US Trends In Refractive Surgery

ASCRS San Diego CA 2011  Dr. Richard Duffey and Dr. David Leaming reported on recent trends in refractive surgery in the US.

They are well known among refractive surgeons for their updates on trends in laser vision correction surgeries. A copy of their presentation can be found here.

They surveyed surgeons who are members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS).  Their results show an increase in surgeon preference for PRK in nearsighted (myopic) patients over the last several years with a sharp increase in surgeon preference for PRK in 2010.  Recommendations for LASIK declined slightly in 2010.

The VISX laser continues to be the preferred excimer laser and continues to gain in popularity among laser vision correction surgeons.  The use of wavefront technology has also continued to increase over the past 5 years.  An impressive 24% of refractive surgeons have had PRK or LASIK themselves, 34% of surgeon spouses have had refractive surgery, and 52% of surgeons have a sibling who has had PRK or LASIK.  Overall there was a 27% increase in laser vision correction surgeries between 2009 and 2010.  Dr. Duffey and Dr. Leaming report that since 1996 ASCRS members have performed over 13 million laser vision correction surgeries.

To learn more about laser vision correction or to book a complimentary assessment, contact Western Laser Eye Associates.