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LASIK eye surgery should be taken off market, former FDA adviser says

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LASIK eye surgery has been popular for more than 20 years, with an estimated 20 million Americans undergoing the procedure to correct nearsightedness and improve distance vision. But some patients says the surgery has ruined their eyesight. Now an expert who once backed LASIK is campaigning to get it off the market. Dr. Tara Narula reports.

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112 comments

    1. Luka Paunović

      @The Bread why would you have lasik when you know your eyesight WILL worsen same as with eyeglasses.
      It’s like engraving refraction on your retina.
      The root cause axial elongation is untreated.
      It’s very rare for people to have stable 20/20 vision with diopters if they do any kind of closeup work.

    2. The Bread

      @Luka Paunović Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s more detailed than just ‘surgeons can’t work if they are farsighted’. Similarly to pilots, I’m pretty sure there are guidelines where certain stability in dioptres must be attained after refractive surgery. You are right about dentists and veneers though. My dentist recommended AGAINST them. However, I work in an optometry department and almost all the optoms have had Lasik.

    3. wholelottapain

      My doctor said I should consider getting lasik she said she would get it but she’s not a candidate for it. And she has worst vision than I do. Not everyone is candidate for it though.

    1. Sanjana Sangeeta

      I had surgery at the age of 18, but my eyes grew , now lasik age is over 22 … my doctor could have said me to wait 4 more years… now I cannot see far objects…want to undergo surgery again and this is the only problem I had n no other problems and I don’t have any other eye problems

    2. Shubhankar Singh

      @Melissa Airhart I’m so sorry to hear this,, Melissa. Do you have any final words for someone considering Lasik? Is there an age at which it is good or bad. The worse I’ve heard is these people can’t drive due to glares during night.

    1. H W

      @MessiahGaming1080p It’s been 2 years now. Still the same. Almost drove into cliff TWICE while doing road trip, thank god I had company at both times so she warned me that before I drove into it……

    1. cjazzyree06

      @Joel Sampa exactly she could not see my flap! That’s what happens when you thoroughly vet your physician and go with one of the pioneers of the procedure. I went with Dr Booth in Dallas, look him up.

    2. Joel Sampa

      @cjazzyree06 either your story is total BS or your “opthalmologist” exaggerated quite a bit. After LASIK everyone has a very notorious fibriotic scar in place where the lasik flap was done. Is is very obvious for an ophthalmologist to tell this with a single checkup there is no really room for confusion.

    3. cjazzyree06

      @Joel Sampa it’s been over 18 now! I went to an ophthalmologist for a check up and she couldn’t even tell I’d had lasik. My eyes are perfect, just like tens of thousands of people that have had this procedure. This is an elective, no one is made to get it. There will always be a few with adverse reactions, such is life.

    4. Nikole Knight

      o_o a 5% one… so not a big one. Plus, you don’t know how much research these people actually did on the doctors they went to. That’s why people should try to find the best lasik surgeon. Comes down to bad doctors not detecting who’s eligible and who’s not. They left out the entire story. But, that’s what the media does. They want a clickbait like title talking about the worse case scenarios but yet they leave out 95% of the story. So, we don’t really know what these people did right or wrong. That’s why it’s important to do your research on the doctor beforehand. And don’t take vids like these to serious. After all, they just want “attention grabbing” stories. Something “shocking”

    1. Nancy Burleson

      This is an ELECTIVE surgery where standards should be less than 1% adverse event rate. There is not ONE study with these procedures that shows less than a 20-30% adverse event rate. People are not given the real data for ability to consent. If you are in the percentage where the adverse events have harmed you, then there is no recourse.
      25 plus known suicides from devastated lives, because they consented to a procedure without being informed of the true risks

    2. Karl Buchanan

      but weighing enough that the gov just doesn’t want their name on it. They dont really know who will do well and who won’t, bevause they dont know so much about it as they like you to think so they can stick a laser in your eye. Glad your case came out. It probably looks like more to me because i get the ones that had bad “luck” to try and help as much as i can. But its just people and your karma? Tell em what you want? (We do? Heh heh – see?)

    1. Waa Bapet

      @Abdel Mahamnmoodally make sure it’s the (smile/relex) lasik. Most of the complications of the original lasik procedure is caused by damaged nerves when they cut a huge flap. The newer version only make a small incision instead of cutting a huge chunk and your eyes won’t be drying up as much. It’s not as readily available as lasik yet i think. I’m getting one when it pops off.

