Eyeworld

68 | EYEWORLD | DECEMBER 2020 R EFRACTIVE Dr. Faktorovich also mentioned that people want to pursue outdoor activities without glass- es. With travel being limited, many are using this time to do things outside. The reasons for pursuing refractive surgery are quite different now than what Dr. Faktor- ovich saw pre-pandemic. She said the top three reasons previously were: the desire to not be bothered by contacts, the desire to finally be sta- ble, and patients reaching a point to be able to afford the procedure. She noted that she doesn't see bothersome contacts being brought up as much and said this could potentially be attribut- ed to patients being less likely to wear contacts when working from home. In addition to patient motivations for LASIK shifting, Dr. Faktorovich noted changes in the process when the patient comes in for the proce- dure. With new precautions, she said that family and friends are now required to wait outside, which has helped streamline the process. "Now I think we can really focus on the patient," she said. Daniel Chang, MD, noted that Q3 of 2020 was his most productive quarter of LASIK in Relevant disclosures Chang: None Faktorovich: None Nehls: None Waring: None several years. This year, he performed nearly 25% more cases in Q3 than the average Q3 volume of the preceding 3 years. He is definitely noticing an increase in interest in LASIK. "I've heard some of the discussion among colleagues and from industry as well," he said. Dr. Chang thinks this could be due to a variety of factors. He said that people aren't traveling and spending money. They aren't go- ing to sporting events or entertainment venues, so they have more money they want to spend, he said. "Also, they've been at home with nothing to do and are researching and getting around to things they've thought about doing," Dr. Chang said. Dr. Chang added that many patients are worried about the chance of COVID infection with contact lenses, and LASIK would remove that concern. He thinks the renewed interest in LASIK at this time is a combination of these factors. Dr. Chang is finding most patients who are coming in interested in LASIK are new patients, continued on page 70 continued from page 67 Dr. Chang with a masked LASIK patient prior to surgery. Surgeons should take steps to prevent the fogging of femtosecond laser applanation cones on patients who wear masks during the procedure, Dr. