Yes of course there are risks with any surgery!  However, when it comes to "LASIK," the stated success rates are 95.4% when it's more like 75.4%.  How or why does the FDA allow this?  Read on...Happy LASIK patients may not realize or acknowledge the harm they suffered from LASIK for years; nonetheless, the damage is there. Medical research demonstrates (a) that the LASIK Flap Never Heals and may be accidentally dislodged for the rest of a patient's lifetime, (b) that the cornea is permanently weakened and may develop Ectasia (thinning and bulging of the Cornea) weeks, months, or years later, leading to vision loss, (c) that the corneal nerves which stimulate tear production are severed and destroyed during LASIK, and that these nerves never fully recover -- potentially leading to permanent "DES" Dry Eye Syndrome disease, (d) that having LASIK causes problems in the future for Glaucoma Screening and Cataract Surgery -- prompting the FDA to recommend that LASIK patients obtain a copy of their LASIK Medical Record, (e) persistent decrease in Corneal Cells (keratocytes) -- it is unknown how this decrease affects long-term viability of the cornea, and (f) that Visual Quality at night is permanently reduced after LASIK, even when the patient has 20/20 or better daytime vision. "LASIK success" is like saying "the surgery was a success but the patient died".   The 1999 LASIK Clinical Study is severely "flawed," as it clearly shows "Permanent Complication" rates well over the agreed <1%:  http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/AC/99/transcpt/3528t1.rtf .  The FDA is NOT supposed to approve anything with a higher than 1% Adverse Event/Permanent Complication Rate or higher than 5% loss of 2 lines Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) yet LASIK is well over these limits, and the FDA continues to ignore this further failing to protect the public from further deception, fabrication of success rates, and fraud: (see 3.2.1):  http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/GuidanceDocuments/ucm080249.htm.  The FDA's Website: 1997-Present Clinical Studies:  http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/devicesatfda/index.cfm?search_term=LZS .  Here is this same information gathered from FDA's Website put into "graph format" here showing an average of 20%+ Adverse Event/Permanent Complication Rates, 20+ times higher than the FDA is supposed to allow:  -FDA Clinical Charts Showing Well Over 20% Permanent Complication Rates-  There are peer review Post Laser/LASIK studies that clearly show the FDA has serious problems with ALL "FDA Approved Lasers" for refractive surgery that are averaging a 20%+ Permanent Complication Rate, yet the FDA was supposed to ONLY approve a <1% Permanent Complication Rate:  Bailey Study/Peer Review:  Lasers From 1997-2004:   http://lifeafterlasik.com/LASIK%20Bailey%20Study%20Through%202004.pdf .   Schein Study/Peer Review:  2000:   
http://www.lifeafterlasik.com/LASIK%20Clinical%20Study%20Schein%202000%20Shows%2020%25%20AE.pdf .