    1. Joel Sampa

      @Lucy Of course contacts have risks as well. I never said otherwise. But virtually all complications with contacts are related with infections which are then related to the patient own hygiene and care. Also contacts can simply be discontinued in the incident of a problem. If something goes wrong with LASIK surgery (example ectasia, neuralgia) there is simply no way back. I can see you completely ignored my statement about scleral rigid contact lenses for LASIK damaged patients. which is the actual irony.

    2. Lucy

      @Joel Sampa Do you see the irony? You say lasik is “medically unnecessary, over hyped, damaging…” yet so are contacts. People don’t ever talk about contacts being terrible for the eyes like they do Lasik eye surgery. You say don’t do Lasik but say nothing against contacts. I am sure the percentages are quite low but it CAN happen. You can easily get an abrasion. Which can lead to an eye infection. Also contacts reshape/ruin your cornea and vision. Nothing with the eyes is safe. Eyes are just one of those things..

    1. Rum Rums

      @blippyy who’d risk his eyes? How about someone who’s incapable of functioning without glasses? Wouldn’t he risk atleast one of his eyes on a procedure which has a success rate of 90%.

    2. blippyy

      @adam sabra ..who told you there’s not a cure for myopia? Of course there is. That’s not the natural state of eyes. Go to endmyopia.org. Jake Steiner is the eye guru and gives 90% of his knowledge out for free. He has a YT channel and also a FB group. Please don’t get surgery when you can heal it yourself for free and complication free.

    3. adam sabra

      @blippyy well i have both myopia and astigmatism i cant do lazik anyways imma have to do lens replacement surgery which is known to be waaay safer than lasik and myopia does not have cure atm it can be slowed down only and i think going for a cure is better than living your whole life having an avoidable headache because of a problem in your eye (not to mention the inability to drive at night because its too risky and the in ability to keep your vision focused on 1 thing for a long time ,glasses can solve these issues)

    1. Waldemar Waldwald

      @Juan Diego My eye doctor told me that success rate only ment getting atleast 75% of your eyesight. So basically someone they call a ‘success’ woudn’t be allowed to drive a car in germany because you need atleast 85%

    2. George Brantley

      @Nancy Burleson 20-30% adverse event rate? Where did u get that numner from? I’ve done resesrch into Lasik and I see >96% success rates being reported. Would like to learn more. Thanks!

    3. Nancy Burleson

      This is an ELECTIVE surgery where standards should be less than 1% adverse event rate. There is not ONE study with these procedures that shows less than a 20-30% adverse event rate. People are not given the real data for ability to consent. If you are in the percentage where the adverse events have harmed you, then there is no recourse.
      25 plus known suicides from devastated lives, because they consented to a procedure without being informed of the true risks

    1. Nancy Burleson

      This is an ELECTIVE surgery where standards should be less than 1% adverse event rate. There is not ONE study with these procedures that shows less than a 20-30% adverse event rate. People are not given the real data for ability to consent. If you are in the percentage where the adverse events have harmed you, then there is no recourse.
      25 plus known suicides from devastated lives, because they consented to a procedure without being informed of the true risks

    2. Richard Beman

      @LASIKComplications You also know about the beautiful meteorologist , Jessica Starr, who committed sucide after failed Lasik ruined her television career ( Pain, sensitivity to light, extreme dry eyes, and triple vision ). She committed sucide, leaving two small children and a husband behind…. That is tragic !!!! People simply need to find a good Eye Dr. who can fit comfortable, wearable contact lenses.

    1. Joel Sampa

      No. In this case 100% will eventually end with some form of complications such as nerve damage, dry eye, night vision disturbances, glare, halo, starburst. Its just that some people get used to it but for some its life altering.

    2. Eiku Eiku

      @R Mauger some vaccines like polio vaccines can give you a disease that was intended to rpotect you in the first place. So…. some vaccines can have a more serious complications than just blindness. So we should ban vaccines? I dont think so. Benefits outweigh the risk. Lasik has revolutionize the management of error of refraction. As with other procedures, there are inherent risk that needs to be considered.

    3. Eiku Eiku

      @Jon Brahms all kinds of procedures, whether elective or not, have complications. The news did not say what kind of complications they have. IT can be mild, moderate or severe. I presume majority are mild, and the benefits outweghts the risk. It all depends on the right candidate.

    1. Singboy Miro

      I better get the surgery done n wear glasses in the older age den to wear contacts n glasses for the rest of my life which the power of the glasses will keep on increasing every six months

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