At the 2015 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting, Eric Donnenfeld, MD, addresses the myths, misconceptions and realities of LASIK surgery by using an evidence-based approach and evaluates upcoming advancements.
The 2015 AAO Annual meeting was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on 14-17th November 2015. The prestigious Barraquer lecture was presented by Eric Donnenfeld, MD, who addresses the 6 major myths associated with LASIK. Here is a summary of the presentation:
- Physicians do not have LASIK on their own eyes.
This unfounded claim was addressed by Dr Donnenfeld by presenting that he personally knows a large number of physicians who have had LASIK. - Long-term effects of LASIK are not known.
Dr. Donnenfeld demonstrated that the procedure has a 20-year track record and long-term studies have shown refractive stability and safety. - Contacts are safer than LASIK.
He stated that contact lenses are not necessarily safer than LASIK, as with daily wear and extended wear, contact lenses are likely less safe than LASIK if worn over a 30-year period. - LASIK significantly increases the risk of glare and halo.
Dr. Donnenfeld said that, when considering the misconceptions about glare and halo, modern LASIK actually improves on these 2 things rather than making them worse. - Safety and efficacy of LASIK has not improved over time.
Dr. Donnenfeld addressed this myth of safety and efficacy of LASIK, as the “greatest fallacy.” LASIK is the safest procedure with the greatest patient satisfaction of any surgery performed in the world today, he said. The safety and efficacy have both improved markedly over the last 20 years, Dr. Donnenfeld said, and it will continue to improve with new and improved technology advances. - Dry eye is common following LASIK.
Dr. Donnenfeld said that though dry eye is common after LASIK for the first 3 months, it actually resolves after 6 months.