Submitted Anonymously

3/2/2008

LASIK doctors aren't interested in the well-being of patients; they are interested in making money. LASIK surgeons refer to LASIK as "the LASIK gravy train".

Here are a few examples of LASIK surgeons placing patients at risk unneccessarily.

It is well known that microkeratomes that cut the LASIK flap are unpredictable in terms of flap thickness. An intended 160-micron flap might actually be 200 microns, which may place the patient at risk of ectasia if the surgeon proceeds with ablation. The safe approach would be to measure the thickness of the flap before performing the ablation. However, most surgeons do not incorporate this important safety step into the surgical procedure. It's as if LASIK surgeons feel it's better not to know the true thickness of the flap in order to protect themselves from liability.

Reuse of microkeratome blades on the 2nd eye treated is a risky practice of LASIK surgeons. The FDA approved microkeratome blades for single use. Accordingly, a new blade should be used for each eye. LASIK surgeons ignore FDA guidance and reuse the blade on the 2nd eye in order to reduce their costs. Medical studies have shown the blade quality deteriorates with multiple use. Furthermore, tissue remnants from the first eye treated may be implanted under the flap on the second eye. Reuse of blades is known to increase the risk of complications, but LASIK surgeons apparently don't care.

Another example is bilateral simultaneous LASIK, performing LASIK on both eyes of a patient at the same time. This practice is not in patients' best interest as it exposes patients to vision loss in both eyes. However, most LASIK surgeons don't offer patients the option of having one eye done at a time.

LASIK surgeons are not doctors; they are businessmen promoting an unsafe procedure and placing patients' eyesight at risk.