2/17/2011

Don't Get Lasik - From an MD

Dear All,

I am a physician (not an eye doctor or eye surgeon, but I do have an MD). With every fiber in my body, I wholeheartedly recommend AGAINST getting lasik surgery. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1) Lasik surgery is 100% elective - there is no medical indication for it

2) Worst case scenario for undergoing lasik - blindness

3) Worst case scenario for not undergoing lasik - continuing to wear glasses or contacts

4) While eye surgeons say that the risk for complications is low, there is NO ACCEPTABLE RISK if what you're gambling is your vision

5) Even if a lasik surgery is considered "successful," you still may have terrible night vision, dry eyes, and halos/starbursts. Even if these never go away (and even those that perform Lasik surgery say it might not ever go away), it is still considered "successful." You are taking a serious risk gambling for this. If you get permanent halos or permanent dryness, you will wish like hell you never got this procedure. It is not worth seeing halos of the rest of your life to be able to say "yeah but I never have to wear glasses." In fact, some say that if you're seeing halos, it can be corrected with glasses or lenses - that was the whole point of getting lasik in the first place! Just the chance of seeing halos forever (which in some people mean they can't drive at night anymore) by itself is enough of a reason to not get lasik.

6) Out of all the organs in your body that are not essential for life (like your heart and brain), your eyes are arguably the most important. DO NOT let them get butchered, leave your precious eyes the way they are and just wear glasses like millions of other people have been doing for years. Don't like glasses? Wear contacts - they don't mutilate your eyes like lasik does.

7) Sometimes people with lasik eventually revert back to their old vision - but that does not mean that the side effects of lasik also go away. So that means they have their normal (sub-optimal) vision back but they could still have the dryness, halos, and starbursts. Totally worthless.

8) If you get lasik, you'll still need reading glasses after 40-45

9) You can get stylish prescription sunglasses that don't even look like regular glasses if you still want to look "cool"

Do NOT get lasik surgery, there are other options that are more effective and infinitely safer. Please please please do not ever let anyone touch your eyes with a laser beam.