What happens when Lasik Surgery Fails
Can LASIK eye surgery fail? The answer to this question is yes. Every year over one million individuals have LASIK eye surgery to correct their vision with mostly positive results. However, about two to three percent of all procedures fail and leave patients with worse vision than they experienced prior to their surgery. You're saying to yourself, "a two or three percent failure rate is not bad", so what is the problem? Well if you’re in the two or three percent of failed procedures, you may be left with permanent visual disturbances, vision loss, and eye pain.
An article in the Chicago Tribune stated that patients who undergo LASIK vision corrective surgery must sign a release that outlines a large list of potential risks before surgery. However, this extensive list of risks does not include the risk of severe depression if the individual is left with permanent eye damage from the procedure.
Most ophthalmologists would have us believe there is no cause and effect issue with ruined vision and depression. Unfortunately, unsuccessful surgical procedures may leave an individual with constant eye pain and vision problems; consequently, patients are often depressed and frustrated. Lets face it, these individuals are not only left with vision loss and pain, and additional remorse and depression---These individuals actually paid someone to take their sight away.
Most doctors agree that patients who are susceptible to anxiety and depression may not be the best candidates for LASIK surgery, however I do not agree with medical professionals such as Dr. Alan Carlson of Duke Eye Center, when he compared failed LASIK surgery to the depression that follows the unsatisfactory results of plastic surgery. My expectation of such a surgery would be that I would at least be able to see as well as I did prior to the surgery, not worse. Simply put, there is no comparison between the two.
The Federal Food and Drug Administration has responded to patient complaints with plans of a national study to determine the relationship between LASIK complications and quality of life issues including but not limited to depression and anxiety. Currently, there are very few studies that address quality of life issues related to corrective eye surgery.
The FDA has formed a task force of representatives from both the National Eye Institute and the National Institutes of Health, that will be responsible for creating a nationwide study to address the complications of failed LASIK procedures. The FDA is planning a broad comprehensive study that will be performed by laser surgeons across the United States.
My main concern with the FDA study is how objective will laser surgeons be when their livelihood depends upon LASIK corrective procedures, especially since most of the vision professionals in this article refused to believe there was any correlation between ruined vision and significant post procedure depression.
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An article in the Chicago Tribune stated that patients who undergo LASIK vision corrective surgery must sign a release that outlines a large list of potential risks before surgery. However, this extensive list of risks does not include the risk of severe depression if the individual is left with permanent eye damage from the procedure.
Most ophthalmologists would have us believe there is no cause and effect issue with ruined vision and depression. Unfortunately, unsuccessful surgical procedures may leave an individual with constant eye pain and vision problems; consequently, patients are often depressed and frustrated. Lets face it, these individuals are not only left with vision loss and pain, and additional remorse and depression---These individuals actually paid someone to take their sight away.
Most doctors agree that patients who are susceptible to anxiety and depression may not be the best candidates for LASIK surgery, however I do not agree with medical professionals such as Dr. Alan Carlson of Duke Eye Center, when he compared failed LASIK surgery to the depression that follows the unsatisfactory results of plastic surgery. My expectation of such a surgery would be that I would at least be able to see as well as I did prior to the surgery, not worse. Simply put, there is no comparison between the two.
The Federal Food and Drug Administration has responded to patient complaints with plans of a national study to determine the relationship between LASIK complications and quality of life issues including but not limited to depression and anxiety. Currently, there are very few studies that address quality of life issues related to corrective eye surgery.
The FDA has formed a task force of representatives from both the National Eye Institute and the National Institutes of Health, that will be responsible for creating a nationwide study to address the complications of failed LASIK procedures. The FDA is planning a broad comprehensive study that will be performed by laser surgeons across the United States.
My main concern with the FDA study is how objective will laser surgeons be when their livelihood depends upon LASIK corrective procedures, especially since most of the vision professionals in this article refused to believe there was any correlation between ruined vision and significant post procedure depression.
Return to:
Prior Posts
Doubting Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue
Fatigue, sources of
Social Security Disability Backlog
Disability Rights
A new drug for MS
Lyme Disease symptoms
Diabetes and Insulin therapy
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