30 Jun Patient Satisfaction with LASIK Surgery For Nearsightedness Exceeded Contact Lenses Over Three Year Period
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Marianne Price,
Marianne Price, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Cornea Research Foundation of America
Indianapolis, Indiana
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Dr. Price: Over 40% of Americans are near-sighted and the rate of near-sightedness continues to increase. The most common treatments are glasses, contact lenses, or laser refractive surgery (LASIK).
The purpose of this study was to find how patient satisfaction compares with contact lenses and with LASIK. We enrolled 1800 participants at 20 sites across the USA; 694 participants (39%) continued wearing contact lenses and 1106 (61%) had LASIK. Participants were surveyed at baseline, 1, 2 and 3 years.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Dr. Price: The responses showed that satisfaction with LASIK significantly exceeded satisfaction with continued contact lens wear. Satisfaction was measured by a series of questions such as how strongly each participant recommended their current vision correction method to a close friend or relative and does LASIK work better for you than contacts. The satisfaction gap was consistent over the 3-year follow up period. Among those who had LASIK after wearing contact lenses, 97% said LASIK worked better for them than contacts.
Most importantly from a safety standpoint, the self-reported rates of eye infections, ulcers and abrasions were much higher with continued contact lens wear than they were after LASIK. Dry eye symptoms were common among contact lens users and were no worse after LASIK. LASIK significantly reduced difficulties with night driving and nighttime visual disturbances among former glasses wearers and former contact lens users.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Dr. Price: Compared with continued contact lens wear, LASIK reduced the risk of eye infections, improved ease of night driving, did not increase dry eye symptoms, and produced greater satisfaction.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Price: This survey study focused on patient-reported outcomes. It also would be valuable to compare long-term eye examination findings between contact lens users and those who had LASIK.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Dr. Price: The paper reporting the study findings is available online and will appear in the August issue of Ophthalmology.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Ophthalmology. 2016 May 18. pii: S0161-6420(16)30096-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2016.04.003. [Epub ahead of print]
Three-Year Longitudinal Survey Comparing Visual Satisfaction with LASIK and Contact Lenses.
Price MO1, Price DA2, Bucci FA Jr3, Durrie DS4, Bond WI5, Price FW Jr6.
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Last Updated on June 30, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD