The use of the class of drugs called
phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors including sildenafil (Viagra),
vardenafil (Levitra)
and tadalafil (Cialis)
for erectile dysfunction should not be a direct contraindication
for most
cornea-based
refractive surgery techniques, including conventional or
wavefront
Lasik,
All-Laser Lasik,
PRK,
LASEK,
Epi-Lasik, and
CK, nor should it be a direct problem for lens-based
P-IOL, and
RLE, however these medications can be a serious indirect problem.
Some of the side effects of erectile dysfunction medications
are similar to side effects of refractive surgery. If something
goes wrong after surgery and the patient is using an erectile dysfunction
medication, it may be difficult to determine if the cause is the
surgery or the medication.
Some of the common and less common side effects of this class
of medicine are headache, nasal congestion, abnormal vision including
blurred vision, seeing shades of colors differently than before,
or sensitivity to light, dizziness, bleeding of the eye, decreased
or double vision, redness, burning, or swelling of the eye, and
anxiety. Needless to say, someone who has just had surgery
doesn't want any of these potential problems. Additionally,
these types of medications may interfere or be a contraindication
for other medications that could become necessary after refractive
surgery.
It appears that it would be best to refrain from use of erectile
dysfunction medications for at least three days before surgery and
until the eye is healed and stabilized. Of course, this is
an issue that needs to be discussed with your physician and refractive
surgeon.
If you are ready to choose a doctor to be evaluated for conventional
or custom wavefront Lasik, All-Laser Lasik, PRK, LASEK, Epi-Lasik,
NearVision CK, RLE, or any refractive surgery procedure, we highly
recommend you consider a doctor who has been evaluated and certified
by the USAEyes nonprofit organization. Locate a USAEyes
Evaluated & Certified
Lasik Laser Eye Surgery Doctor.
If this article did not fully answer your questions, use our
free
Ask Lasik Expert patient forum.
