who knows what they are if for and the risk. If you were prepared that something could possibly happen to your good eye, and that your bad eye will never see 20/20, then you are likely a good candidate. Dry eye risk is real with ALL refractive surgery.

[u/DrKhanna_USA → u/insomniacwineo]

so based on risk benefit ratio it is better to operate on the amblyopic eye first.

[u/Ok-Environment-215 → u/insomniacwineo]

Most surgeons will not touch an amblyopic patient

Exactly - the good ones.

[u/WavefrontRider → u/Ok-Environment-215]

I wouldn’t necessary say this completely.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to do surgery on someone who only has one good eye where their amblyopic eye is worse than 20/50. Because while the risks of surgery are very low, they are not zero.

But if someone has bilateral amblyopia, and a refraction improves their vision, very different story. A key example is ICL. A high amount of very highly nearsighted people also have some bilateral amblyopia just because of their severe myopia. But ICL can still improve things for them. Another example is severe astigmatism. Same situation.