Optical problems following refractive surgery.

All of the refractive surgical procedures share the common optical complications of glare and photophobia, undercorrection and overcorrection, regular and irregular astigmatism, loss of best corrected acuity, fluctuation in visual acuity, loss of progression of effect, and monocular diplopia. This review presents the different clinical settings under which these various complications can occur. Many of the complications are associated with technical problems at the time of surgery and abnormalities in the resurfacing of the cornea after surgery. Many of these complications can be corrected by glasses, contact lenses, or repeat refractive surgical procedures.