My husband has herpes in one eye, and as a result he cannot see out of that eye. Would LASIK surgery help him?

G.R.

Herpes is a virus that can infect the eye, mouth and genital areas. When the herpes virus first affects the eye, people experience pain and the feeling that a foreign object is in the eye. This condition is commonly misdiagnosed as a corneal abrasion, and it is often only later that a person with this infection is referred to an ophthalmologist.

Topical and oral antiviral medications are used in the initial treatment of ocular herpes. The infection can take many weeks to clear, but often vision returns to normal. The major problem with a herpes eye infection is that it tends to recur. The recurrences are often more severe than the initial infection and can lead to corneal scarring and blindness.

When herpes causes scarring of the cornea, a person can lose the ability to see out of that eye. Glasses or contacts cannot help in this situation because the scarred cornea prevents light from passing though the eye to the retina. The only treatment for corneal scarring is a corneal transplant.

To answer your question, LASIK is a surgery in which a laser beam is used to reshape the cornea, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for contact lenses. Unfortunately, LASIK cannot improve the vision of a person whose cornea has been scarred by herpes.