LASIK works well, according to long-term study of highly myopic patients

Philadelphia, December 28, 2007 – Laser surgery to correct vision problems has been in use since the early 1990s. Photorefractive Keratotomy (PRK) is typically used to correct low to moderate myopia, while laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is preferred for high myopia corrections. Although over 18 million LASIK procedures have been performed worldwide, there is still some controversy regarding the maximum correction possible and efficacy with this technique. In an article published in the January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers from Miguel Hernandez University, Medical School, Alicante, Spain; and Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey; report on a study of high myopia patients ten years after LASIK surgery. The findings show that LASIK for myopia over -10 D is a safe and effective procedure in the long-term.

complete article

Lasik surgery becoming more commonplace

By Kathleen Dayton

Few people outside of the medical profession might understand the term “laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis.” But even schoolchildren are likely to have heard about Lasik, the laser surgery used for vision correction that has become one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the country.

“It is definitely becoming more mainstream,” said David Harmon, president of MarketScope, a market research agency focused on opthamology.

About 1.4 million such surgeries are performed annually, which translates to about 750,000 people, since not all patients have both eyes treated. The number of laser eye surgeries has held steady during the past several years, Harmon said, and the average cost of the surgery nationally is now $2,000 per eye.

source

State: Eye doc performed needless surgeries

The state suspended the medical license of a Manhattan eye doctor Thursday, charging that he performed unnecessary laser eye surgeries on six patients, the same day the state was again called to task for how it disciplines doctors.

Dr. Martin Ehrenberg, a board-certified ophthalmologist with offices in Manhattan and Great Neck, faces 32 charges of medical misconduct -- including gross negligence -- for treatments he administered from 1998 through late 2006, according to documents.

Newsday

Dr. Dello Russo Introduces the New EYE-Q Lasik

NEW YORK, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- At a media event held today at the Dello Russo Laser Vision Center in Manhattan, New York, prominent lasik surgeons Drs. Joseph and Jeffrey Dello Russo introduced the most advanced eye laser by Swiss laser maker Alcon, which goes "beyond Custom-cornea".

Since Dr. Joseph Dello Russo introduced laser eye surgery to the nation in 1990, he has long been associated with the "firsts" in lasik evolution, leading the implementation of procedures such as Down-Up, Flying-Spot, Tracking, and in recent years the No-blade lasik (2002), as well as Custom-Cornea by Alcon (2003).

source

Making Laser Surgery Safer for RK Patients

Newswise — A new study being presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s 2007 Annual Meeting suggests that the laser surgery can help improve and possibly stabilize the vision of patients who have radial keratomy (RK) while preventing previously common side effects from the surgery.

In the study, 22 patients who had previously undergone RK and subsequently developed unanticipated changes in prescriptions for correcting vision underwent advanced surface ablation with miomycin C, an anti-scarring medication. Most patients experienced a significant improvement in corrected and uncorrected vision without any complications.

source

LCA-Vision to Begin Nationwide Rollout of IntraLase Femtosecond Technology

LCA-Vision Inc. (Nachrichten) (Nasdaq: LCAV), a leading provider of laser vision correction services under the LasikPlus
brand, announced today plans for a nationwide rollout of Advanced Medical Optics' (NYSE: EYE) IntraLase® femtosecond technology at its LasikPlus vision centers throughout the United States. This decision was made by LCA-Vision in conjunction with its Medical Advisory Board following a comprehensive six-month review and clinical testing process. LCA-Vision's Medical Advisory Board is comprised of a panel of LasikPlus
surgeons who are recognized as some of the most experienced refractive surgeons in the nation.

source

LASIK on the cutting edge without the blade

ANN MARIE BUSH
MORRIS NEWS SERVICE

TOPEKA, Kan. - Chris Padilla had worn a combination of glasses and contacts since he was a third-grader. When he would wake up in the middle of the night, he would have to put on his glasses to see the alarm clock.

"I haven't seen the clock during the middle of the night since I was 6 or 7," said Padilla, who is 28.

All of that changed after Padilla underwent eye surgery, a procedure new to Topeka, blade-free Laser Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK). He recently woke up in the middle of the night and could see the time. "This was a way to free myself from the hassle," he said.

