20/20 or not
Posted on April 25th, 2008 – 7:32 AMBy Josephine Marcotty
Today the Food and Drug Administration is going to hold a hearing on whether the problems with laser eye surgeries have been under reported. Since some 12 million people have had the procedure done since the mid1990’s, maybe it’s about time.
The FDA — and laser eye surgeons — insist that problems are rare. They can include dry eyes, and night vision problems and blurriness. But the vast majority of people are happy with the results, say the FDA and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.
The FDA and the ACRS are joining forces in a study to look at outcomes, both the medical ones and what they call “life style” problems like impaired night vision. Those are the problems that many people complain about, and which may not be reflected in medical outcome reviews that focus on the degree of visual correction and infection rates. Also, they may hear whether doctors gloss over the risks involved in the surgery.
The FDA says that there have been complaints and reports of problems from consumers that have not been reported by the industry. They are trying to figure out if they can make better use of an ophthalmologists’ voluntary on-line reporting system.
Laser surgery, like cosmetic surgery, is one of those areas in medicine in which consumers have to watch out for their own welfare. There is little state or federal regulation to ensure protection, or that doctors properly screen patients to make sure the procedure is appropriate for them.
Has surgery worked for you? Or have you had problems afterwards that you would want the FDA to know? Would you do it again?
3 Responses to "20/20 or not"
I had Lasik about 6 yrs ago. It worked very well for 4 yrs and then I noticed that my vision was starting to decline. I went back to the same doctor and he confirmed that I was infact losing my distance vision. He suggested that I only do one eye, which he called Mono vision, where one eye is for vision and the other eye is for near. I was unsure about this, only doing the one eye, but he is the doctor. I redid the right eye only. I went back to the doctor the next day, and I felt that my vison in the right eye was not as good as the first time I did Lasik because the first time, I could see great right after I got up from the table. He assured me this was okay.
On my week follow up, my vision was cloudy in the right eye, he informed me I had “Ingrowth” which is where the flap does not attach completely and stuff starts growing on the eye..he said they would have to scrap it off. I scheduled for this procedure and went thru this VERY painful procedure. I went back again for the week check up (after the scraping procedure)and the “Ingrowth” was back. He assured me that he has NEVER had to scrap any one person more than twice, so I went ahead and did it again, the scraping. This pain was awful, to the point were I would just rock in a chair and cry.
The following week I went back and the “Ingrowth” was back again. I told this doctor that he would not be scraping my eye again.
If I had the chance to go back I WOULD NOT do Lasik surgery. After spending $6000.00 and going thru alot of pain, but the worst is, I have this film over my right eye, which I have been told will never go away and will eventually grow over my whole eye and I will not be able to see out of it.
Teresa, in-growth after Lasik is not something I’ve heard of before. I wonder, did you seek other medical advice from other doctors? JM
I had mono vision PRK done about two years ago, after quite a bit of research and consultation with my ophthalmologist, as well as experimentation with one contact lens to make sure I could handle the mono vision. I went with PRK because of concerns over the potential for permanent dry eye with lasik. My eye was very uncomfortable for several days after the surgery, and one time, I accidentally wrinkled the temporary protective contact lens and the pain was significant. After a few days, the discomfort subsided and I looked forward to the improvement in vision and the ability to do outdoors activities without the hassles of glasses. Vision is suppose to improve within 6 weeks with PRK. Mine ended up taking 5 1/2 months. I was getting really concerned and even went to see a second doctor, who explained that my vision was actually improving, but just much slower than most.
After the anxiety of waiting that long for improvement, I’m really happy I did it the way I did. It’s great to be able to be for the most part, free from glasses. I only really need them now for very, very small print.
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