Technology cannot replace a good surgeon

My age and my eyesight appears to be negatively correlated. I figure by the time I am 80, I will be blind as a bat. I have considered laser eye surgery to correct my eyesight for the past 25 years. I have always worried about the long-term effects of the surgery on the eye.

I recently read an article in US News & World Report entitled, A Lighter, Defter Touch-Years of refinement have made laser eye surgery better than ever (Michelle Andrew 2/25/07). This article discusses the different types of eye surgeries and the technology behind each one. Now you have about eight choices for corrective eye surgery.

The article quotes Glenn Hagele, founder and Executive Director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance, regarding the importance of surgeon selection when considering laser eye surgery. What he says makes a lot of sense to me: "No amount of technology can make up for an inferior surgeon." I visited the USAEyes.org website. There is a lot of good information as well as a listing of certified eye surgeons who meet certain standards for postoperative visual acuity and patient satisfaction.

Visit USAEyes.org, sponsor of this post, for free information about conventional or wavefront custom Lasik, All-Laser Lasik, PRK, LASEK, Epi-Lasik, P-IOL, CK, or RLE. Then find a surgeon with a good record of vision outcomes and patient satisfaction.

I think it is great that someone has rated eye surgeons on quality of correction and patient satisfaction. Now, if they could just do the same for all the other specialties! LOL