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Review shows LASIK patients satisfied

Nearly everyone who has had elective laser surgery to correct vision in the United States report their overall satisfaction, according to a peer-reviewed survey by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS).
 
The procedure, laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) has been performed 16 million times worldwide, of which about 1 million have been performed annually in the United States with an overall patient satisfaction rate of 95.4 percent (2,097 of the 2,198 surveyed).
 
For an elective surgery like LASIK, satisfaction criteria include whether the patients’ physical, emotional and financial expectations are met and physical and psychological benefits achieved.
 
Researchers, led by MUSC's Storm Eye Institute,  looked at whether patient satisfaction with LASIK has changed over time by comparing rates for surgeries performed 1995 to 2000 with those performed in and after 2001. Granted, the procedure has improved by more than a decade of clinical studies and technological innovation, ASCRS reports.
 
Meanwhile, the satisfaction of 96 percent was reported in an earlier study followed by a study showing that 94.6 percent of patients expressed overall satisfaction.
 
The survey included a review that analyzed satisfaction rates in relation to questionnaire characteristics, administration methods and timing, type of patient refractive error (near- or farsightedness, astigmatism) and country. All analyses showed very high overall patient satisfaction rates.
 
The research team reviewed 19 studies from 13 countries representing the United States and most industrialized countries worldwide that surveyed 2,198 patients who had LASIK between 1995 and 2003. A comprehensive international literature search performed by a Storm Eye Institute panel had identified 309 peer-reviewed, well-designed studies of original LASIK surgery, of which 19 reported on both patient quality of life and satisfaction. All were randomized, controlled clinical trials or cohort or case-controlled studies.
 
“This places LASIK among the most successful of all elective surgeries, comparing very favorably with other elective procedures,” said lead researcher Kerry D. Solomon, M.D., Magill Vision Center and Storm Eye Institute. “Because this review process was systematic, transparent, and based on carefully vetted international and U.S. research, the findings are highly reliable.”


Friday, April 10, 2009


The Catalyst Online is published weekly by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. The Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to The Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.