EYE WIDENING

Report: Lasik Isn't as Safe as We Thought

The eye surgery can come with troubling side effects, from distorted vision to parched eyes.

Lasik—the popular eye surgery once heralded as a way for severely nearsighted people to reverse their poor sight by using lasers to reshape their cornea—isn't exactly the miracle treatment it's been made out to be, a New York Times report has found. It’s not that patients aren't getting 20/20 vision back, so much as this vision is often distorted, with complaints about seeing triple, parched eyes requiring frequent drops, and distorted night vision. In a couple cases, two patients were in such pain they fell into depression and later died of suicide. The worrisome side effects have prompted some to push the Food and Drug Administration to look into Lasik, with a retired senior FDA official and a patient-turned-advocate at the helm of the cause. Advocates hope that researchers will revisit the topic and rigorously analyze side effects and complications over the next few years.