Safety and efficacy

Monday, December 21, 2009

Lasik Eye Surgery Result - Safety and efficacy

The reported figures for safety and efficacy are open to interpretation. In 2003, the Medical Defence Union (MDU), the largest insurer for doctors in the United Kingdom, reported a 166 percent increase in claims involving laser eye surgery; however, the MDU averred that some of these claims resulted primarily from patients' unrealistic expectations of LASIK rather than faulty surgery.[18] A 2003 study, reported in the medical journal Ophthalmology, found that nearly 18 percent of treated patients and 12 percent of treated eyes needed retreatment. The authors concluded that higher initial corrections, astigmatism, and older age are risk factors for LASIK retreatment.

In 2004, the British National Health Service's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) considered a systematic review of four randomized controlled trials before issuing guidance for the use of LASIK within the NHS. Regarding the procedure's efficacy, NICE reported, "Current evidence on LASIK for the treatment of refractive errors suggests that it is effective in selected patients with mild or moderate short-sightedness," but that "evidence is weaker for its effectiveness in severe short-sightedness and long-sightedness." Regarding the procedure's safety, NICE reported that "there are concerns about the procedure's safety in the long term and current evidence does not appear adequate to support its use within the NHS without special arrangements for consent and for audit or research."

Leading refractive surgeons in the United Kingdom and United States, including at least one author of a study cited in the report, believe NICE relied on information that is severely dated and weakly researched.

On October 10, 2006, WebMD reported that statistical analysis revealed that contact lens wear infection risk is greater than the infection risk from LASIK. Daily contact lens wearers have a 1-in-100 chance of developing a serious, contact lens-related eye infection in 30 years of use, and a 1-in-2,000 chance of suffering significant vision loss as a result of infection. The researchers calculated the risk of significant vision loss consequence of LASIK surgery to be closer to 1-in-10,000 cases.

Source: Lasik Eye Surgery Result, Safety and Efficacy at wikipedia.org