Lasik Starburst

A fuzzy starburst around light sources at night is a relatively common complication of Lasik that usually resolves within the normal six-month healing process. Starbursts are often worse or only exist in low light environments, but can exist in daylight too. This Lasik night vision effect is caused by inconsistent vision correction across the cornea.

Night vision starbursts are not limited to just Lasik, but may also occur with conventional or wavefront custom Lasik, Bladeless Lasik, PRK, LASEK, Epi-Lasik, and RLE.

The causes of Lasik starbursts are often related to Lasik halos.

Lasik Starburst Causes

A rough corneal surface often contributes to starbursts. Dry eyes, edema (inflammation), and an incomplete treatment area can cause or exacerbate Lasik starbursts. In nearly all cases the cause of long-term Lasik starburst relates to the size of the patient's pupil and the size of the laser treatment zone.

Detailed Lasik Starburst Information

See Lasik pupil size for details about the primary cause for Lasik starbursts.

Looking For Best Lasik Surgeon?

If you are ready to choose a doctor to be evaluated for conventional or custom wavefront Lasik, Bladeless Lasik, PRK, or any refractive surgery procedure, we recommend you consider a doctor who has been evaluated and certified by the USAEyes nonprofit organization. Locate a USAEyes Evaluated & Certified Lasik Doctor.

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Recent Lasik Starburst Medical Journal Articles...

Related Articles

Functional outcome and patient satisfaction after laser in situ keratomileusis for correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism.

Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2015 Jan-Mar;22(1):108-14

Authors: Bamashmus MA, Hubaish K, Alawad M, Alakhlee H

Abstract
PURPOSE: The purpose was to evaluate subjective quality of vision and patient satisfaction after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) for myopia and myopic astigmatism.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: A self-administered patient questionnaire consisting 29 items was prospectively administered to LASIK patients at the Yemen Magrabi Hospital. Seven scales covering specific aspects of the quality of vision were formulated including; global satisfaction; quality of uncorrected and corrected vision; quality of night vision; glare; daytime driving and; night driving. Main outcome measures were responses to individual questions and scale scores and correlations with clinical parameters. The scoring scale ranged from 1 (dissatisfied) to 3 (very satisfied) and was stratified in the following manner: 1-1.65 = dissatisfied; 1.66-2.33 = satisfied and; 2.33-3 = very satisfied. Data at 6 months postoperatively are reported.
RESULTS: This study sample was comprised of 200 patients (122 females: 78 males) ranging in age from 18 to 46 years old. The preoperative myopic sphere was - 3.50 ± 1.70 D and myopic astigmatism was 0.90 ± 0.82 D. There were 96% of eyes within ± 1.00 D of the targeted correction. Postoperatively, the uncorrected visual acuity was 20/40 or better in 99% of eyes. The mean score for the overall satisfaction was 2.64 ± 0.8. A total of 98.5% of patients was satisfied or very satisfied with their surgery, 98.5% considered their main goal for surgery was achieved. Satisfaction with uncorrected vision was 2.5 ± 0.50. The main score for glare was 1.98 ± 0.7 at night. Night driving was rated more difficult preoperatively by 6.2%, whereas 79% had less difficulty driving at night.
CONCLUSION: Patient satisfaction with uncorrected vision after LASIK for myopia and myopic astigmatism appears to be excellent and is related to the residual refractive error postoperatively.

PMID: 25624684 [PubMed - in process]