Health & Medicine

FDA approves more laser eye surgery

 By ANUSHA RAMANATHAN
and NADA EL SAWY
Staff Writers

USC medical professors, among the first to research corrective laser eye surgery in the early '90s, were involved with another study to correct farsightedness, which got FDA approval two weeks ago.
This advancement has made it easier to address the vision problems of both nearsighted and farsighted patients who are looking for an alternative to glasses and contacts. Glasses limit peripheral vision and are often thick and cumbersome, while contacts can cause eyes to become irritated easily.
Laser eye surgery, which completely eliminates the need for either, has become an increasingly popular option. Dr. James Salz, a clinical professor of opthalmology at USC, commented that one of the patients he had recently was radio personality Rick Dees (102.7, KISS FM). He said that he performed eight operations on Monday alone at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Tower where he has his private practice. Hospitals average about 300 surgeries a month, he said.
"It works great," Salz said. "Most people hear about it from a friend and they want to do it."
Much of the original research on laser surgery was conducted by USC and Cedars-Sinai. Salz and Dr. Peter McDonnell, a professor of opthalmology at the USC School of Medicine and researcher at the Doheny Eye Institute, made substantial contributions to the field. Salz was one of the first ophthalmologists in Los Angeles to perform Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) in 1990.
PRK is one of the laser methods approved by FDA. The LASIK (Laser Assisted In-situ Keratomileusis) method has been used more often, although it is slightly riskier, because the eye heals faster and there is less chance of regression. The method uses the Excimer laser, a device that costs nearly $500,000 to make, and involves actually cutting the eye with a blade to make a flap.
The LASIK surgery is a relatively simple process, said Dr. Gerald B. Walman of the American Eye Institute. The process lasts from 10 to 15 minutes, and the "cold" laser is directed into the patient's eye for approximately one minute.
The procedure causes no pain, and only minimal irritation. However, reports have shown that sometimes vision can be hazy after surgery, and for some people the procedure needs to be repeated in order to arrive at 20/20 vision.
"There is a one percent chance that a patient could have a loss of perfect vision, and a tiny chance that their vision may not be correctable to 20/20 vision," McDonnell said.
The largest benefit of LASIK is that many patients notice an immediate improvement in their vision following the surgery.
"Most of the studies show that between 90 and 95 percent of patients can pass vision tests to drive a car without the need for glasses or contacts," McDonnell said, who conducts extensive research with Excimer lasers.
The LASIK procedure is approved for people older than 18 years of age, but the exact success rate depends on the way in which people heal, McDonnell said.
An important factor that goes along with age is whether the person's eyesight is changing. If the level is changing every six months or less, it is best to wait until it stabilizes before having the surgery.
When asked about other alternatives, McDonnell commented, "There are a lot of things on the drawing board, like contact lenses placed inside the eye, but there have been safety problems in Europe with that method. There are also different lasers being developed, but none of them have been approved by the FDA yet."
With the current laser procedures, however, McDonnell notes that "the vast majority of patients seem to be satisfied with the outcome."
The cost of the surgery is between $2,000 and $3,000 per eye but eligibility and cost both depend on the individual problem and doctor's diagnosis. So before you dispose of the contact lenses and hide the thick glasses, consult with your doctor to see if this procedure is right for your eyes. For more information, go to: http://www.drsalz.com.

Copyright 1998 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 135, No. 52 (Tuesday, November 17, 1998), beginning on page 2 and ending on page 6.