Abstract
Purpose: :
It is estimated that almost 1 million patients undergo corneal refractive surgery each year in the United States with satisfaction rates reaching greater than 95%. Despite this very high level of satisfaction after laser vision correction, physicians remain among the most suspicious toward this surgery with the highest visual quality demands. The objective of our study is to evaluate satisfaction and quality of life after laser vision correction (LASIK or PRK) exclusively in the physician population operated on at the Cole Eye Institute in the last eleven years.
Methods: :
We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all refractive surgery procedures performed on physicians between 2000 and 2011 and developed a 13 question survey targeted toward physicians and the unique qualities of their experience with refractive surgery.
Results: :
119 physicians (223 eyes) met the inclusion criteria for our study. 218 eyes (97.8%) were within 1.0 diopter of the target refraction after surgery and 170 of 176 eyes (96.6%) targeted for plano demonstrated uncorrected vision of 20/25 or better at the last follow up visit (3 or more months). 80 physicians (67%) responded to our survey and reported an overall satisfaction rate of 96.2%. 84.8% reported an improvement in the quality of their vision when compared to their best corrected pre-operative vision and 38% reported that their ability to perform procedures accurately had improved.
Conclusions: :
Our findings demonstrate that despite high visual demands, physicians undergoing refractive surgery experience similarly high rates of good outcomes, satisfaction, and quality of life improvements compared to the general public. Many physicians indicated an improvement in the quality of their work, a result that may translate into better patient care. Refractive surgery should be considered among the most successful elective procedures including among physicians.
Keywords: refractive surgery • visual acuity • laser