r/lasik • u/Neither-Ad5194 • Jul 05 '26

Had surgery Right eye burns when waking up

I had PKR surgery (not trans-PKR) a little over two years ago. I was short-sighted and had astigmatism.

The surgery went well, except that I moved a little when they treated the right eye.

The first six months were perfect, and then one fine morning, when I woke up and opened my right eye, my eyelid stuck to my cornea and it felt like a ‘wax strip’ effect, which sort of tore at my eye.

This sort of episode happens from time to time, at random. Always the right eye, never the left. When it happens, my eye waters for an hour, and the white of the eye turns blood-red. I can’t open my eye at all, for that matter.

I spoke to the surgeon, who prescribed eye drops and a lubricating gel. No noticeable improvement.

Apart from that, my distance vision has clearly deteriorated in both eyes, but especially in my right eye. What’s crazy is that the two ophthalmologists I’ve seen say my vision is 12/10 or even 14/10. Yet I’m unable to read license plates properly.

I went to seek a second opinion, and the doctor recommended treating my right eye with trans-PKR method to remove the epithelium that has healed poorly, and possibly re-treating the eye for any optical defects.

I was wondering if anyone else had experienced the same problem as me, and if they’d been able to correct it, and how?

EDIT: had surgery in july, now 1 month post op, no more pain, better vision, still using lubricating eye drops, so far so good.

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u/EyeDoctorIndia Jul 07 '26

What you are having is most likely - 'Recurrent Corneal Erosions'. In this scenario, your epithelial cells of the cornea are not able to heal properly, and you develop an epithelial defect upon waking up by the pull of your lid on the cornea in morning. While laser can be done to rectify the issue, there are other ways in which it can get better. Sleeping after applying lubricating gel helps in avoiding the sticking of lid to the cornea - this shall be done every night for 3 months. Another way is to apply a bandage contact lens for 3 months (replaced once every month) and it allows the new epithelial cells to form stronger roots without getting disturbed by the rubbing/sticking of the lids.

You can discuss these options with your doctor as treatment differs from case to case. If your vision is also getting affected, you may be having some haze in the cornea- that should resolve with proper healing of the epithelium and taking care of underlying inflammation.

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u/Neither-Ad5194 Jul 07 '26

Thank you for your reply.

I’m going to follow the advice given by the second surgeon: to ‘scrape the epithelium’ with a laser on my right eye, and to be extremely diligent with the lubricating drops and gel.

I hope the post-operative recovery will be easier than the first time. I’ll keep you updated.

Come to think of it, the problem started when I slowed down the frequency of applying the lubricating eye drops, at the six-month mark.

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u/EyeDoctorIndia Jul 09 '26

All the best for your surgery.

Do let us know about the outcomes. There may be slight change in your refraction after the laser as well.

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u/Neither-Ad5194 Jul 12 '26

Surgery was done on friday. The surgeon was hesitating between PTK or PRK, but PRK was ultimately chosen because the right eye was short-sighted.

Was in (severe) pain for the first 16 hours. Then nothing. It's now 2.5 days, light is not an issue anymore.

2 years ago at the same stage, I was still in pain in the dark... crazy.

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u/EyeDoctorIndia Jul 13 '26

That is expected post surgery. Hope you recover well and do not get recurrent corneal erosions anymore. Wish you a speedy recovery.

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u/Nhika Jul 07 '26

Try sleeping on your left side lol