Having good eyesight in your later years makes a world of difference in the quality of life. Good eyesight means a person is less likely to fall, will remain more active, and better able to maintain intellectual activities. Many elderly simply have minor problems that have a major impact on eyesight. LASIK seems to take care of most of those issues. The FDA approves laser assisted in situ Keratomileusis and makes patients aware that it does permanently change the shape of the cornea. It has deemed LASIK safe and effective. In 2014, 693,000 surgeries were performed. The success rate of LASIK surgery remains in the high 90s. Despite all the institutional approval and statistics, the opinion that matters the most are the patient’s whose eye sight has been affected.
FDA Study
Several recent studies have been done gathering insights of patients on the procedure and the outcome. A FDA study in 2009 done by the National Eye Institute and Department of Defense called LASIK Quality of Life Collaboration found laser eye surgery highly successful. Surveys were given to military personnel and civilians receiving a LASIK treatment similar to what the Sugarland Eye and Laser Center in Houston does. Five U.S. centers were chosen and a three month follow up was done. All patients had a significant mean pre-op spherical equivalent error in the myopic eyes. At the three months follow up 95% of the patients saw 20/20 or better. The study had two arms to it known as PROWL 1 and PROWL 2. PROWL 1 patients reported 99% satisfaction with the procedure, and PROWL 2 patients reported 96% satisfaction with the refractive laser eye surgery.
Contact Lenses Patient Study
A multicenter, longitudinal study of LASIK patient satisfaction done by the husband and wife pair Dr. Francis Price, Jr. and Dr. Marianne Price used 22 U.S practices, 3 international practices, and an online survey of 2,000 patients. The study did follow up for three years. The study had 59% of the patients do LASIK surgery while the rest received contact lenses. Here 97% of the LASIK patients agreed or strongly agreed with the improvements the surgery provided. The contact lenses control group 98% agree or strongly agree that their choice of using contact lenses worked best. A difference appeared in the three years afterwards. During daytime activities the statistics remained similar, but at night the statistics changed. Those with contact lenses reported only 40% had no trouble driving at night while the LASIK group reported 60% had no trouble driving at night.
ASCRS/ASOA Symposium and Congress Report
In 2014 in Boston the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators had papers received on two vision-correction methods. Patients age ranged from 18 to 60 years old. A one-year survey after LASIK surgery came in at a 66% success rate. Difficulty with night driving decreased from 14% to a 7% after the LASIK procedure. The dry eye sensation increased from 10% to 13% overall which is a known problem in some patients who receive the procedure. The amount of corneal abrasions and infections in the LASIK group decreased significantly. Patient’s reported a 97% satisfaction rate with their choice.
Conclusion
LASIK procedure continues even over the long term to be a safe effective vision correction procedure with an unusually high success rate and patient satisfaction. Its approval by the FDA and the military makes it one of the leading ways to solve vision problems of a particular type.
Sugarland Eye & Laser Center leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as LASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Sugar Land Eye & Laser Center, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478.
Via, via, via, via
: