Does LASEK make the cornea weaker permanently?

Hello,

For abstraction I can imagine the human eye like a "Roman arch". Its strength is saved only when the arch is complete. Using this analogy, I know LASEK reduces the thickness of the eye's cornea. I also understand that the Ephitel layer renew itself again after the recovery from the LASEK surgery.

My question is: does LASEK weaken the cornea permanently?
Does an eye that went through LASEK operation will alwyas be weaker than an untouched eye?
Does this weakness might increase the chances of elder age implications, that might not araise without the surgery?

Long term influance: I know LASEK is pretty "new" (~20 years). But can researches predict if LASEK might cause or any problems or ruin our vision in the long term (after 40 years) ?

Best regards,
Elad

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Any thinning of the cornea will weaken it.  However, unless you have a very severe correction it will probably not make a difference unless you have direct trauma.

The rest is unknown.  

Dr. O.