News

US health regulators are to review the long-term effects of Lasik surgery on patients.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an inquiry following a number of concerns about patient satisfaction with the procedure, said Reuters.

Dr Daniel Schultz, director the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, told the news agency that an agency advisory panel would hold a public meeting to discuss the issue at an undisclosed date.

Schultz added that the focus of the meeting would be the quality of patients' lives following surgery.

Lasik device manufacturers and Lasik providers could be affected by this meeting, according to Reuters.

'Obviously, it's a technology that has caught on and is used very widely. And there have been questions raised in terms of quality of life and what it actually does for the patient as opposed to the technology itself,' Schultz told reporters.

This announcement follows petitions submitted to the FDA in July 2007 from an individual asking it to halt the procedure and withdraw its approval. The FDA said devices were safe and effective to use, but the advisory panel discussions could 'complement' its safety monitoring.

Despite the agency's reluctance to make public the date of the meeting, there is speculation that it will take place either in April or May, when the FDA's eye-related panel is scheduled to hold meetings.

The past 12 months have seen an expansion in refractive surgery in UK and Ireland. Lasik is still the most common treatment provided, according to the findings of Optician's seventh annual survey of the refractive surgery market published last November.

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