Why is former FDA advisor Morris Waxler calling for a ban on LASIK eye surgery? Is it really as dangerous as Waxler says? What should people consider before getting LASIK?

Morris Waxler, Ph.D was involved in the early approval of LASIK as a non-clinical advisor on its safety and efficacy-but has not worked there for many years. [He is not an actual medical doctor who treats patients.] As to why he is so vocal about banning LASIK, I can only speculate. The people who want to "ban" LASIK are a mixed bag of actual patients who have had serious complications from LASIK, plaintiff lawyers, and some very conservative eye doctors.

I suspect the current anti-LASIK story (on the CBS morning show) in the media is fueled as much by journalism's "man-bites-dog" ethic concerning what makes news more than it is by new evidence of LASIK problems. I was personally involved in the development of what came to be LASIK (as a clinical, practicing ocular surgeon) over 25 years ago. I saw how LASIK went from being a "should I risk having it done?" procedure to a "LASIK as low as $250 per eye" circus. There were many people I counseled not to have LASIK who went on to have it done at a LASIK chain after being assured they were really good candidates. I am still taking care of some of them and was not always able to fix the damage I saw being done. No wonder, then, that these negative stories periodically bubble up in the news cycle.

Extensive high quality research published in peer-reviewed medical journals over the last 20+ years on many thousands of patients has shown that complications are rare. The vast majority (95+%) of patients are very happy with the results. The ever-improving technology has largely reduced the issues that created problems in the early days of LASIK. Improved diagnostic testing has made it easier for eye doctors to identify and reject patients who may be at greater risk of LASIK complications.

But LASIK is surgery -and all surgery has potential complications, even in the hands of the most experienced ophthalmologists and the very best candidates for LASIK. That is why anybody considering LASIK should be discriminating in who they allow to perform the procedure. Low-price "bait & switch" advertising is probably a good indicator of the possible quality of the surgery as is a clinic where nothing but laser vision correction is performed.

And if the most recent "LASIK is not as safe as you thought" news story has scared you off, there are other alternatives (such as the ICL) for many people desiring to be free of glasses and contact lenses. But no surgical procedure, no matter how elective and successful, should be considered risk-free.

_Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. - Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic