…As 20/20 Results Rise To 97 Percent

Most significant with the new procedure, Schallhorn said, is the improved quality of vision, fewer problems with halos and glare, better night vision and higher patient satisfaction. With conventional Lasik, 88 percent of 908 patients tested at 20/20 vision or better six months after the procedure. By comparison, 97 percent of 34 patients using the wavefront-guided Lasik achieved 20/20 vision or better. Schallhorn reported his findings at this week’s annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, in San Diego. Schallhorn is part of a Navy program that provides Lasik services to Navy and Marine Corps personnel. The Federal Trade Commission has published an online guide, “Basik Lasik,” offering tips to those who might be considering the surgery. In March 2003, the FTC ordered two Lasik companies to stop advertising that the procedure “would eliminate the need for glasses or contacts for life, eliminate the need for reading glasses, and eliminate the need for bifocals.” The FTC said those claims could not be substantiated. For more about Lasik surgery for pilots, see AVweb‘s prior coverage.