Lasik vs. Contacts

Dr. Mark Sibley, Devil Rays Team Eye Doctor, announced the results of a study that indicates for the first time that LASIK is safer than contact lenses.

Results of a study that indicates for the first time that LASIK is safer than contact lenses

LASIK Surpasses Contact Lens in Overall Long-term Safety

According to a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, October 2006 edition, researchers have confirmed that LASIK surgery as performed this year is safer than contact lens use. Sight threatening infections from contact lens use occur in 1 in 2,000 contact lens wearers, whereas the study confirms that only one in 10,000 patients risk significant vision loss due to complications from LASIK, making LASIK the safest elective procedure being performed today.

Dr. Mark Sibley, a laser vision specialist who helped introduce laser vision correction to the area in 1999, has been convinced of this for some time. The risk of Lasik laser vision correction has been diminishing as technologies continue to evolve. In 2001, the All-Laser , No Blade method was introduced, which dramatically decreased flap complication, making All-Laser LASIK safer. In 2003, Dr. Sibley introduced Custom Cornea LASIK, which, in addition to improving vision, also proved to eliminate night glare, one of the early common complaints of LASIK patients.

All eye doctors are aware of the potential dangers of contact lens infections. Tens of millions of Americans may be at risk of these serious infections for which there is no prevention.
 
Basically everyone wearing contact lenses is at risk.

"Patients usu=ing contact lenses must remember that ALL contact lenses are a THICK PIECE OF FLAT PLASTIC . You are placing a plastic, foreign body in your eye and running the increased risk of causing a preventable infection," says Dr. Sibley.
 
A medical study showed that people who wear daily contact lenses run the risk of 1 in 100 of developing a bacterial keretitis, an infection that can lead to a loss of vision.
 
Patients who abuse contacts by wearing them overnight or improperly caring for their lenses have ALMOST 10 TIMES GREATER  risk of infection and losing vision.

"One should  not assume that contact lenses are safe," explains Dr. Sibley. "It may have been true years back but not anymore, since wearers of lenses are prone to serious infections. Sadly, 1 in 2,000 will  lose some vision or worse." Infections have become a serious threat to 30 million wearers who may not take good care of their contact lenses as well as episodic occurrence of epidemics of untreatable infections.

According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) from 5 years ago severe outbreaks of untreatable infections by  Acanthemoeba were observed in the US population. Many eyes were blinded and some needed to be removed. The CDC has this year reported another epidemic of an untreatable Fusarium fungus germ with similar sight loss.

Lenses are more harmful now and infections can lead to serious loss of sight.
 
Meanwhile ,conversely, LASIK which years ago did have risks has gone through diligent work by doctors as well industry leaders. This has lowered the risk of Lasik and  LASIK is much safer as compared to contact lenses.

Today, LASIK as practiced by experienced surgeons on properly selected patients is safer than wearing contact lenses.
 
Surgeons who use the safest and most advanced lasers and who utilize the sophisticated screening technologies provide an unprecedented level of safety, said Dr. Sibley. "The widely held belief that contact lenses are safer has now been officially challenged," announced Dr.Sibley .
 
Contact Lens wearers are more likely to develop complications that lead to loss of vision than patients who underwent LASIK.

In the past, all LASIK surgeons observed some unexpected adverse effects in the early days of the evolution of LASIK. They became the bases for the exaggerated, sensational stories that were reported in the tabloids for the past couple of years.
 
"Since LASIK has gotten so good we don't expect further negative reports in the papers", says Dr. Sibley. "We've worked out the risks over the past 16 years in the development of an ever-improving LASIK technology."

Recently, a large study of more than 32,000 U.S. Armed forces members who had an eye laser surgery found no vision loss greater than two lines from 20/20 and none had infections in 18,000 procedures performed over ten years.

University Eye Institute compares study data indicating complications worse with contacts than laser eye surgery.
PORTLAND, Ore. - 09 Oct 2006 - EurekAlert -- Traditional assumptions have held that contact lenses are safer than laser surgery to correct vision problems. Now, an Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute physician, comparing data from several recent studies, has found that belief may not be true.

William Mathers, M.D., professor of ophthalmology in the OHSU School of Medicine, reviewed several large, peer-reviewed studies and found a greater chance of suffering vision loss from contact lenses than from laser vision correction surgery, also known as "refractive" surgery. His findings are published in a letter in today's issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

"Several times a year, I have patients who lose eyes from complications because they've been wearing contacts and they've gotten an infection. By this I mean their eyes have to be physically removed from their bodies," said Mathers, an eye surgeon with a strong background in contact lens issues and former president of the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists. "It's not that contacts aren't good. They're better than they've ever been. But one cannot assume contacts are safer."

The risks associated with laser surgery versus contact lenses can not be compared directly, partly because complications from contact lenses accumulate over years of use, and complications from surgery occur soon after the surgery.

Data extrapolated from a study in Lancet shows the lifetime risk of bacterial keratitis to be 1 in 100 for contact lenses worn daily. Bacterial keratitis is an infection that causes an inflammation of the cornea and can lead to vision loss. Wearing contact lenses overnight or improper care or cleaning further increases the risk of infection from contacts. The risk of bacterial keratitis has changed little over the years for contact lens wearers and is the same worldwide.

Vision loss from laser surgery is easier to calculate. Mathers looked at a large study of military personnel who had laser surgery and found results similar to those of the OHSU Casey Vision Correction Center.

A study of more than 32,000 U.S. Armed Forces members receiving laser surgery published in the journal Ophthalmology found a loss of vision of one line on an eye chart was 1 in 1,250. A loss of two or more lines of vision, which would be more significant, but less frequent, was not reported. Data from the OHSU Casey Vision Correction Center showed no cases of vision loss greater than two lines in 18,000 procedures performed over 10 years.

"Even with perfect care of your contacts, the risks for infection and vision loss are still there," said Mathers. "Our long-term results at OHSU confirm the experience of the U.S. military: Laser surgery is as safe, and probably safer, than long-term use of contact lenses."

The calculated risks of vision loss from contact lenses and laser surgery are approximate and subject to change. Highly oxygen-permeable contact lenses and advances in laser surgery should make both even safer. There are approximately 20 million to 25 million contact lens wearers in the United States, and approximately 1 million people in the United States have laser surgery every year.

"Data from these studies strongly suggest our intuition regarding these risks needs to be reassessed," Mathers said. "I, for one, look forward to further investigations of these risks."

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