Padilla and Jamie Slack were among the first patients to have the blade-free procedure at Genstler Eye Center in Topeka.

read complete article here

Eyeglass World and LASIK Vision Institute Announce National "Live With Vision" Initiative to Bring Improved Vision and Hope to People Across America

LAKE WORTH, FL--(MARKET WIRE)

Eyeglass World, a top retailer of eyewear, and The LASIK Vision Institute, a leading provider of laser vision correction services, today announced the official launch of Live With Vision, a national program that provides eye care products and services to children and adults in need. Eyeglass World and The LASIK Vision Institute are both owned by Vision Care Holdings, LLC.

Live With Vision will focus on children with undiagnosed vision problems whose families cannot afford eye exams and eyeglasses, as well as adults who are in the process of rebuilding their lives and experiencing financial hardship.

source

New laser may widen scope for eye surgery

New techniques in laser eye surgery could eliminate night vision problems and other undesirable side-effects of the treatment, enabling thousands more people to put aside their glasses and contact lenses.

The latest high-speed, high-precision lasers and iris recognition technology can provide customised procedures to replace the previous “one treatment fits all” approach, resulting in an operation that produces 20/20 vision or better, ophthalmologists say.

The innovations improve the popular LASIK (Laser in Situ Keratomileusis) method of eye surgery, which is used to correct sight and astigmatism – problems resulting from an irregular-shaped cornea.

source article

LASIK eye problems may be underreported

RALEIGH, N.C. — Millions of Americans have undergone laser eye surgery to correct bad vision, and along with the procedure's popularity something else is coming into focus: its hazards.

Advertising stresses the surgery's safety, and most procedures are successful. Tiger Woods, who relies on keen eyesight as the world's best golfer, pitches it as a quick and painless way to restore sharp vision. Even the U.S. Air Force, long skeptical of the surgery, changed its policy last May to let people who had LASIK apply for pilot training.

But every year thousands of Americans who undergo LASIK are left with chronic pain, dryness of the eyes, distorted night vision and even blindness, according to Food and Drug Administration statistics.

source article

Eye surgery leaves many with problems

Millions of Americans have undergone laser eye surgery to correct bad vision, and along with the procedure's popularity something else is coming into focus: its hazards.

Advertising stresses the surgery's safety, and most procedures are successful. Tiger Woods, who relies on keen eyesight as the world's best golfer, pitches it as a quick and painless way to restore sharp vision. Even the U.S. Air Force, long skeptical of the surgery, changed its policy in May to let people who had LASIK apply for pilot training.

But every year thousands of Americans who undergo LASIK are left with chronic pain, dryness of the eyes, distorted night vision and even blindness, according to Food and Drug Administration statistics.

complete article - newsobserver.com

NASA Approves Advanced Lasik for Use on Astronauts

SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) (NYSE: EYE - News), a global leader in ophthalmic surgical devices and eye care products, today announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) has approved the company's LASIK technologies for use on U.S. astronauts. The NASA decision was made following review of extensive military clinical data using AMO's Advanced CustomVue(TM) LASIK with the IntraLase® Method, which showed the combination of technologies provides superior safety and vision.

Approved for use on consumers almost a decade ago, more than 11 million LASIK procedures have been performed to-date, making it the most-common elective surgical procedure in the U.S. But it wasn't until LASIK developed into an all-laser procedure that NASA approved it for use on pilots, mission and payload specialists who face extreme, physically demanding conditions in space. The all-laser LASIK technologies, which utilize wavefront guided and femtosecond lasers, have also been cleared for U.S. military personnel, including most recently Air Force pilots.

source

Assessing Ectasia Risk One Patient at a Time

We’re now a decade and a half into the LASIK era, not exactly long-term by medical standards but long enough that some of the risk associated with the procedure have been put to rest, or at least better understood and managed. Post-LASIK dry eye, for example, in most patients can be avoided or successfully treated until the eye recovers normal function.

A focus on better patient selection, improved diagnostic capabilities and more precise technology to create the flap are a few reasons that the incidence of post-LASIK ectasia does not appear to be on the rise as LASIK procedures have increased. While ectasia can’t yet be consigned to the “problem solved” pile, there is heartening news on both the treatment and diagnostic fronts of this rare but disabling complication.

source article

Results of Lasik not always clear

By Robert Mitchum
Chicago Tribune

Millions of people are estimated to undergo the Lasik procedure each year in the United States at academic clinics, private practices and corporate centers. While the vast majority experience no long-term complications of the surgery, a small percentage find themselves with permanent visual defects that are difficult to treat and hard to live with. Some of these patients respond in anger; a browse of the Internet will turn up several venomous sites calling for litigation against Lasik surgeons, a horror story from comedian Kathy Griffin and even calls for a ban of the procedure itself.

