Lasik Eye Surgery Risks

In the United States, more than a million people each year have corrective laser eye surgery, and about 50,000 of those suffer vision problems or vision loss due to failure of the laser equipment or medical malpractice.

Laser assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) centers can be found just about anywhere – in shopping malls, office buildings and health clinics. With so much competition, LASIK practitioners often resort to false and misleading advertisements about their high success rates with the “virtually risk free” eye surgery. Rarely are the serious side effects of the procedure mentioned.

Many patients have said they were never fully informed of the severe problems that could result from the surgery, and that has become the reason behind hundreds of medical malpractice lawsuits have already been filed against laser eye surgeons. According to the Food and Drug Administration, here are some of the life-altering risks rarely mentioned in LASIK advertisements:

• Loss of vision. Some patients lose lines of vision on the vision chart that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or surgery as a result of treatment.
• Debilitating visual symptoms. Some patients develop glare, halos and/or double vision that can seriously affect nighttime vision.
• Under treatment or overtreatment. Only a certain percent of patients achieve 20/20 vision without glasses or contacts. You may require additional treatment, but additional treatment may not be possible.
• Severe dry eye syndrome. As a result of surgery, your eye may not be able to produce enough tears to keep the eye moist and comfortable.
• Poor results. Results are generally not as good in patients with very large refractive errors of any type.
• Results don’t last. For some farsighted patients, results may diminish with age.

LASIK eye surgery is still considered new technology. The first laser was approved for LASIK in 1998. The long-term safety and effectiveness of LASIK surgery is not known. The Federal Trade Commission is now cautioning that LASIK surgery is “too new to know if there are any long-term ill effects beyond five years after surgery.”

Problems with the surgery are getting more attention because of an increase in malpractice lawsuits. In addition, recent bankruptcies have prompted laser eye clinics to close, causing scores of patients to scramble for follow-up medical care.

LASIK EYE SURGERY LAWYERS / ATTORNEYS

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury or vision loss due to LASIK eye surgery, you should consider receiving a free legal evaluation from an experienced LASIK lawyer. For a free evaluation of your situation please complete the following form and a LASIK attorney will contact you promptly – free of charge.