I don't know who is doing LASIK in San Francisco, but I thought that I'd
pass along this information given to me by my opthalmologist who is still
wearing his glasses when I asked him about LASIK. First let me say, I have
been nearsighted since I was 12 and I am now nearly sixty. I would love to
be free from wearing glasses but conversations with my eye doctor have
dissuaded me. First, he told me that about 64,000 people per year are
blinded by it. I didn't ask him how this happens but he has even met
someone this has happened to. It is a very low percentage for the numbers
of procedures that are done. But even at 1% risk are you willing to take
that risk? Second he told me that in cateract surgery that may at some time
follow the LASIK they don't know how to correct the vision allowing for the
LASIK, making it possibly less successful. Remember radial keratotamy? He
told me a horror storry about a patient who had to have eye surgery and had
that procedure done. Well, his eye "blew" and his vision was irretrievable.
I'm an artist and very particular about my vision. Like I said I'd love to
be free of glasses, but the technology just isn't there yet for me. My
brother had it done and he loves it but he still needs glasses for near
vision, so I'm not sure what the gain was. I don't need glasses for my near
vision. So I guess it is a personal decision, but worth knowing the risks.