To date, more than 17 million people worldwide have had LASIK eye surgery in hopes of relegating glasses and contacts to the waste bin. And each year, an estimated 700,000 Americans opt for the procedure, which uses a laser to vaporize portions of the cornea and reshape it to improve vision. LASIK surgery can correct nearsightedness and farsightedness, as well as astigmatism, an imperfection in the curvature of the eye that can cause blurred vision.
About 95 percent of patients are happy with the results of LASIK (which stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis), the American Academy of Ophthalmology reports, based on a compilation of worldwide surveys.
But there have been an increasing number of complaints from unhappy patients who say they have experienced significant problematic complications after LASIK. They've been reporting that problems like dry eye, glare, double vision, and starbursts (blurring around objects) have impaired their ability to function day-to-day and significantly affected their quality of life, says Dr. Malvina Eydelman of the Food and Drug Administration. In response, the FDA has decided to investigate further.
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