The Eye of the Laserholder

The latest self-improvement craze is laser eye surgery – called laser assisted in the situ keratomileusis or LASIK – that let folks do away with glasses or contacts by heading to the local mall and undergoing a 'simple', 10-minute procedure that's 'guaranteed' safe. But is it safe? A growing number of lawsuits indicate otherwise. Although most verdicts to date have involved dramatic injuries like loss of sight or severe corneal disfigurement, thousands of complaints have been recorded that involve double vision, halos, and compromised depth perception. As the procedure becomes more widely marketed, the number of procedures is expected to top 2 million in 2001. At $1,000 to $3,000 (or more) per eye, the profits can be staggering. Lawyers report that current complaints fall into two categories: improper evaluation and operator error. Not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK, and the person doing the screening in most cases is an optometrist, who lacks a medical degree. Red flags should include irregular astigmatism, glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy; commonly ignored are patients whose dilated pupils are too large to accommodate the operation. Operator error is compounded by the fact that only a handful of laser machines are actually approved for LASIK by the FDA. Others are built by legitimate laser manufacturers but approved only for export - and some doctors have re-imported them to cut costs. If you're considering LASIK surgery, be thorough in your own evaluation of practitioners and their credentials.

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