Out go the eyeglasses, and in comes the LASIK (Laser Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis) surgery. Is this the vision correction that you have long been contemplating?
To assist consumers, the Consumer Council has surveyed the market for LASIK surgery service at 4 private hospitals and 10 eye surgery clinics, and sought expert advice on this increasingly popular treatment.
LASIK is presently the most commonly performed refractive eye surgery to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism.
In the view of the experts, no surgical procedure is totally risk free; complications may arise and the actual risk may differ from individual to individual.
Although there have been highly successful cases, there is no guarantee that consumers after receiving LASIK surgery will be completely free of eyeglasses or result in perfect vision.
So, keep your glasses on and weigh very carefully the pros and cons of such eye treatment.
By and large, the survey found these 14 service providers to offer quite a wide range of information covering potential risks or complications, and varying in content and level of details.
Some provide comprehensive content listing out the potential risks in detail; but a few only briefly note the possibility of complications that may arise, and the need to consult doctors beforehand.
Where potential risks and complications are not covered in printed promotional leaflets, some service providers may offer free-of-charge preliminary eye assessment and medical consultation to potential clients.
The Council has sought the expert opinions of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the College of Ophthalmologists of Hong Kong.
According to the experts, the risks and possible side-effects of LASIK surgery include: flap-related complications (irregular flap, wrinkles or folds), epithelial in-growth, corneal ulcer, infection, cone-shaped cornea, halo, double vision and dry eye, etc.
In general, the experts agreed that most LASIK complications can be managed and the risk of serious and permanent damage is low accordingly.
In particular, LASIK is in general not recommended for patients with lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, or those with keratitis, dacryocystitis, cone-shaped cornea, glaucoma, or progressive cataract, etc.
They are advised to consider carefully, and discuss their medical history with ophthalmologists.
Other highlights of interest include:
- The maximum LASIK treatment range depends on many factors including whether the patients have enough corneal tissue for ablation. In suitable cases, myopia can be treated up to about 1200 degrees (100 degrees = 1 dioptre), hyperopia and astigmatism, each to about 600 degrees.
- People with serious myopia should be wary that LASIK surgery only changes the shape of the cornea; it could not prevent or stop those myopia-associated diseases such as retinal degeneration and detachment, cataract and chronic glaucoma, etc.
- LASIK and other corneal vision correction procedures will affect the subsequent cataract surgery because calculation of the intraocular lens power requires a different formula and the overall accuracy is reduced.
Between January and October 2007, the Consumer Council received 2 complaint cases compared with 4 cases in 2006. They usually relate to sale tactics, price dispute, service quality and undesirable refractive outcome e.g. double vision.
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