This peer-reviewed report provides a systematic worldwide overview of LASIK patient satisfaction as of 2008. Report findings were first released last year by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). LASIK has been assessed and improved by more than a decade of clinical studies and technological innovation since the procedure was introduced. The report notes that 16.3 million surgeries have been performed worldwide to date, and about one million LASIK surgeries are done annually in the United States.

The review found an overall patient satisfaction rate of 95.4 percent (2,097 of 2,198 subjects), with a range of 87.2 to 100 percent. "This places LASIK among the most successful of all elective surgeries, comparing very favorably with other elective procedures," said lead researcher Kerry D. Solomon, MD, Magill Vision Center and Storm Eye Institute, Medical University of South Carolina. "Because this review process was systematic, transparent, and based on carefully vetted international and U…