WSJ Article on LASIK

Last year, there was an article in the New York Times about LASIK that did not seem appropriate to the community of ophthalmologists. This year, there is an article in the Wall Street Journal that is garnering the same kind of attention. One of the key things that the article posits is that neuropathic corneal pain is more common than previously thought after LASIK. Neuropathic corneal pain is pain that has more to do with a derangement of pain sensation than it does with problems at the end organ. In other words, this means that the signaling is the issue more than an actual problem at the “other end of the line.” The article acknowledges that estimating the frequency of having neuropathic corneal pain is difficult, but then it goes on to suggest that it might be 1-2%. Given that estimating the frequency is acknowledged to be difficult, it seems to betray a bias to then suggest a frequency, especially one that seems out of step to the majority of the ophthalmic community. While I wasn’t thrilled with the presentation of LASIK in the article, I am happy that there are academicians out there who are focused on researching neuropathic corneal pain. It can be debilitating for those who have it, and any advancement that can reduce their suffering would be a great boon.