I had PRK done in 2003. From the reading I did leading up to my eye surgery, the starbursts you experience at night is a common side affect with all the forms of corrective surgery...the issue from, my understanding, is that in some cases, the area ablated/reshaped by the laser is smaller than the area that pupil can expand....when light passes through the cornea in a low light setting, such as driving at night, some of the light passes through the corrected area and some passes through the area outside the corrected area...the different rate of refraction (this may not be the correct term) is what causes the halos and starbursts.
Typically this is experienced when looking at sources of lights such as street lights, traffic lights, and head and tail lights. I am not familiar with it being experienced when looking at objects unless they are highly reflective and/or very brightly illuminated.
I don't know much about Relex Smile laser surgery except that it is along the lines of Lasik where an incision is made in the cornea and the laser is used to reshape below the incision....one of the advantages to LASIK, and I assume Relex Smile, over PRK is that the ablation occurs below the excitable layer corneal cells where scarring is most likely to develop, this is the reason why some PRK was not recommended to some patients, as if the layer(s) of the cornea that are more apt to scar are disturbed the likely hood of scarring increases. To my knowledge, the flap created for LASIK is made so as not to disturb the excitable layer of the cornea during the ablation process of the surgery.
Dry eye can be an issue post-treatment with all forms of laser surgery but I have heard that it is more prevalent in LASIK for some reason. I have been known to blink a lot and a few years ago I was diagnosed with Aqueous Tear Deficiency...which is a dry eye disorder where my eyes do not produce enough tears and my tears breakdown rapidly, this reduces their lubricative effect....it results in eye irritation which results in me blinking a lot , which results in eye irritation, and so on and so forth.
I was fortunate that I did not experience any issues with halos and starbursts, and am happy to report that I have not had any problems while diving.
Diving is also a full body experience, not just a visual extravaganza....so even if you found you had issues seeing perfectly underwater you may find the adventure below the surface to be a calming and relaxing escape from the hustle and bustle above.
Congrats on your surgery...for me, with -4.50 diopters in one eye, and -4.25 in the other, it was a major game changer from a quality of life standpoint, I would do it again in a heart beat.
-Z
