Exposing the LASIK Scam

EyeWorld
December, 2006



http://www.eyeworld.org/article.php?sid=3539

Dr. Trevo may have a theory that contributes to long-term dry eye, however investigators at the Mayo Clinic did show by confocal microscopy that corneal nerve fiber density is reduced years after LASIK.

This may be another case of the "it's not the surgery, it's something wrong with the way YOU healed" medical coverup strategy commonly employed by corneal refractive surgeons so that they can rationalize mutilating more healthy corneas.

I especially love the theory that some patients brains are incapable of permitting good visual quality after LASIK, the "20/40 brain theory". Gee, patients never would have qualified for LASIK if they had 20/40 best corrected vision BEFORE LASIK. But it isn't the surgery that's the problem, it is the patient's brain??? Good grief.

I'm not exactly opposed to a theory stating that "you didn't heal right." As long as it's accurate.
Ok, Doc, I healed wrong. Can you help me heal right?

RaginFro,

Once fibers are aberrently regenerated that's it as far as today's medicine can take us. Thanks a lot, right? Screw up our corneal nerves and just LEAVE us this way!

Some day a cocktail of nerve growth factors and other drugs may be able to help patients heal better. I would guess that a 'clean cut' would have to be made below the original one and healing would take place in the environment of agents which promote better nerve healing?

Some day?

The problem I have with blaming patients for bad healing is that NO patient heals perfectly and there is really no way to accurately predict which patients will be seriously debilitated with nerve pain after LASIK.

Proper informed consent to permanently damage nerves is never obtained to the best of my knowledge.

Some of the worst cases of post-LASIK dry eye and nerve pain that I am aware of are young males with no other predisposing medical conditions or history of dry eye.

I wasn't "blaming" the patient. I'm just looking for the answers.
And what does "heal" mean? If a doctor told me, "You didn't heal right", I'd ask "Define heal."
Like a child, I could go on and on asking "Why, why, why." I took high school biology and physiology. I'm a regular Joe-Six-Pack, trying to make sense of things. That's all.

However, surgeons are often all to quick to blame the patient for a poor surgical outcome. No patient has ever regenerated normal corneal stroma after a flap was cut. So good question... define healing! I bet THEY won't.


Hey, that 6 pack reference made me beer-thirsty! And it's Friday!

J Cataract Refract Surg. 2003 Feb;29(2):387-9.

Aberrant regeneration of corneal nerves after laser in situ keratomileusis.

Patel SV, Erie JC.
Department of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

We report a case of aberrant regeneration of corneal nerves along the corneal flap interface after myopic laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) using confocal microscopy in vivo. The aberrant stromal nerves persisted at the last follow-up, 2 years post LASIK. The short-term clinical outcome was excellent. The long-term clinical effects are unknown.