Have Lasik Practitioners Properly Warned Patients of the Risks?

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana. Lasik is often touted as a surgery that can give patients 20/20 vision. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, the idea of not having to pop in contacts every morning or the thought of throwing away your glasses might sound like a welcome change. Yet, some Lasik patients experience serious side effects. Many of these patients claim that their doctors didn’t properly warn them of the risks before they underwent the elective surgery.

According to the FDA, Lasik surgery involves the precision removal of corneal tissue to improve the eye’s ability to focus. People suffer from myopia or other vision problems because of irregularities of the cornea. Lasik aims to correct these irregularities.

While the surgery can offer excellent vision correction, the New York Times reports that some doctors may overstate the benefits and understate the risks. According to the Times, some patients suffered serious complications, resulting in impaired vision and pain. In some cases, these complications led to lost jobs.

According to the Times, approximately half of patients with healthy eyes went on to suffer from visual distortions after Lasik. A third of patients went on to develop dry eyes. Dry eyes can be incredibly painful. Some sufferers report having to use eye drops every half hour to keep their eyes moistened.

Unfortunately, not all patients are warned of their risks.

Are many patients undergoing a surgery that could be riskier than they think it is? Many eye doctors believe that Lasik is very safe. They note that many of the serious symptoms go away as the eye heals. Approximately 700,000 people undergo the surgery each year. Eye doctors claim that patient reviews of the surgery remain positive and that many of the visual distortions and dry eye symptoms go away with time,

Yet, a study found that while many patients were satisfied with the surgery, many of the patients experienced complications like dry eyes and difficulty seeing at night.

Patients who have suffered complications have asked the FDA to require stronger warnings. Studies have found that not only does Lasik have more potential complications than previously thought, but it also increases a patient’s risk of developing earlier cataracts and developing other conditions that can lead to vision loss.

Lasik is an elective procedure. Would you undergo a procedure that has a 2 percent risk of leading to symptoms that could interfere with your life activities? According to the Times, 2 percent of patients report this outcome.

Doctors explain that “dry eyes” may not be dry eyes at all but the result of nerve damage that occurs when doctors cut into the cornea.

Have you undergone Lasik surgery? Are you suffering from severe pain or vision problems after your surgery? The The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm are New Orleans, Louisiana medical malpractice lawyers who are closely watching as more Lasik patients come forward detailing their complications. Visit us at http://www.lawbowling.com/ to learn more about our work.