What are my expectations?

Most people who have refractive laser surgery have good to excellent vision for many years. You'll usually be able to play sports and swim — or even just see the clock first thing in the morning — without having to worry about your glasses or contact lenses. But as you get older or in low-light conditions, you may still need to wear glasses.

Most people report high satisfaction after surgery. But long-term results often aren't available. Part of the reason for this is that people are overall satisfied after surgery, so follow-up data is not collected. Also, the techniques have improved, and the guidelines for determining good candidates for the surgery have improved. This makes it difficult to draw conclusions about recent surgeries from the long-term data that is reported.

Keep in mind that even when postoperative follow-up is done and reported, vision is measured under optimal testing conditions. Your vision in dim light — such as at dusk or in fog — may not be as good as published reports suggest it will be.

Over time, your vision may change, and the initial surgery may not correct refractive errors later in life. The exact degree of change is hard to predict.