Opinion: Better lasik information offered

After Tiger Woods had laser surgery to improve his eyesight, he said he felt like he'd "experienced a miracle." But if you're ready to toss out your glasses for a miracle of your own, you have a few more important things to consider than how the treatment might improve your golf game.

The Eye Surgery Education Council has released a list of guidelines to help potential lasik patients decide whether they are good candidates for the surgery. The much-needed list was created after the council conducted a survey in March that found a large percentage of the general population holds several misperceptions about the procedure.

Lasik, or laser in-situ keratomileusis, is the most commonly performed laser eye surgery in the United States. More than 1-million Americans are expected to undergo the procedure this year.

The quick and often painless surgery takes about 30 minutes to perform. A doctor cuts a flap in the cornea -- the clear covering of the front of the eye -- and uses a laser to reshape the cornea, then repositions the flap back over the eye. The chances of having a serious vision-threatening complication are less than 1 percent.

Despite lasik's ease and popularity, not everyone with poor vision is eligible for the procedure or will obtain perfect vision afterward. The council's survey results indicated that about 40 percent of people mistakenly believe otherwise.

Rather than consulting a doctor, too many people base their knowledge of laser eye surgery on promotional ads, secondhand accounts from friends who've undergone the procedure or Internet sites that are often biased toward a certain lasik provider. A media tendency to highlight isolated incidents of surgery-induced vision problems aren't slowing the rumor mill either.

Despite its hype, lasik surgery is not guaranteed to produce 20/20 vision or forever end the need for glasses or contact lenses. The vast majority of lasik patients gain improved vision and no longer need corrective lenses for activities such as playing sports or watching TV, but might still require reading glasses or nighttime driving glasses.

Unfortunately, these aren't the facts that too many lasik surgeons have chosen to widely publicize, instead opting for the all-too-frequent ads that promise people can throw away their glasses.

The council offers reliable guidelines, which can be found on its Web site (www.eyesurgeryeducation.com), to help eye care patients wade through the hoopla. They explain the tests needed before the surgery, possible side-effects and complications and several personal factors that potential candidates needs to consider. The information will help patients have realistic expectations of lasik surgery and let them know the right questions to ask their doctor when discussing the procedure

The guidelines supply potential lasik patients with credible information that, until now, hasn't been easily accessible. If more eye care professionals would follow suit, perhaps a lot more Americans would be seeing straight.

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