Other patients suffering from post-surgical complications languish in silence, unaware of their options for treatment. Barbara Berney of Rockford was one of these patients, suffering from a long list of complications after her Lasik surgery in 2001: dry eye, night blindness, dimmed vision and a suite of aberrations, including ghosting, halos and starbursts. 'If you made a list of complications, I'd probably have 70 percent of them,' Berney said. 'How I can stay sane, I don't know.' After a second surgery did not significantly improve her vision, and after an unsuccessful legal action against her surgeon, Berney decided to start an organization for people in her situation: the Vision Surgery Rehabilitation Network.

source article

Lasik Device To Correct Bifocal Vision Approved

One of America’s biggest eye care companies has had its recent invention-the CustomVue Monovision Lasik device, approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Advanced Medical Optics Inc. claims the invention is the first Lasik device to correct one of a patient's eyes to see far (myopia) and the other eye to see objects close-up (presbyopia).

According to the FDA the instrument works by correcting all the nearsightedness to help distance vision in a patient's dominant eye, while fixing only part of the nearsightedness in the less dominant eye, which helps close-up vision. The FDA has asked the company to conduct a study tracking 500 patients for six months after surgery, to check for potential visual disturbances that could limit activities or worsen a patient's quality of life.

source article

FDA Approves Monovision LASIK

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first LASIK device to reduce the need for reading glasses after age 40.

Called CustomVue Monovision LASIK, the laser platform and associated software manufactured by AMO/VISX (Santa Clara, CA) treats one eye to see distant objects and the other eye to see things up close.

"The approval of the CustomVue Monovision LASIK expands permanent vision correction options for nearsighted adults who also have trouble focusing on objects close-up. Unlike traditional LASIK, Monovision LASIK may reduce the need for reading glasses in some people over 40." says Daniel Schultz, MD, director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health in a press release issued by the FDA on July 12, 2007.

source article

Heavy myopia may be cured with new laser eye surgery

CORRECTIVE SURGERY: Costing nearly twice as much as conventional LASIK surgery, intraLASIK may be the only option for some cases of myopia
By Angelica Oung
STAFF REPORTER

Myopic patients who wish to improve their vision but are deemed unsuitable for conventional eye surgery can now seek another surgical procedure, an eye doctor said yesterday.

Despite being nearly twice as expensive as laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery, Ting Min-feng, an ophthalmologist, said he had performed "hundreds" of procedures since importing the first equipment at a cost of NT$20 million (US$610,000).

"For some, it is the only option," Ting said.

"With conventional LASIK surgery, the corneal layer is peeled back using a blade before the laser is used to vaporize part of the corneal tissue," Ting said. "The use of femtosecond lasers accomplishes the same task with far greater accuracy."

complete article

Deploying soldiers get free LASIK priority

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Special Forces Groups and other units most likely to go to combat in Iraq will get priority in free laser or photorefractive surgery being offered to soldiers at Fort Carson.

Surgery must be done at least 90 days before a soldier deploys, the Fort Carson Mountaineer reported Friday, quoting military medical officials.

“Right now we do 500 per year. Hopefully, we will triple that amount so that all soldiers who want the procedure and are candidates for it will be able to have it done,” said Mike Ives, Eye Clinic supervisor at Evans Army Community Hospital. Ives encourages soldiers to consider having one of the procedures.

source article

Bad eyes? Learn about Lasik, Lasek and PRK (from Mayo clinic)

Tribune Media ServicesPublished May 27, 2007
Q. I'm 48 and have been wearing hard contacts since I was 10. Apparently, as we approach 50, our eyes don't produce as many tears, so my lenses have become uncomfortable. What's the latest information on refractive surgery, and which kind has the best success rate?

A. Refractive surgery refers to procedures aimed at correcting "refractive error," an abnormality in the eye's focusing power resulting in nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. Nearsightedness occurs when the curvature of the cornea, the transparent membrane that arcs over the front of the eye, is too steep. Farsightedness results if the cornea is too flat. And astigmatism is the problem when the curvature varies.

If discussions with your doctor lead to refractive surgery, instead of eyeglasses, three time-tested procedures are available: laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (Lasik), photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), and laser epithelial keratomileusis (Lasek).

read complete article here

Laser Eye Surgery Video

The Discovery Channel show "How its Made" has produced an excellent beginning to end segment on laser eye surgery. This one is short on the gory close ups and hi tech and instead takes the viewer step by step through the process. Video is below

LASIK For Older Adults

A new University of Illinois at Chicago study appearing in the online edition of the journal Ophthalmology reports on the safety, efficacy and predictability of laser eye surgery (laser in situ keratomileusis or LASIK) in patients 40-69 years old.

