- Nearly 32 million people worldwide1 have had LASIK laser vision correction surgery.
- LASIK has been performed internationally for over 10 years. It was first performed in clinical trials in the U.S. in 1995. The major components of the procedure have a long history. Ophthalmologists have been reshaping the cornea for over 50 years and using the excimer laser since the 1980s.2
- LASIK improves the uncorrected vision — one's vision without wearing corrective lenses — in most patients who have the procedure. Over 90% of patients with low to moderate myopia will achieve 20/40 vision, which is considered the minimum allowed by most states and provinces to drive without having to wear contacts or glasses. Over half of all patients can expect to achieve 20/20 vision or better.2
- According to several large studies, there is approximately a 2% intraoperative and 3 to 5% postoperative complication rate. Most of these complications do not result in loss of 2 or more lines of best corrected visual acuity or interfere with vision long term.
- Market Scope Annual Report 2007.
- Eye Surgery Educational Council.
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