Federal Advisors Want LASIK Warnings
LASIK (acronym for laser assisted in situ keratomileusis) and contact lenses both have risks. Without a full-blown set of statistics here, it is not appropriate to comment on risk factors. No doubt, a study is available from some organization or corporation. What’s troubling though, is that LASIK is probably irreversible, and you only get one chance to get it right. If it’s a case of getting what you pay for, don’t scrimp on LASIK.
About 700,000 people per year have laser surgery at an average cost of $2000. According to this article one in four candidates are not suited to receive LASIK treatment, and 1 percent or fewer experience serious side effects.
In the second eye-opening article in as many weeks, we are again reminded about the risks involved with LASIK eye surgery. On Friday April 25th in Washington, former LASIK patients who suffered unsuccessful eye surgery complained about lack of LASIK risk information to federal health advisors.
To summarize the federal health advisors recommended warnings to be more prominent:
• Add photographs that illustrate what people suffering certain side effects actually see, such as the glare that can make oncoming headlights a huge “starburst” of light.
• Clarify how often patients suffer different side effects, such as dry eye. Some eye surgeons say 31 percent of Lasik patients have some degree of dry eye before surgery, and it worsens for about 5 percent afterward. Other studies say 48 percent of Lasik recipients suffer some degree of dry eye months later.
• Make more understandable the conditions that should disqualify someone from Lasik, such as large pupils or severe nearsightedness.
• And spell out that anyone whose nearsightedness is fixed by Lasik is guaranteed to need reading glasses in middle age, something that might not be needed if they skip Lasik.
Tags: eye surgery risks, lasik risks