This is reasonable and appropriate. But it does not mean Lasik is dangerous, or even disappointing overall. It just means it's not perfect, and it's not right for all of the people all of the time. But nothing is.
The success rate with Lasik--measured by marked improvement in the vision problems that warrant the procedure in the first place--is well over 95%. That is very good, but still means that up to one person in 20 may end up disappointed. That one person deserves to know those odds in advance.The advisory panel goes further, identifying the characteristics that predict who is least likely to respond well to Lasik. By screening carefully with such criteria, including such things as thin cornea, early cataracts, and unusually large pupils, eye surgeons can improve the already impressive success rate for this procedure.
To borrow from Billy Joel, our societal views
of health-related interventions all too often gravitate toward either sadness or
euphoria. We expect drugs to work without side effects, diets to take the pounds
off effortlessly overnight, surgery to give us back our youth without scars or
pain. And when these hopes for euphoria are dashed, comes the sadness of yet
another conspiracy or boondoggle revealed. But Lasik is no more boondoggle than it is a
panacea. It's an excellent procedure that will work well much of the time, and
that much more so if candidates are identified judiciously. The current attention to Lasik is not a
conspiracy revealed. It simply indicates that like just about all of life's
benefits, the benefits of Lasik can only be obtained by tolerating some risk.
Neither cause for sadness, or euphoria--just a reality check. More Ways to Be a Smarter Health Consumer [photo credit: Getty Images]
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