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Could LASIK Lead to 'Permanent Vision Problems'?
ABC News ^ | 9/22/10 | Kim Carollo

Posted on 09/22/2010 1:08:07 PM PDT by Nachum

A former Food and Drug Administration official who helped get the vision correction surgery LASIK approved back in the 1990s but later spoke out against the procedure is taking his concerns directly to current regulators at the FDA.

Morris Waxler, who is now an independent regulatory consultant, filed a citizens petition today urging the agency to take steps to stop what he calls "the epidemic of permanent vision problems" caused by LASIK.

Waxler's petition implores the FDA to take actions to crack down on the procedure, including issuing a public health advisory that warns the public about the dangers associated with LASIK and implementing stricter controls over LASIK device manufacturers and practitioners who perform the surgery.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: could; lasik; permanent; problems
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1 posted on 09/22/2010 1:08:13 PM PDT by Nachum
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To: Nachum
As far as I understand it, LASIK is one of the sectors of the health industry run mostly on consumer-driven free market principles since it is not usually covered by insurance.

Is this an attempt by the FDA to get some control over this bastion of free enterprise?

2 posted on 09/22/2010 1:14:27 PM PDT by Siena Dreaming
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To: Nachum

The across the board “wonders”, and now the “crisis” of Lasik surgery are sure to be overblown, by the infantile IdiotMedia.

One of the best kept secrets in eye care, is that regular overnight wear of modern soft contact lenses is, with the proper lenses and regular quality professional care, a very safe alternative.


3 posted on 09/22/2010 1:16:08 PM PDT by EyeGuy
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To: Nachum

Had mine done 10 years ago.
Zero problems except I need glasses for reading.

Of course I needed reading glasses before Lasik.

20-10 distance vision is really cool!


4 posted on 09/22/2010 1:16:44 PM PDT by Zathras
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To: Nachum

Good comments following the article.


5 posted on 09/22/2010 1:17:33 PM PDT by sodpoodle (Despair; man's surrender. Laughter; God's redemption.)
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To: Nachum
independent regulatory consultant

Read: rainmaker for hire by anyone attempting to get through the FDA labyrinth in under 5 years.

6 posted on 09/22/2010 1:17:43 PM PDT by relictele (Me lumen vos umbra regit)
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To: Nachum
I'm sorry for anyone who has permanent problems from LASIK....But I had it done in 09/2003, no problems to date, and my vision went from 20/900-950* to 20/15-better than "perfect" 20/20 vision.

*(it was so bad they could only guesstimate;BTW legal blindness is 20/1000 per the doctor)

7 posted on 09/22/2010 1:18:16 PM PDT by kaylar (It's MARTIAL law. Not marshal(l) or marital! This has been a spelling PSA. PS Secede not succeed)
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To: Siena Dreaming
Is this an attempt by the FDA to get some control over this bastion of free enterprise?

Could be but I doubt it. I know three people who had the procedure done and all 3 had problems afterwards. Some serious. I was considering it but not until I hear the words "100% effective with no problems afterwards." In other words...never.

8 posted on 09/22/2010 1:18:44 PM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (A fearless person cannot be controlled.)
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To: Nachum

I had LASIK in early 2003 in Toronto; I have had no problems whatsoever. My vision is better now than it was with glasses or contacts before the surgery; I can consistently read the 20/15 line on an eye chart with either eye or the 20/12 line with both eyes, and on a good day I can read the 20/10 line.


9 posted on 09/22/2010 1:18:53 PM PDT by xjcsa (Ridiculing the ridiculous since the day I was born.)
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To: Zathras

I asked my surgeon if I could upgrade to x-ray vision, he just laughed.


10 posted on 09/22/2010 1:19:11 PM PDT by Perdogg (Nancy Pelosi did more damage to America on 03/21 than Al Qaeda did on 09/11)
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To: Nachum; Siena Dreaming; sodpoodle

Wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

LASIK is one of the first examples used when discussing Free Market medicine. Unlike the rest of medicine it has gotten consistently better AND cheaper as the years go by.

Can’t have that, can we?


11 posted on 09/22/2010 1:19:33 PM PDT by sinanju
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To: Siena Dreaming
Is this an attempt by the FDA to get some control over this bastion of free enterprise?

The FDA already covers it even if insurance does not.

12 posted on 09/22/2010 1:19:53 PM PDT by Ditto (Nov 2, 2010 -- Time to Clean House.)
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To: Siena Dreaming

“Is this an attempt by the FDA to get some control over this bastion of free enterprise?”

Without a doubt.

I had LASIK 10 years ago. Went from 20/400 to 20/05. I can see the sex of a mesquito at 10 feet. In my mid 40s and I still don’t need reading glasses. I couldn’t be happier.


13 posted on 09/22/2010 1:20:17 PM PDT by CodeToad (Islam needs to be banned in the US and treated as a criminal enterprise.)
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To: Zathras

I can only dream. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 5. I’m over 40 and my eyes are still changing every year, so I don’t qualify for LASIK, and my eyes are so screwy that the only contacts I can wear are hard lenses. No overnight for me. :(

As for “Permanent Vision Problems”, omg, didn’t the people who get/got this done have permanent vision problems to begin with. What idiotic reasoning.


14 posted on 09/22/2010 1:21:19 PM PDT by CherylBower (Fire the liars)
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To: Zathras
I had mine at about the same time. Went from nearly legally blind to walking around the house without glasses. It has been a miracle for me!

I suspect this is another "Obama Crisis".

15 posted on 09/22/2010 1:21:38 PM PDT by Redleg Duke (RAT Hunting Season started the evening of March 21st, 2010!)
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To: Nachum

bflr


16 posted on 09/22/2010 1:22:03 PM PDT by Captain Beyond (The Hammer of the gods! (Just a cool line from a Led Zep song))
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To: Nachum

I had Radial Keratotomy in 1992 bump.


17 posted on 09/22/2010 1:24:45 PM PDT by evets (beer)
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To: CodeToad

“I can see the sex of a mesquito (sic) at 10 feet...I couldn’t be happier.”

You WANT to see that?


18 posted on 09/22/2010 1:24:45 PM PDT by Mr Rogers (When the ass brays, don't reply...)
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To: Nachum
From the article: "I have no other problems, such as floaters, dry eyes, etc.," he said.

Floaters are caused by the eyes aging and would not be caused by Lasik.

19 posted on 09/22/2010 1:25:28 PM PDT by Slyfox
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To: xjcsa

My husband had it done in 2002, he went from needing glasses/contacts all the time, - unable to see distance - to not needing them at all, to just needing reading glasses (apparently we still need for the discovery of age reversal for that to be fixed ;-) )


20 posted on 09/22/2010 1:25:49 PM PDT by Newton ('No arsenal is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.' -Ronald Reagan)
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