The first and most obvious answer to the “pro” part of the Lasik eye surgery pros and cons question is the positive impact that a successful treatment has on a patient’s overall vision.
A second is the high level of satisfaction most people have with the procedure.
One world-first study of Lasik eye surgery pros and cons examined 3000 research reports, and found that more than 95% of Lasik patients were happy with the results of the operation.
The study into Lasik eye surgery statistics was carried out by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). The study team included members of the FDA, ASCRS, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the National Eye Institute.
The actual figure was 95.4%, which Dr. Richard L. Lindstrom, president of ASCRS, said was “an extremely high satisfaction rate”.
The study notes that more than 16m. (well over one million a year in the US) people have now had Lasik surgery worldwide.
Lasik is in fact the top elective procedure (meaning people choose to have it) in the world.
Lasik Eye Surgery Pros and Cons – Statistics
The researchers putting together the statistics on Lasik eye surgery pros and cons studied nearly 3000 research articles from medical journals, ranging from the present day to 10 years back.
The countries that made the reports included the US, the UK, France, Ireland, Iran, India, Scotland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Turkey, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
* 95.4% of Lasik patients were satisfied with the outcome of the operation.
* The same percentage would recommend Lasik to their friends – and would also make the decision to undergo surgery again.
* The range of satisfaction varied from 87.2% to 100%.
* Satisfaction rates outside the US were a little higher (95.6%) than in America, where the rate was 95.2%.
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has still not drawn final conclusions about how effective or how safe enhancement surgery is. The reason is that laser companies have not yet produced enough evidence to make such conclusions possible.
A paper presented in November 2006 at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Opthalmology did provide encouraging news.
The paper was based on a follow-up study of people who had undergone lasik and PRK (photorefractive keratotomy)10 years earlier.
The study found that while there had been some regression, on average patients had maintained 20/25 vision.
A more recent Irish study of patients who had had lasik eye surgery in 1998 and 1999 reported the same findings. There had been some regression, but surgeons were able to fix eye defects with a great deal of accuracy. There was a high level of patient satisfaction even many years after the procedure.
The popularity of the lasik option for people who depend on eyeglasses or contacts therefore appears to be based on fact and the results can be dramatic.
Nearly 95 % of all patients report improved vision almost right after the procedure. Quite often eyesight improved to 20/40 eyesight or better.
Modern Lasik surgery was first used in America at the start of the nineties. So the experience bank is now about 20 years old, and equipment and techniques are improving all the time.
The “Con” Part of Lasik Eye Surgery Pros and Cons
Nonetheless, the FDA remains cautious. Its website says that “Long-term data is not available. Lasik is a relatively new technology. The first laser was approved for Lasik eye surgery in 1998. Therefore, the long-term safety and effectiveness of Lasik surgery is not known.”
Lasik surgeons agree, and warn that lasik is surgery, and all surgery has some risk.
- Irritation after Lasik procedure
The FDA lists the following possible problems on the “con” site of the Lasik eye surgery pros and cons balance sheet:
* Some patients lose lines of vision on the eye chart that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or further surgery.
* Some patients have troubling side effects, such as glare, halos or double-vision. Driving in fog or at night can become a real problem for those who lose some visual acuity (”sharpness”), even if they have 20/20 vision.
* Patients may be over- or under-treated, which may need further surgery to correct.
* Patients may develop severe “dry eye” problems (see the separate item on this site).
* And results are generally not as good in patients with very large refractive errors. (Normally this is an issue that most surgeons will highlight at the very first examinination).
The FDA is worried that the benefits of improved vision may not be permanent. The recent studies support the view that there may be a gradual regession, but it does appear to be just that – gradual.
Of course, there is always the possibility that even with the surgery, a patient may still need to wear glasses. This might be either for reading or for long distances, depending on what type of lasik procedure was carried out.
Summary: Lasik Eye Surgery Pros and Cons
As long as :
* You investigate the issues properly.
* You chose your surgeon carefully.
* You are a good candidate in the first place.
* And you understand the potential side effects.
There is a good chance that you will achieve better vision with Lasik eye surgery.
When considering Lasik eye surgery pros and cons, it would seem that you can count on achieving good long-term results.
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