Lasik has been widely touted as an uncomplicated outpatient procedure that gives patients perfect vision without corrective lenses. Although that may largely be true, many now argue that surgeons are taking the safety claims a little too far. An article appearing in the New York Times, for example, states that surgeons significantly understate the potential complications of Lasik and are then unable to resolve them when they occur. Or, as the author Abby Ellin puts it:

It’s one thing to say that dry eye is “annoying,” as Dr. Belmont did; it’s another to explain how feeling as if your eyes are coated in Vaseline may make every waking moment a chore.

Although the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery rates patient satisfaction after Lasik procedures at 95.4%, the FDA is not convinced and, as the article notes, will soon be conducting their own research to grade post-op “quality of life.”

This response is misguided. At best, it will just confirm that, indeed, a small minority of patients do have complications that lower their quality of life. The effect of that report will be just about the same as this New York Times article (i.e. scaring lots of patients).

How about instead taking that money and spending it on more research that identifies which patients are at higher risk or — better yet — identifies which aspects of the Lasik procedure are causing these side effects? Is it something inherently wrong in physicians’ understanding of how to plan and perform the procedure? A defect in the equipment? Or is it simply patients’ bad luck?

Lasik is a breakthrough procedure that can offer major improvements to one’s quality of life. Instead of going along with a report that will just scare off patients who would otherwise benefit from this procedure, physicians, researchers, and manufacturers need to dedicate more energy to understanding both the prevention and treatment of its complications.

(Image source: Corbis)