Where Does the Real Scrutiny for LASIK Alternatives Occur?
With any drug, device or procedure, the true testament to its safety and efficacy becomes obvious in the “real world”, when real eye surgeons, in real practices using the drug, device or procedure actually use it to meet the expectations of patient satisfaction. If in the “real world” use of a drug, device or procedure it is unable to predictably meet or exceed patient expectations in terms of what it actually delivers without an undue amount of risks and complications then it will ultimately fail and diminish in use in the consumer marketplace. So, the real test of safety and efficacy is the sustainability of a drug, device or procedure such as LASIK over a long period of time in the consumer healthcare marketplace. While exact worldwide data are difficult to obtain, we are able to obtain fairly good LASIK data in the United States because of the monitoring of laser use through patent license fees paid to Excimer laser manufacturers. LASIK was FDA approved in 1998 through the more rig
