Would you wear glasses or have LASIK?

Well, actually I have had LASIK. It was performed over 25 years ago and yes, I am doing fine. I have to wear reading glasses some now, but that was expected.

Because most nearsighted people today have access to and can successfully wear contact lenses, LASIK is hardly a cosmetic procedure. There is no difference in appearance between a patient who has had LASIK and how that patient looked wearing contact lenses.

Being able to do away with glasses, though, is not just a vanity as some people seem to think. It is much more comparable to wearing some sort of prosthesis - a knee brace, artificial limb, or voice enhancer, for example. Most people who wear glasses (or contact lenses) could not function in their lives with bad vision, whether to drive, work, raise children, or even watch television.

LASIK is a surgical procedure and should be approached as such. Not everybody is an excellent candidate, nor even a marginal candidate in many cases. It is seldom a good idea for people over about age 50 or with severe dry eyes.

Some commercial businesses have tried to "sell" LASIK as a commodity with promotional activities of questionable ethical responsibility. Trivialization of side effects and even complications has led to a certain backlash accordingly.

LASIK is only one, but the most popular, of several new microsurgical technologies that enhance living by improving vision permanently and overwhelmingly safely.

- Dr. Woodhams