| Glenn - USAEyes.org 2004-12-21, 7:11 pm |
| Not surprisingly, CRSQA is not the only one to notice inherent flaws
in the NICE report. The author of one of the studies cited by NICE
has blasted the use of decade old data to evaluate LASIK today.
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Dec 21, 2004 10:46 America/Los_Angeles
British LASIK Report Flawed Says Study Author
The author of a medical study cited by the National Institute for
Clinical Excellence (NICE) in its report on the popular laser eye
surgery LASIK says the information is outdated and irrelevant.
ATLANTA, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The author of a medial study cited by
the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) as indicating
that LASIK is not safe enough to be included in the National Health
Service (NHS) has sent a letter to NICE stating that he is "appalled"
by the use of the decade old study, stating it is out of date and "has
essentially no bearing on conditions of safety in 2004."
Atlanta ophthalmologist George O. Waring, III MD, FACS, FRCOphth
directed a comprehensive study of LASIK surgery performed on patients
between 1995 and 1996. The study included reports on the safety and
efficacy of LASIK using techniques and technology of the time. "The
laser used in 1996 is no longer manufactured and the company is out of
business," says Waring, who is also the editor of the respected
Journal of Refractive Surgery. "The lasers used in LASIK today have
been superseded by many improved generations of succeeding
technology."
"The inappropriate and inaccurate conclusions drawn by NICE ignore
ongoing laser eye surgery development," adds Waring. "That the British
National Institute for Clinical Excellence would cite these data in an
attempt to guide patients and physicians in their evaluation of LASIK
in 2004 belies apparent ignorance of the enormous progress that has
been made in both the technology and the clinical application of LASIK
in the 9-10 years since our study was done."
LASIK, which is short for Laser In-situ Keratomileusis, uses a laser
to reshape the cornea of the eye to reduce or eliminate the need for
corrective lenses. Approximately 100,000 LASIK surgeries are performed
in the UK each year. Over 7.5 million LASIK or similar laser eye
surgery procedures have been performed since its development in the
1980s.
Source: George O. Waring III, MD, FACS, FRCOphth.
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