Views on Vision ~ LASIK

By Dr. Charles A. Boulet 

'Corneal refractive surgery' is the process by which a surgeon cuts the cornea with a laser in order to change the patient's glasses prescription. LASIK (Laser Assisted In-situ Keratomileusis) and PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) are widely considered to be amongst the safest surgical procedures known today. In many cases, LASIK and PRK are indicated for very high myopes (strongly nearsighted people) and for other therapeutic reasons.
As a consequence of the commercialization of the procedures, however, many millions of people worldwide have had their eyes 'corrected' for non-essential reasons. Corneal refractive surgery, however, remains a surgery and there are numerous inherent risks. Frequently, eyes are not corrected at all and problems are created where none existed before.

Because of the nature of the refractive surgery business (that is, a high-volume high-profit model), it follows that certain misrepresentations and high-pressure sales tactics creep into the process. The long-term consequences of refractive surgery are plain to see each day in eye clinics around the world, and for these patients, the cost-benefit assessment seems to balance more towards regret as time goes on. In the end, public health care is left holding the bag for any long-term negative effects of these surgeries and the sufferers are told 'it's your problem'.
The following article discusses some of the concerns relating to mass use of refractive surgery:
www.salon.com/life/feature/2011/02/16/problems_with_lasik

From the article:
“The hero here is a man named Morris Waxler, whom I wrote about last year for Salon. Waxler is a Ph.D. and a former branch chief of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health from 1995 to 1999. He was, in effect, the man responsible for approving Lasik vision enhancement lasers in 1997. Since that time, he has become rabidly anti-Lasik, publicly admitting that the FDA “screwed up” when it approved it.”

I never advise patients to seek refractive surgery, but I will frequently recommend they seek an assessment for their 'eligibility' for it. It is inappropriate for a practitioner to advise or promote elective surgeries where other less invasive solutions are readily at hand. In some cases, refractive surgery is a practical, cost-effective and life-altering alternative. In the vast majority, it is a strictly elective procedure and 'buyers' are well-advised to seek multiple opinions, inside and outside of ophthalmology, before they proceed.

You have only one pair of eyes, and with refractive surgery, there is no money-back guarantee; nor is there any means of returning the eyes and vision to the way it was prior to surgery.


Dr. Boulet is an optometrist and owner-operator of Diamond Valley Vision Care in Black Diamond (403-933-5552 or info@dvvc.ca.) He is also a former high school teacher and continues to work with children who have trouble learning.