LASIK is so profitable that serious ***SIGN THE PETITION***
We need your help! On January 6, 2011, Morris Waxler, PhD, former head of the FDA branch responsible for reviewing LASIK clinical trials, filed a petition with the FDA calling for immediate withdrawal of FDA-approval of LASIK devices and issuance of a LASIK public health advisory.
Over 700 people have shown their support for Dr. Waxler's petition to stop LASIK. Read comments and sign petition
LASIK Exposed!!!
GlobalTV 16:9 The Bigger Picture 5/28/2011
Young man tells the story of his father's LASIK-related suicide. LASIK clinics exposed for lying to prospective patients about LASIK risks. Young woman's quality of life is diminished by LASIK-induced dry eyes. Former FDA chief wants LASIK stopped, and is calling for a criminal investigation.
Beware of Glenn Hagele
CRSQA / USAEyes.org
Fake Patient Advocate / Fake LASIK Expert
Glenn Hagele and Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance d/b/a USAEyes.org ("CRSQA/USAEyes") are currently being sued for defamation and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
Read lawsuit
Read a LASIK patient's opinion of Glenn Hagele and CRSQA / USAEyes.org: What is CRSQA?
FDA advisers: Clearer LASIK warnings needed
CNN.com 04/25/2008
From the article: "A panel of medical advisers -- mostly eye doctors wearing glasses -- listened to tales of woe and wonder Friday from people who sought to get rid of their specs through LASIK surgery... Matt Kotsovolos, who worked for the Duke Eye Center when he had a more sophisticated LASIK procedure in 2006, said doctors classify him as a success because he now has 20-20 vision. But he said, "For the last two years I have suffered debilitating and unremitting eye pain... That's a big reason that Weiss, the ophthalmologist, won't get LASIK even though she offers it to her patients. "I can read without my glasses and ... operate without my glasses, and I love that," she said. "The second aspect is I would not tolerate any risk for myself."
An Inconvenient Truth - The LASIK Report
The LASIK Report is a literature review of LASIK. The report concludes that LASIK is an inherently harmful procedure and should be abandoned. From the report:
"Early clinical trials did not thoroughly examine adverse effects of LASIK. Since that time, numerous medical studies have examined the risks of LASIK. It is now widely reported in ophthalmic medical journals that complications such as dry eye and visual disturbances in low light are common, and that creation of the corneal flap permanently compromises tensile strength and biomechanical integrity of the cornea."
IMPORTANT NOTICE TO LASIK PATIENTS
From the October 2008 American Academy of Ophthalmology LASIK Patient Guide: "All LASIK patients should ask their doctors for a record of their pre-LASIK correction prescription. This information is important for you to give to the doctor who may perform a future cataract surgery or other eye disease diagnosis and treatment."
If you did not receive a copy of your LASIK medical records, print this form and have it completed by your LASIK surgeon. In some states medical records may be destroyed after five years. Form
Lasik's blurry vision - Salon.com 1/25/2010
From the article: Erik J. Rupard, a doctor and clinical researcher with the U.S. Army, is among those who think such scrutiny is necessary... "I saw lots of dry-eye complications in soldiers in Iraq who had undergone the procedure ostensibly because contacts are too unsafe in that dusty environment, and yet the Department of Defense has done no controlled studies to look at the cost -- human and otherwise -- of these post-refractive issues. I am a clinical researcher, and I know that Lasik, a cosmetic procedure, has never been subjected to the pre- or post-marketing scrutiny that we put even lifesaving drugs through."... Some experts believe the FDA should have taken more care when the first lasers were approved in 1998. "We screwed up," said Morris Waxler, a former branch chief of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health Office of Science and Technology from 1995 to 1999... "We should have looked at the worst-case impact on patients, rather than just the very good outcomes we saw in the clinical trials."
Long-term consequences of LASIK
Letter to the Editor: Happy LASIK patients may not realize or acknowledge the harm they suffered from LASIK for years; nonetheless, the damage is there. Medical research demonstrates (a) that the LASIK flap never heals and may be accidentally dislodged for the rest of a patient's lifetime, (b) that the cornea is permanently weakened and may develop ectasia weeks, months, or years later, leading to vision loss, (c) that corneal nerves which stimulate tear production are severed and destroyed during LASIK, and that these nerves never fully recover -- potentially leading to permanent dry eye disease, (d) that having LASIK causes problems in the future for glaucoma screening and cataract surgery -- prompting the FDA to recommend that LASIK patients obtain a copy of their LASIK medical record, (e) persistent decrease in corneal cells (keratocytes) -- it is unknown how this decrease affects long-term viability of the cornea, and (f) that visual quality at night is permanently reduced after LASIK, even when the patient has 20/20 or better daytime vision. To add insult to injury, visual outcomes of LASIK decline over time. "LASIK success" is like saying "the surgery was a success but the patient died".
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