stock photo

LASIK is one of the most successful medical procedures practiced today, with over 95 % of patients reporting satisfaction with their LASIK results. This is largely because the variables of the LASIK procedure deal largely with optics, one of the most exact sciences. In fact, because of the exactitude of optics, many of the steps in the LASIK operation are becoming completely automated. So, to what extent does experience matter in LASIK surgery?

According to the ESEC

The Eye Surgery Education Council (ESEC) is a subdivision of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). Its stated purpose is to provide patients with accurate, accessible information about laser eye surgery and other refractive surgeries and to promote discussion between patients and physicians.

The ESEC lists experience as one of the key factors in selecting a laser eye surgeon, although it notes that the number of procedures performed and the length of time practicing are only two variables among many to consider. According to clinical data, it seems that one type of complication associated with the LASIK procedure definitely reduces with experience. This category is complications related to the microkeratome, the blade used to create the flap that exposes the part of the cornea reshaped by the laser during LASIK. The use of the microkeratome is the most manual portion of the LASIK procedure, the one not relating to optics and therefore the one most subject to the types of surgical uncertainties witnessed in other surgeries.

However, many LASIK procedures are now being conducted without the microkeratome, namely INTRALase LASIK, in which a laser is used not only to reshape the cornea, but also to cut the flap. According to some studies, INTRALase LASIK has significantly fewer complications than microkeratome LASIK, although it is not widely available.

Furthermore, the ESEC is somewhat contradictory in advocating experience. After saying that the experience of a surgeon matters because the rate of complications decreases as a physician gains experience, it also says that a surgeon’s actual clinical outcome is not as important as the degree to which a surgeon tracks his or her outcomes and strives to achieve the national benchmark. Thus, it says a surgeon who knows his or her personal success rate is 88.7 % is fine so long as “achieving excellence is a driving concern” for him or her.

Where experience seems to matter most, according to the ESEC is with respect to the demographic’s of a laser eye surgeon’s patient population, because particular groups tend to have risks for different complications. In particular, it notes the risk of presbyopia among older patients and the risk of dry eye among postmenopausal women.

So, Does Experience Matter?

Although the ESEC advocates experience as one of the main criteria in selecting a laser eye surgeon, the evidence that experience really matters greatly seems very thin. In choosing a laser eye surgeon, experience is one of the main factors that should be considered, but it does not seem to be one that should be allowed to overwhelm other factors, including training and certification, awards, writing, and teaching. Ask your laser eye surgeon about the laser he or she uses to perform LASIK and why he or she selected this particular laser over others available. This matters even more than the surgeon, since it does most of the work.

Contact the professionals at the Gailey Eye Clinic for more information about laser vision correction.

LASIK experience