Can LASIK cause blindness?
Total loss of vision from LASIK is not a recognised outcome of the procedure as performed on properly assessed eyes. The complications that are genuinely documented involve the cornea, the flap and the quality of vision rather than the optic nerve or the retina.
- Subject
- Vision correction
- Topic
- LASIK
- Kind of question
- Is it safe…
- Procedures
- LASIK
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
That distinction matters because the serious sight-threatening conditions people worry about, such as retinal detachment and glaucoma, are not caused by laser vision correction. They are reasons to have a full eye examination, and they can exist independently of any refractive surgery.
This is one of the cases where a general answer genuinely cannot speak for your eyes. If you have a retinal or optic nerve condition, that belongs in the assessment.
Related guides
People also ask
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Vision correction & laser eye surgery in LASIK . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Procedure LASIK
- Procedure Femto LASIK
- Comparison LASIK vs SMILE
- Comparison LASIK vs PRK
- Place LASIK in Dubai
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
The equivalent clinical reference chapter for LASIK, used so that comparisons describe both procedures symmetrically.
Used for How LASIK creates and manages a corneal flap; LASIK complication categories.
Link checked 22 September 2026