Can I have laser eye surgery if I’m a diabetic?

Yes – but your laser eye surgeon will consider the type of diabetes you have, how successfully it’s been managed, and how long you have had diabetes. Particular attention will be paid to the stability of your spectacle prescription, as this can change with fluctuations in your blood sugar. In other words, poor diabetic control can affect the accuracy of your treatment.

Careful examination of the natural lenses in your eyes for any evidence of cataract (which can occur early in diabetic patients), and your retina for any signs of damage to the blood vessels at the back of your eyes will be carried out.

Healing can be slower in the context of diabetes, and this is also applicable to post-surgical healing of corneal epithelium (surface cells of the clear window at the front of the eye). Your surgeon may advise LASIK rather than a surface laser treatment like LASEK or transPRK for you. This is because surface treatments are more reliant on healing than LASIK in which the corneal epithelium is kept intact using a thin protective flap. Please read this article for more information on the difference between Lasik and Lasek laser eye surgeries.

The risk of infection, which is extremely rare in laser eye surgery, is very slightly greater in patients with diabetes. This can usually be treated successfully with timely diagnosis and tailored antibiotics.

Written in association with

Miss Su-yin Koay

Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon