FDA wants new guidelines for Lasik

by Christina Parrella (Subscribe to Christina Parrella's posts)
May 1st 2008 2:43PM

As a person who wears contacts and eye glasses, I've always considered getting Lasik eye surgery because of the convenience of being able to wake up and see clearly, without having to put on my glasses or contacts. An estimated six million Americans have undergone Lasik surgery, but I'm still too nervous to go under the knife for eye surgery or any surgery for that matter. Although 20/20 vision is not guaranteed by Lasik surgery, about 95 percent of patients are satisfied with their results.

However, a recent study found about that about 31 percent of Lasik patients had some degree of dry eye before their surgery, and about five percent worsened afterward. Other patients also said they suffered severe eye pain, blurred vision and other problems after undergoing Lasik.

So now the FDA is urging the government to issue clearer warnings about the potential risks of Lasik eye surgery, which is always a good idea with risky procedures.

Would you ever undergo Lasik eye surgery, and if you have, did you ever experience any problems after the procedure?

Comments (2)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

rlauren218 5-02-2008 @ 2:43PM

I had LASIK the minute i was old enough. My mom works for an eye doctor so, all four of her kids have had it at this point. I was the first. I had really bad eye sight. i couldn't see anything more than a foot away from me with out my contacts.
As soon as I got out of the surgery, i could already see better. By the next day, my vision was 20/15. Now, more than 5 years later, my eye sight is still 20/15. I had no complications, no pain, no problems. And I can't even begin to express how great it is to not have to put contacts in everyday, or carry glasses. And the simple ability to see the clock in the morning is awesome.
All of my siblings had great experiances too. I would recommend it to anyone.

Allen 7-02-2008 @ 7:39PM

I am very weary of having this procedure, I am sure it is safe but what happens if something goes wrong, do they replace your eyes ? lol

I had a friend that had this procedure and her vision got worse and not better, she had to have mulitple procedures to get it somewhat back to normal. On the other hand my mother had the procedure and loves it.

Here is a great article I found that shows some of the risks of lasik http://lasiksurgeryrx.com/lasik_risks.php

Allen