While LASIK providers and physicians tout “safe, easy, affordable” solutions for eye trouble via LASIK procedures across the country, one news article cites nearly 5% of yearly operations are not trouble-free.
David Morill, with contributions by the AP, wrote at insidebayarea.com that:
Each year about 700,000 laser vision correction surgeries are performed, with the majority of them being the Lasik method. With Lasik, doctors peel back a flap in the cornea’s surface and zap the underlying layer to reshape the cornea and ease either nearsightedness or farsightedness.
While most of the patients procedures go well, about 5 percent of them have unsatisfactory results. And about 1 percent or less have serious consequences such as loss of vision. More common risks include dry eye and a halo effect.
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Loyd Hunnell of Walnut Creek had one of the worst experiences.
In 2005, Hunnell was having trouble with his eyes and decided to get Lasik surgery performed. What started out as an attempt to try and correct a mono-vision issue turned out to be a “living nightmare”, he said. The procedure didn’t go as planned and over the course of several years the pain was unbearable. At one point he says that it felt like acid being poured directly onto his eyes.
Today, his issue is not nearly as bad as it once was, but it’s still not ideal.
“From minutes after I awaken until I close my eyes at night, I have stinging, burning, throbbing and ache, and sometimes foreign body sensations in my eyes,” he said. “I have amassed a huge box of medication bottles relating to the surgery I had and its disastrous aftermath.”
Hunnell, as well as credible eye doctors, advise the importance of doing thorough research and talking to several doctors before doing any kind of eye procedures.
Some worry that patients who don’t really need the corrections are being steered in a direction they don’t need to go.
“It’s critical that patients listen and understand what they’re being told, and that the doctor takes the time to explain issues that may come up properly,” Abbott said. “If people think about the possibility of it being a miracle, they might not listen to the idea that not every patient is ideal for this procedure.”
5% of an estimated 700,000 procedures is 35,000 expected complications each year from LASIK. If you have had negative results from LASIK, you may have been the victim of negligent and fraudulent care by doctors or LASIK providers. While some injuries occur naturally, others occur because of poor screening and mis-use of equipment. Send the authors an E-MAIL TODAY to discuss your specific situation.
