LASIK Eye Surgery Should Be Banned, Says Former FDA Adviser

A former FDA adviser who worked in the approval of LASIK Eye Surgery has said it should be banned since it has left many with bad vision and driven some even to suicide.

Dr. Morris Waxler was on the FDA advisory committee which had approved LASIK eye surgeries for vision correction back in 1996. By far, more than 10 million Americans have undergone this simple eye operation to correct their visions. While most of them were thrilled with the outcomes, there were certain cases when it went horribly wrong.

In 2018, Michigan meteorologist Jessica Star who went through a SMILE surgery, similar to a LASIK procedure, in Detroit, died by suicide after a couple of months. The reason behind her suicide was attributed to a struggled recovery from the operation. There were other similar cases of LASIK surgery mishaps that had provoked individuals to end themselves.

"Essentially we ignored the data on vision distortions that persisted for years. I re-examined the documentation … and I said, 'Wow this is not good,'" Waxler said.

Other experts including optometrist Dr. Edward Boshnick also said the procedure should be banned.

In surgical procedures like LASIK, a small flap is cut into the cornea which is later raised slightly. Such a way of reshaping the cornea changes the way light is refracted to correct nearsightedness or farsightedness. While contact lenses and glasses do the same job, people find LASIK surgery convenient because it is a permanent way to correct the defects.

Another former LASIK surgery patient, Abraham Rutner, an electrician from Brooklyn, experienced several intolerable sets of issues after the surgery. He told CBS that he had double-vision and felt "around the lights were like having starbursts". After a couple of months, he visited Dr. Boshnick to correct his lenses that were damaged by LASIK. He added that it was "a devastation" that cannot even be explained.

Dr. Boshnick said he witnessed so many such cases of LASIK surgery mishaps like distorted cornea.

Dr. Waxler said that when he voted for the surgery, he was under pressure and didn’t know the patients would suffer such debilitating consequences.

“The FDA is a semi-military organization, and I was the lowest ranking 'officer', a science-manager of a team tasked with reviewing applications from manufacturers of LASIK devices,” DailyMail quoted him.