LASIK eye surgery needs to stop,
former FDA adviser says: Report
Fox Business,
by
Ann Schmidt
Original Article
Posted By: MissMolly,
11/15/2019 4:24:12 AM
Even though LASIK has been around for 20 years in the U.S., one former FDA adviser has said the procedure should be taken off the market.
Dr. Morris Waxler originally voted to approve the eye surgery, but he’s changed his mind.
"Essentially we ignored the data on vision distortions that persisted for years," the retired FDA adviser told CBS News.
"I re-examined the documentation … and I said, 'Wow this is not good,'" he added. LASIK surgery uses a special laser to reshape the cornea to improve the eye’s “focusing power,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Rather Read 11/15/2019 4:53:56 AM (No. 235525)
I just had it. After 60+ years of very poor sight, I can finally see well. I am pleased.
6 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
StormCnter 11/15/2019 6:17:42 AM (No. 235553)
My eye doctor, who shares the same type of astigmatism as I, told me he had decided against LAZIK for himself and didn't recommend it for me.
1 person likes this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
ussjimmycarter 11/15/2019 6:47:53 AM (No. 235569)
Got my eyes checked at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester. The Dr. Told me flat out to NEVER have Lazik! She said you have one shot with your eyes and they can screw it up and you are stuck for the rest of your life! This was 15 years ago!
1 person likes this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Rather Read 11/15/2019 6:48:07 AM (No. 235570)
My doctor said it would help and he has the same kind of astigmatism I do. So I had it at the time I had cataracts removed. I am pleased. I can see distance, I do have glare at night, but I had that before the surgery. My dry eye is not that bad and the pressure in my eyes is down a lot. I am happy with that
1 person likes this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Historybuff 11/15/2019 7:37:39 AM (No. 235605)
Had it done 15 years ago. Knew that I'd need reading glasses going into it. I used to wear coke-bottles. That night I was reading the zipper on Fox News from across the room. Very pleased with the results.
Best part - not having to trust the barber, and walking in the mist without having to wipe your glasses every 10 minutes.
For a long time when the alarm went off in the morning I would reach first for the glasses. . . that were no longer there.
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
MOBeef4u 11/15/2019 8:27:47 AM (No. 235664)
Consider what would happen if we banned every medical procedure where anyone had a poor outcome. There would be no procedures at all. Some people are poor candidates for LASIK and still have it done. It's no surprise they have poor outcomes. I think that that number is actually quite small relative to the total procedures done. Banning LASIK sounds like a gross overreaction.
5 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
msjena 11/15/2019 8:34:39 AM (No. 235672)
I also know of someone who had permanent eye injury from LASIK. At a minimum, they should do one eye at a time, after disclosing all of the risks. Near-sighted people just exchange one pair of glasses for another. Why bother?
1 person likes this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
ramona 11/15/2019 8:38:35 AM (No. 235677)
Except for the barber part, I could have written the reply from poster 5. My vision was 20/200 before LASIK with severe astigmatism. The lasers needed to correct it were not yet approved in the U.S. so I went to Canada and had the surgery done by Tiger Wood's doctor. 20 years later my vision is 20/20 on the left and 20/30 on the right. I don't need glasses for driving or reading.
it was not a decision I made lightly and I refuse to cast aspersions on people who won't do it. Before the surgery - after several rounds of testing to even get approval - I had to sit down with the surgeon as he reviewed the procedure with me. I looked him in the eye and asked 'How confident are you about doing this procedure on me?' His response was strong and reassuring - ''Very confident!''
As I sat in the waiting area, watching on a tv monitor the patients who were scheduled ahead of me that morning, he stopped just before he began on another patient. Something wasn't right and he refused to continue. This woman came out angry and screaming at everyone because she had taken a day off work and traveled a distance to Toronto. But the dr. was adamant. Conditions weren't right and he was not going to do it.
I don't blame anyone for not wanting to take the chance on it. But I won't criticize anyone else's decision to go for it. I am grateful to God that after 40 years of being legally blind without prescription lenses, I can rely on my vision to see clearly. I will never forget the moment I removed the eye shades 12 hours after the surgery and looked out the window. I was sure something was wrong as I tried to make sense of what i was looking at - the top of a very tall tree. I could actually see individual leaves on the tallest branches. I cried - this was a miracle for me. So very thankful that I found people of integrity to get me through the process. So grateful that I can read the research results and that I have the freedom to make up my own mind.
Ramona (the Pest)
12 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
DVC 11/15/2019 1:41:52 PM (No. 236007)
I had glasses from age 13, never was tempted to get laser surgery. Used soft contacts for a while, never liked them. Cataract surgery a few years back gave me pretty good vision uncorrected, slight correction at distance for best possible vision, and reading glasses, of course.
Glad I never had the laser surgery.
0 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
SALady 11/16/2019 12:28:58 AM (No. 236376)
I had LASIK done 20 years ago (when I was getting ready to turn 40).
It was, from a totally selfish perspective, the best thing I ever did solely for myself. I am turning 60 pretty soon, and I still have 20/20 vision. Prior to the LASIK, I wore thick glasses since I was 13!!!!!
They warned me going in about potential complications, but I was definitely one of the lucky ones!!! I would do it again in a second!!!!!
2 people like this.
Don't you have the same risks on any eye surgery ? A bad doctor can screw up cataract surgery.
2 people like this.
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