Better tool to help assess LASIK Patients

By: Malvina Eydelman, MD LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) eye surgery is an alternative for patients who need glasses or contacts to see well. Some 600,000 to 800,000 patients undergo LASIK in the U.S. each year, and a very high number of those patients are satisfied with their surgical outcomes. However, some patients develop unwanted visual symptoms following surgery, symptoms that can have a significant impact on their daily lives. Patients who see starbursts, glare, ghosting, or halos—or those who experience severe dry eye—may have their daily lives change in negative ways. While there are risks with all medical procedures – and the risks associated with LASIK are well known – FDA teamed up with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Defense (DoD) to more fully capture the patient experience with LASIK. Through the LQOLCP (LASIK Quality of Life Collaboration Project) and the Patient-Reported Outcomes with LASIK (PROWL) studies, we have developed a valid web-based questionnaire that can be used to assess LASIK patients before and after surgery. The questionnaire is available on FDA’s website. The new scientifically validated questions can help assess patient expectations, symptoms, and satisfaction, and includes definitions of the visual symptoms and images depicting the range of the symptom to facilitate patients’ reporting. These questions can be used for a variety of purposes, such as being used by eye care providers to m...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Tags: Blog FDA Source Type: news