Pioneers of a new frontier

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Dr Jennifer Craig of the University of Auckland, currently in the UK, opened the programme with a review of patients' expectations of refractive surgery. Professional advice, she said, was a much stronger motivational factor in a patient's decision to opt for surgery than it was with contact lenses and patients often looked to their optometrists for information.

Visual outcome, appearance, convenience, comfort, safety and cost were the key considerations when deciding on surgery, all of which had positives and negatives. Visual outcome was still improving but overall satisfaction was high. Freedom from spectacles was a major reason for undergoing surgery, but partial correction might be acceptable to those with high preoperative refractive error.