Exposing the LASIK Scam

I just got a call from my sister. She had LASIK 7 years ago and is considered a success. Her LASIK surgeon put her on Restatis yesterday due to corneal erosions.

In the 5 1/2+ years since I had LASIK, my eyes have not stopped burning or been comfortable. I continue to have corneal erosions.

Let this be a warning to anyone reading this who is considering having your corneal nerves severed by a LASIK flap. Don't count on your surgeon to tell you the truth -- the nerves are never normal again and complications can last a lifetime.

From the FDA transcripts:
Dr. I Howard Fine, Past President of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery:

"As we all know, Lasik transects the cornea nerves, therefore inducing dry eyes in most patients."
http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/01/transcripts/3806t1.doc

This warning is on the FDA LASIK website:

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/LASIK/risks.htm

Some patients may develop severe dry eye syndrome. As a result of surgery, your eye may not be able to produce enough tears to keep the eye moist and comfortable. Dry eye not only causes discomfort, but can reduce visual quality due to intermittent blurring and other visual symptoms. This condition may be permanent. Intensive drop therapy and use of plugs or other procedures may be required.

I know people who had lasik and were happy for years... till one day they came down with permanent dry eye! Now they regret lasik and say the time they were out of glasses was not worth a lifetime of misery due to dry eyes! Beware the long term risks!

I had Lasik in 2000 and have suffered with dry eyes ever since. However, now they have been tearing ...NON STOP since JUne with no relief.. I have seen 5 specialists since Aug (a total of 9 since LASIK) and have an appt with yet another opthalmologist this week. My eyes feel terrible, vision is blurry and I needed yet another stronger eyeglass prescription. Had lower plugs put in 6 weeks after LASIK but they were removed by one doctor in Dec. I NOw been told that my tear ducts could be blocked...HOpe I get answers this week.
REGRET THE DAY I HAD LASIK !!

Hi annemarie,

Sorry to hear about your problems.

I'm glad you spoke up and posted on this bulletin board. The more patients speak up, the more the word gets out that LASIK can result in chronic, long-term complications.

Please let us know what you find out this week.

Best Regards,
BE

Isn't this ironic?? Had plugs put in lower tear ducts right after LASIK bec. eyes were bone dry. Have had history of dry eyes since Lasik and excessive tearing which was due to the DRY eyes.

Well the excessive tearing has not stopped for months..and I have seen numerous cornea specialists which give different views of my problem.

One doctor removed the plugs a few months ago but tearing continued.

One sent me to an ocular surgeon (this past week) and he said both tear ducts were blocked. He inserted a needle-like instrument in both ducts (PAINFUL!) to open them and then irrigated the ducts. He does not think the ducts may stay open permanently and I will need minor surgery to keep the ducts open. He explained that I have no drainage..no where for the tears to go.
IT JUST NEVER ENDS WHEN YOU HAVE LASIK!!

Many people don't realize that excessive tearing is often a symptom of dry eye. The quality of your tears is important - for example if you are not producing sufficient meibomian gland secretions or you are deficient in mucins, your tears may be too watery. These watery tears may not hold a tear film as well as normal tears.

Also after refractive surgery the smooth round surface of the eye is flattened and lumpy. A flattened lumpy surface holds a stable tear film less well.

Have you tried making little rice baggies out of uncooked rice and the toes of panty hose? Use a double thickness, and don't pack the rice too tightly. Microwave for 45 seconds and place on your eyes to release meibomian gland oils.

You may continue to have excessive tearing even if your ducts are open. You may consider trying Dr. Frank Holly's eye drops (go to dryeyezone.com to investigate) using the rice baggies, and washing your lid margins twice a day with a soft washcloth and baby shampoo.

You're right, it never ends once you have LASIK. You have bothersome high maintenance eyes and all the expense and worries that accompany a chronic medical condition.

Thanks to LASIK surgeons, the laser industry, and the FDA for letting all of them get away with this in the first place.

I just read an email from a post-LASIK dry eye sufferer who recently went to a very high profile LASIK surgeon (he sat on the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Panel) for a 2nd opinion. The surgeon delegated much of the exam to an optometrist who works for him. The optometrist told the patient that she, too, had LASIK and has dry eye and uses Restatis twice a day and will probably use it the rest of her life.

I try not to let this stuff make me mad anymore but this one really burns my butt.