"We are seeing an increasing demand for LASIK surgery for older adults, who present special challenges," said study co-author Dr. Dimitri Azar, Field chair of ophthalmologic research at UIC.

In LASIK surgery, adjustments in correction are routinely made to compensate for the cornea's strong healing responses in younger patients, Azar said. Increased age has been previously associated with poorer final clarity of vision, as measured on an eye chart (visual acuity).

"We were able to show that fine adjustments in the correction to the cornea in our older patients that compensate for differences in age-related healing resulted in reliable predictability of correction," said Azar, who is also professor and head of the UIC department of ophthalmology and visual sciences.

Read article here

Blade vs. Laser: Is There a Difference in Outcomes?

David J. Tanzer, MD, San Diego

Perhaps the largest study to date to compare microkeratomes gives the laser the edge.

In the past year, there have been numerous reports comparing the results seen with the femtosecond laser to the visual results when a mechanical microkeratome is used. But few of these studies have included a large number of eyes.

In our most recent LASIK study conducted at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, we set out to evaluate three keratome devices for LASIK flap creation: the Amadeus Microkeratome (Advanced Medical Optics); the Hansatome Microkeratome (Bausch & Lomb); and the IntraLase FS femtosecond laser (IntraLase).

The results show that there are some definitive clinical benefits to using the femtosecond laser for LASIK flap creation, chief among them being a much more reproducible flap.

Source Article Here

Better Eyes in Old Age

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Laser eye surgery isn't just for the young. A new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago shows there are still substantial benefits of laser eye surgery, or LASIK, for older patients. There were known benefits to having LASIK at a young age because of the cornea's strong healing responses, but now researchers have found small adjustments in the correction to the cornea compensate for differences in age-related healing for older patients.

Complete Article is Here

Wavefront-Guided LASIK: The New Frontier

/24-7PressRelease/ - April 11, 2007

Wavefront-guided LASIK uses Wavefront technology to customize the surgery precisely to your eyes. Traditional LASIK and corrective lenses can correct common vision problems including nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism, but cannot address other problems with quality of vision. Higher order aberrations can cause vision problems such as halos, glare, decreased contrast sensitivity, and shadows. These problems normally do not affect visual acuity (how you test on the eye chart) but affect the quality of what you see in real life. Higher order aberrations can actually be exacerbated by traditional LASIK surgery.

So what are higher order aberrations? As they relate to your vision, they are infinitesimal imperfections that create minute changes in the light rays that pass through your eye. These minute changes in the light rays affect the quality of your vision (even with glasses or contact lenses) although you are probably not even aware of the difference.

Read Press Release Here

Selling elective refractive procedures

By: Nancy Groves
Ophthalmology

Demonstrating value, meeting individual needs win patients over

Whether a patient is interested in LASIK or in cataract surgery that may include an optional IOL to correct presbyopia, the approach should be the same।

"There are a couple of rules for the road that are really important," explained Shareef Mahdavi।

"One of them is that before you start talking about solutions as a provider, you need to understand the problem that they're going through," Mahdavi said। "The problem is more than just 'I can't see well.' You need to get to their specific and unique concerns."

Getting there means having a conversation with each patient about his or her lifestyle, work habits, leisure activities, computer use, reading—anything that helps you understand them.

"That's really important, and there isn't enough of that being done," Mahdavi said. "People tend to shortcut that step and want to go right into a selling mode, saying why the technology is really good or why that particular surgeon is really good. Typically, that's done sooner than it should be."

Patients want to feel special, and they want to feel listened to," Mahdavi added. "The counselors who do that well are going to have a lot less resistance when it comes to price and people saying yes."

Source Article Here

Lasik Surgery or contacts? Which is better?

Jean Enerson
King5 News

There are more than a million people who say they need vision correction but don't use any.

Whats the best option?

We looked at two women, both have 20-20 vision but they achieved it in different ways.

Claire Anselmo traded in her glasses 6 years ago and became one of more than 30 million Americans who wear contact lenses. They were easy to use, and not as high maintenance as I originally thought they were," she said.

