Lasik Patients Report More Than 95 Percent Satisfaction Rate

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Worldwide, an average 95.4 percent of LASIK patients are satisfied with their new vision, as per the first review of the world body of scientific literature, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery announced recently.

With 16.3 million patients having had LASIK worldwide, and more than a decade of clinical study and technological innovation behind it, LASIK is considered among the most successful elective procedures available today.

"We find that there is solid evidence in the world's scientific literature to affirm that there is an exceptionally high level of satisfaction in patients who have had LASIK surgery. While no surgery is perfect, certainly the 19 peer-evaluated studies of the 2,199 patients studied show extremely high satisfaction rates," said Richard L. Lindstrom, M.D., president of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. "While patient satisfaction is extremely high, we recognize that there are patients who have unsatisfactory outcomes. As surgeons, we have taken the Hippocratic Oath. The well being of all of our patients is central to what we do and what we are. As such, and as the history of medicine has shown, we are committed to advancing our technology, patient selection, and surgical techniques so that we can continue to enhance the quality of our patient's lives," Lindstrom added.

The meta-analysis, led by Kerry Solomon, M.D. at the Storm Eye Institute of the Medical Center of South Carolina, examines nearly 3,000 peer-evaluated articles published over the past 10 years in clinical journals from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. The research employed the Ovid and PubMed data bases using the term "LASIK" and similar search terms. A total of 2,915 articles were identified. "We wanted every article we could find, up to and including our last search, which was done on January 8, 2008," Dr. Solomon said.
"This survey goes back to literature published 10 years ago. In that time, there have been major technological advances, such as wavefront-guided LASIK and the introduction of special lasers to form a flap on the surface of the eye in preparation for the laser treatment. Coupled with better surgical techniques, and improved patient selection, we can say that modern LASIK is a mature procedure.



It is important to note that its reliability and effectiveness have led to its adoption by the armed forces, in particular the US Navy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for improving the vision of its front-line pilots and astronauts," Dr. Solomon said.



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