POST LASIK DRY EYE IS NOT TEMPORARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope that optometrist tells prospective LASIK patients about her dry eyes! But I seriously doubt that she does. They never do.

I am now over 6 years post-op and my eyes are burning and red as I type this. Yesterday my vision was blurred for most of the day because my ocular surface is so irritated.

I hope thousands and thousands of people read this.

This doctor of Optometry who is dependent on Restasis to treat her LASIK-induced dry eye yet continues to work for a LASIK surgeon must be a seriously ethically compromised individual. As is the surgeon who employs her and continues to perform LASIK knowing that corneal nerve damage associated with the procedure is extensive and can be debilitating.

Having to rely on an expensive prescription drug to fight off dry eye from nerve damage from LASIK for the rest of your life is a serious thing. What happens when this doctor's eyes begin to dry naturally with age? What happens if Restasis is no longer effective for her at some point?

This doctor should be publicy exposed for the fraud and hypocrite that she is.

Does she not care that due to her silence, more patients like Broken Eyes may have burning eye pain every day for the rest of their lives from an elective procedure?

2 days ago, I met a new friend who got lasik 3 years ago and her eyes are still dry! She knows 3 others who got lasik, 2 of them dealing with dry eyes! She now realises lasik causes a drier eye and told me this fact!

I too had LASIK eye surgery in November of 2005. I had worn contacts since the 5th grade and my sister had successful LASIK about a year before me. The first year after LASIK i was ok. I had a little redness but I assumed that it was temporary. Over the last year my life has been turned upside down. Unless you experience LASIK dry eyes you have no concept of the damage it does. I am in sales and my eyes are red and hurt all the time. I struggle to find joy in my career which I used to love and it is hard to be the husband and father I know I should be. I feel like I ruined my life by choosing to have LASIK surgery. I have been on Restasis for a little over a month and I am going in this week to have permanent lower plugs put in. Hopefully they will help some. I think about how much I regret November 17, 2005 everyday.

Welcome to the flap, dnewman85 - sorry you're here because of the most common complication of LASIK, dry eye.

Surgeons don't like to list dry eye as a complication - they often like to refer to post-LASIK dry eye as a 'symptom'. They should talk to you, right?

Plugs could help a LOT. There are a million other little tricks you can use to feel better as well. You will find most of them in the dry eye section of this site.

Almost any doctor you see will put you on fish oil (make sure you choose a high quality oil made of cold water fresh-caught SMALL fish or it may not be effective. Oral antioxidant supplements such as Liquemax (get it at Costco or Sam's) can help a great deal.

Sporty sunglasses with moisture seals (Google the Panoptyx website) can really help. You can order them with clear lenses.

Most of us know the date of our LASIK right off the top of our heads and regret it more than any other event or decision. But there's no sense looking backward.

Try those lower plugs and if they work out you may consider having your lower ducts cauterized. Plugs tend to leak after a while and become colonized with bacteria. They can also rub your sclera and be physically irritating. I find my cautery to be much more comfortable and effective.

Are you wearing contact lenses at all?

Have any allergies?

Do you know your Schirmer's test scores?

What level ocular surface staining to you have on slit lamp examination?

I don't happen to believe that Restasis works, but the oily vehicle they dissolve it in does help some people feel better.

I would start with ordering some TranquilEyes sleep goggles on line, getting some sunglasses with seals (they come with clear lenses) and then work on things like lid hygeine and supplements.

Are your eyes worst in the morning or at the end of a long day?

Does your dry eye ever affect your vision?

Can you describe your pain? Is it more like a nagging stinging and burning, or is it stabbing and intense? What percentage of the time do you experience pain?

Welcome dnewman85. Sorry to hear about your experience with dry eyes after LASIK. Dry eyes is the most common complaint of LASIK, but surgeons don't adequately warn patients. LASIK surgeons downplay the severity and quality of life impact of this "side effect".

If for no other reason, I feel that LASIK should be stopped because this complication is so common, and may persist for the rest of a patient's life. It is criminal that patients are not fully informed before LASIK.

My vision is perfect: around 20/15 in both eyes. It is small consolation since my eyes are blood red all the time. The doctors said that my eyes looked ok with the stain and lamp test. My schirmer scores were 5mm in left eye and <5mm in right. My redness only seems to be from the nasal corner of my eye to the iris (colored part) and not on the outside. I am taking a ton of fish and flaxseed oil as well. Let me know what you think.