Immediately after the procedure, the vision will be blurred from a combination of the microscope light, the gel tears used to place the contact lens on the eye and the effect of pupil dilation. The eye will recover very rapidly from the light and the tears and your vision will noticeably improve as your pupil gets smaller. Some patients notice an improvement on walking back to their car after the procedure. In other patients, the improvement takes a little longer.

For a few days, you may well notice some floaters, which represent some of the pieces of posterior capsule, that have been lasered, floating in the vitreous. These usually disperse without any long-term effects. Occasionally, floaters may persist for 2 to 3 weeks. More rarely, a portion of posterior capsule that has been lasered remains in the visual axis (within the pupil area) and you may notice a shadow or obstruction to part of their vision. Fortunately, this remnant of capsule usually contracts back out of the pupil in a few weeks and further laser can usually be avoided.

We used to think that there was an increased risk of retinal detachment after Yag Laser Capsulotomy. Recent research has suggested this applies only to people having laser within 4 months of surgery. Although you may develop retinal detachment after Yag Laser capsulotomy done after 4 months, the chances of this happening are no higher than that of other patients who have not had the laser.

It is highly unlikely that the laser will need to be repeated. This is most likely required in patients with coexistent eye disease, in whom fibrous membranes can develop as a result of inflammation. Occasionally, patients might need the opening enlarged. In one review, 0.31% patients required the laser repeating.