Can lasik delay or prevent posterior vitreous detachment in a person who is severely shortsighted?

No effect: The posterior changes are related to the basic power of the eye which is unaffected by LASIK which modifies the cornea only.

In short, no.: LASIK does not delay nor does it prevent PVD from happening. LASIK only changes the shape of the cornea, it does not change the overall length of the eye. PVDs are due to the dehydration of the vitreous as we age. This happens at a younger age in extremely nearsighted patients as their eye is longer than average.

No known effect: Although there can be an increase in lasik, no one has ever been able to show that this actually causes a PVD. Not surprisingly, there has also been little evidence to show that it causes tears or detachments. One thing we do know, however, is that it can significantly increase the eye pressure which may impact the optic nerve in patients with glaucoma.la