“20 Years After LASIK, Still Seeing Great!”

by David Shapiro, MD

A LASIK surgeon and colleague of mine, John Doane, MD, underwent LASIK in 1996 at age 31. Twenty years later, Dr. Doane is now 51 years old and is still seeing better than 20/20 without glasses or contacts!  Dr. Doane was a first year resident in ophthalmology when he first saw LASIK being performed during his […]

FDA: SMILE Laser Vision Correction Approved

by David Shapiro, MD

The FDA today approved a new form of laser vision correction called SMILE (Small Incision Lenticular Extraction) using the Zeiss Meditec femtosecond laser. SMILE was approved to treat only nearsightedness (myopia) and is approved for adults aged 22 years or older. It is not approved to treat farsightedness or astigmatism. In the FDA clinical trials that […]

Options for Myopia Control in Children

by David Shapiro, MD

A patient from Santa Barbara asked me if there were any good ways to prevent her 10 year old daughter from developing myopia (nearsightedness) as she got older. A European conference held last week looked at this very issue. Nina Jacobsen, MD, PhD made a presentation at the World Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Subspecialty Day in […]

LASIK Patients 20/20 Fourteen Years Later

by David Shapiro, MD

LASIK was first performed in large numbers in the United States in 1997, giving us the opportunity to measure long term results today. Recall that LASIK technology has evolved enormously over that time and today’s results are even better –with even better long term stability.  North Carolina surgeon Dr. Jonathan Christenbury recently presented an interesting study […]

Eye Doctors Have LASIK More Than Others

by David Shapiro, MD

One of the great myths about LASIK is the claim that eye doctors would never have LASIK on their own eyes. It turns out this is completely false! An important study recently put this myth to rest. This study, by my friend and colleague Guy Kezirian, M.D., showed that eye surgeons who perform LASIK were four times more likely […]