EyeWorld India September 2017 Issue

EWAP FEATURE 19 September 2017 in the Sandoval study. “We’re doing a better job at patient selection, we have better technology to assist with the screening process, and we have better technology to create flaps and better lasers to perform ablations,” he said. “There’s been a lot of research and development devoted to LASIK.” The use of validated question- naires like the one developed through PROWL can help refrac- tive surgeons continue to monitor for outcomes and visual quality, surgeons said. Future of LASIK Just as a great deal of research has led to LASIK advances in the first decades of the procedure, more advances will continue. More sophisticated diagnostic technol- ogy that spurs continuous quality improvement will likely refine the procedure, as will the addition of topography, Dr. Durrie thinks. Even though LASIK fell on hard times during the recession, Dr. Dur- rie regularly has parents—many of whom had LASIK—now bringing their older children to his practice and asking when they can have LASIK. This and the large number of people who can’t seem to stick to contact lenses point toward an untapped market, he said. The addition of new refractive procedures such as small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany) shows a renewed interest in LASIK procedures, Dr. Durrie said. “SMILE may be comparable someday but not now. For now, we can get out the story about how safe LASIK is,” Dr. Price said. “I think we’ll see more and more people have LASIK. If LASIK is done correctly, it’s extremely safe and predictable.” EWAP References 1. Sandoval HP, et al. Modern laser in situ keratomileusis outcomes. J Cataract Refract Surg . 2016;42:1224–1234. 2. Tanzer DJ, et al. Laser in situ keratomileusis in United States Naval Aviators. J Cataract Refract Surg . 2013;39:1047–1058. 3. Eydelman M, et al. Symptoms and satisfaction of patients in the Patient-Reported Outcomes With Laser In Situ Keratomileusis studies. JAMA Ophthalmol . 2017;135:13–22. 4. Price MO, et al. Three-year longitudinal survey comparing visual satisfaction with LASIK and contact lenses. Ophthalmology . 2016;123:1659–1666. Editors’ note: Dr. Durrie has financial interests with Johnson & Johnson Vi- sion (Santa Ana, California) and Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas). Dr. Solomon has financial interests with Alcon. Drs. Hofmeister and Price have no financial interests related to their comments. The views and opinions expressed by Dr. Hofmeister are her own and do not necessarily reflect the official posi- tion of the U.S. Navy, Department of Defense or Federal Government. Contact information Durrie: ddurrie@durrievision.com Hofmeister: elizabeth.m.hofmeister.mil@ mail.mil Price: fprice@pricevisiongroup.net Solomon: Kerry.solomon@carolinaeyecare. com