Tragic Suicide of Fox Weather Woman was NOT due to LASIK complications, but to Untreated Major Depression.
However, she did suffer from the most common complication after LASIK: DES or Dry Eye Syndrome.
I performed 5,000 LASIKs from 1996-2000, and to be truthful, about 10% of my patients complained about DES afterwards, although thankfully nothing severe. In 1999, I was the 1st eye surgeon in NY to get LASIK surgery. I suffered from DES, too. By cutting a corneal flap during LASIK, we cut & kill 90% of the corneal nerves, causing corneal numbness, decreasing the normal blink rate, & causing DES. Only after experiencing DES myself did I think “there must be a better way”.
I reinvestigated LASEK, which had been invented when I was at Harvard in 1994 by Drs Talamo & Abbad, whom I published a paper with.
LASEK avoids the cutting step, so doesn’t kill corneal nerves & cause DES. In 2005, I stopped performing LASIK surgery & switched to LASEK. Park Avenue LASEK is the only pure LASEK center in the US. I’ve performed over 15,000 LASEKs since 2005 (more than any other surgeon). Recovery takes a few days longer than LASIK, but DES is avoided.
By the way, this Fox newscaster should have been treated with punctual cautery, which is the only true cure for DES. New drugs like Restasis & Xiidra are helpful, but nobody wants to take these drops for years. Punctual plugs are also only temporary. I put in thousands of plugs, and they always fall out when the patient runs their eyes because they’re only held in by friction.
I seem to be one of the few eye MDs in the US performing punctual cautery, even among cornea/refractive subspecialists. Performed properly, after a trial of plugs, I can shrink (not close) the small hole on your bottom lid where your tears drain out. This helps your eye properly retain its moisture. Punctal cautery takes less than 1 second to perform & is covered by medical insurance.
I’ve performed over 20,000 punctual cauteries over the last 2 decades, which is more than any other eye MD. So if you’ve been suffering from DES, there is a solution!
The lesson is that we must focus on prevention. Suicide prevention with better mental health access & treatment. #prevention
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