FDA: Doctors Must Tell People About Lasik Eye Surgery Risks

Doctors need to give patients detailed information about the risks associated with Lasik eye surgery, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a letter Friday.

The FDA sent a letter to doctors requesting that they tell patients about risks associated with Lasik eye surgery after receiving numerous complaints from consumers who experienced double and fuzzy vision and painful dry eyes after getting the procedure.

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, or Lasik, is the most common type of vision-correction surgery. Most people who have the surgery rave about its success, but some have experienced double vision and other side effects.

The FDA has been looking into the side effects of Lasik eye surgery for at least a year. The agency held a public meeting in April 2008 where consumers expressed concerns about risks associated with the surgery.

The FDA said it believes "eliminating deceptive or misleading" health ads is an important part of protecting the public's health.

More than a dozen companies make laser equipment used during the procedure. Abbott Laboratories (ABT), through its recent acquisition of Advanced Medical Optics, is a major manufacturer of the equipment. Other makers include Bausch & Lomb Inc. and Alcon Inc. (ACL).

The FDA's letter addresses an industry already struggling as a result of the recession. Laser procedures are expensive, aren't covered by insurers, and can easily be deferred as customers choose to stick with glasses or contact lenses. This slowdown in procedures has caused turmoil for the publicly traded Lasik providers, TLC Vision Corp. (TLCV) and LCA-Vision Inc. (LCAV).

-By Jared A. Favole, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9207; [e-mail]

(Jon Kamp contributed to this report.)