Jacquelyn Walent wore contacts until she developed a fungus and went back to glasses but they were a burden.Article is Here

'Wavefront' charts new way for eye tests

By Deena Beasley

Los Angeles - The next time you go to the eye doctor, chances are a machine will be able to tell whether you can make out "T Z V E C L" before you even try to read the eye chart.

That's because the 100-year-old system used by ophthalmologists to find your eye prescription is likely to be replaced by technology - invented by an astrophysicist - that can precisely measure how light waves are bent by each human eye.

Several companies are working on commercial "wavefront" technology and at least one version, priced in the same
$30 000-$50 000 (R180 000-R300 000) range as other ophthalmic diagnostic imaging systems, is expected on the market later this year.

Since the current method relies on the patient's judgment of whether a particular set of lenses results in better vision, access to more objective, scientific data will give doctors much more accurate measurements, makers of the devices say.

In addition, the combination of wavefront measurements with increasingly popular vision correction surgery enables surgeons to directly input a map of the patient's eye into the lasers used to reshape the cornea.

complete article here

Laser Eye Surgery: 10 Years Later

CBS News

If you're considering laser surgery to correct your nearsightedness, you can rest assured that the results will last long term.

A team of researchers from Spain tracked LASIK surgery (laser in-situ keratomileusis) and its forerunner, PRK (photorefractive keratectomy). In both procedures, the cornea is reshaped so that light entering the eye focuses on the retina in the back of the eye, as it does in those with normal vision.

"Our findings are that both are safe after 10 years," and the visual correction holds for the most part, says researcher Jorge Alio, M.D., Ph.D., an ophthalmologist.

Complete Article

What to Look for in LASIK

Click2 Houston.com
J. Scott Wilson, Staff writer

The ads are everywhere, on TV and radio and in the newspaper and your e-mail box: "Live Without Glasses or Contacts!" "Vision Restoration!"

All the noise is over LASIK surgery, but does it really work? The short answer, for the vast majority of clients, is yes.

Jennifer Haynes-Watkins, a Web journalist in Belmont, N.C., had LASIK five years ago

"As cliché as it sounds, LASIK really did change my life. I’ll never forget my first trip to the beach after my surgery. I woke up in the middle of the night in the hotel and could actually see to get to the bathroom and didn’t have to pat down the entire nightstand to find my glasses. It was like a whole new world," she says.

Haynes-Watkins recounts her first trip to the beach after the surgery.

"Who knew you could actually just open your eyes and walk over? Then, to be able to go swimming without feeling like the children in the pool were planning an evil plot to splash you and ruin your contacts was great, too. I could go from lounge chair to pool and back without thinking twice about my vision."

Read complete article here

Eye Braces To Correct Vision

LOS ANGELES -- Should you get laser surgery, contacts or wear glasses? All are choices that should be made with your eyes wide open. But what if you could change the way you see while you sleep and straighten out bad vision with eye braces?

Following is a verbatim script from the on-air report:

Eye Doctor: Day glow eyes ... we put a little florescent dye in so we could see the tear pattern

Peggy Pico, Reporter: It's just one way to see if NBC producer, Tim Williams' special contact lenses or eye braces are in place.

Tim volunteered for a research study on the nightwear corrective lenses ... officially known as orthocaratolgogy or CRT lenses.

The hard and thick glass contact lenses are worn to bed each night

Complete Article is Here

Dr. James Salz Highlights Advantages of "Wavefront" LASIK and PRK

PRWeb

Dr. James Salz
"Years of Refinement Have Made Laser Eye Surgery Better Than Ever" by Michelle Andrews.

In the article, Dr. James Salz, discussed "wavefront" technology for LASIK and PRK refractive procedures. According to Dr. James Salz, "wavefront technology" increases the chance of obtaining 20/20 vision and reduces higher order aberrations such as glare and starbursts by providing a more precise map of the unique optical landscape of a patient's eyes. Dr. Salz can be seen performing the LASIK refractory surgery procedure on a patient in the accompanying photo (by Joey Terrill).

The article discusses LASIK, PRK, and other laser eye procedures, such as LASEK and Epi-LASIK, and interviews both patients who have had laser vision correction surgery and the doctors who perform these types of procedures. The article provides a good summary of eye conditions that can be improved with laser eye surgery procedures as well as some of the complications that can occur. In addition, the article notes what patients should look for in selecting a doctor in order to obtain the best results from LASIK, PRK or another laser vision correction surgery.

