Study Finds No Differences Between LASEK and LASIK

According to a study carried out at the University of Illinois, Chicago and published in the December, 2006 issue of the American Journalof Ophthalmology, there are no clinically-significant differences in safety, reliability, and effectiveness when the two major types of laser eye surgery (LASIK and LASEK) were compared in a retrospective analysis.

Both LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) and LASEK are used to treat the three most commonly encountered forms of visual disturbances: nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

According to Dr. Dimitri Azar, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology and the study's lead investigator, "Although there have been many studies of the safety and efficacy of both types of laser surgery, there has not been a large study directly comparing the outcomes of the two procedures."

"We found that although there were some differences in the visual and refractive results that favor the LASEK procedure, the differences were not clinically significant. These results are in line with previous smaller studies that we reviewed comparing the procedures."

In the Chicago study, 122 LASIK-treated eyes were matched for all measures with 122 LASEK-treated eyes from a review of the charts of 2,257 eye surgeries performed at the University of Illinois - Chicago. All cases included in the study had been followed for at least six months post-surgery.

Comment

Admittedly, the study cited above is intended for physicians only in that the consumer generally has no real "say-so" in the type of surgery to be preformed. This is as it should be. The establishment of the physician-patient relationship involves, in part, the patient's acknowledgement that the physician is better qualified to determine the proper therapy for a given condition.

The patient, on the other hand, has the final word in consenting to any therapeutic plan proposed by the physician. The physician is both honor-bound and required by common law to pay close heed to the patient's desires and decisions.

In the above case we have two surgeries that, according to best available evidence, are essentially equal in both technical ease and in long term results. Which is best? Leave it to the most qualified parties, the patient and the physician.

For a more general introduction to eye surgery, see the All About Vision web site.

Source Cited

Tobaigy FM; Ghanem RC; Sayegh RR; Hallak JA; and Azar DT: A Control-Matched Comparison of Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis and Laser In Situ Keratomileusis for Low to Moderate Myopia, Am J Ophthalmology 2006; 142:6; 901-908
Disclaimer

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