LASIK vs. LASEK? It's a Draw

Review of Optometry Online

A study comparing the safety, effectiveness and reliability of LASIK and LASEK has found no clinically significant differences between the two types of laser eye surgery.


The study, published in December’s American Journal of Ophthalmology, involved 122 LASIK-treated eyes that were matched for all measures with 122 LASEK-treated eyes from a review of the charts of 2,257 eye surgeries performed by one surgeon.


“We found that although there were some differences in the visual and refractive results that favor the LASEK procedure, the differences were not clinically significant,” says lead researcher Dimitri Azar, M.D., head of ophthalmology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The researchers note that previous smaller studies had found similar results.


“Both procedures seem safe, effective and predictable for the treatment of low to moderate myopia,” Dr. Azar says.

Studying Epi-LASIK without the flap

Maxine Lipner
EyeWorld Senior Contributing Editor

One of the hallmarks of Epi-LASIK has been the epithelial flap, which is laid back down after ablation. However, some practitioners have been taking an unusual approach and have begun removing the epithelial flap entirely. New study results presented at the 2006 American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in Las Vegas indicate that visual outcomes and residual pain may be preferable without the flap.

Continue Articl here

Airmen need commander approval before eye surgery

Beth Young
75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Advancements in laser eye surgeries have made it possible to get rid of a lifetime of eye glasses and contact lenses in one procedure, but before military members talk to the eye doctor, they need to talk to their commander.

“Because it is so easy to do, they don’t think of it as a surgery,” said Maj. (Dr.) Marvin Acquistapace, 75th Optometry Flight commander. “It hasn’t been really frequent but there have been several cases where people have gotten refractive surgery done on the civilian side, and it impacted their ability to be deployed.”

Because an adverse outcome or an extended recovery time could make them non-deployable, military members must get written approval from their squadron commander before getting any type of laser eye surgery, he said

Continue

Experts Expose The Truth Behind "Horror Stories" of Lasik Surgeries Found Online

A new website, www.lasiktruth.org, has been launched to bring honesty to the Internet by eliminating bogus LASIK sites that present false claims of LASIK complications. Started in 2000, several LASIK bashing sites arose that were sponsored by lawyers "fishing" for clients to sue LASIK surgeons.

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 17, 2007

A new website, www.lasiktruth.org, has been launched to bring honesty to the Internet by eliminating bogus LASIK sites that present false claims of LASIK complications. Started in 2000, several LASIK bashing sites arose that were sponsored by lawyers "fishing" for clients to sue LASIK surgeons.

We are all familiar with lawyers' ads on radio, TV and newspapers that offer their services if we have been injured. This is an example of expensive types of advertisements. Now lawyers have found a very cheap, effective and dishonest way to advertise by highlighting LASIK complications as a method to recruit clients. These sites claim to be honest sites created by LASIK patients who have had complicated LASIK surgery and the site warns people, thus protecting the public. However these sites are totally bogus. The sites are characterized by 100 percent rambling of complaints. The false message is that maybe LASIK is unsafe. These sites are "optimized" so that they appear on the first pages of major search engines.

Continue

Better screening, communication should help limit corneal ectasia

Las Vegas
Opthamology Times

Refractive surgeons may be able to reduce the incidence of corneal ectasia through careful screening for probable and possible risk factors, the use of microkeratomes producing predictable flap thickness, and increased communication with their colleagues, said R. Doyle Stulting, MD, PhD, here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Also needed, according to Dr. Stulting, are prospective trials for borderline cases and basic investigations of keratocyte function. A planned international registry may help facilitate communication and research, he said.

Ectasia, first reported by Theo Seiler, MD, PhD, in 1998, Dr. Stulting said, is defined as thinning and steepening in the central cornea that causes progressive myopia and astigmatism, leading to loss of uncorrected visual acuity and best-corrected visual acuity.

CONTINUE

Quebec Eye Centers Switch to 'Blade-free' IntraLase LASIK Procedure

QUEBEC, Feb. 6 /CNW/

New blade-free IntraLase Method(TM) replaces thesurgical blade traditionally used to create the corneal flap before each LASIK procedure. This new technology is now available at Clinique Laser Visuel De Québec, Clinique de l'oeil de Montréal, Cliniques Michel Pop and Clinique 100% Vision.

The LASIK procedure is a highly evolved, safe procedure. However, until the introduction of IntraLase, LASIK was not an all-laser procedure, and the risks associated with the use of a hand-held blade (or mechanical microkeratome) have kept many patients from considering LASIK.

Continue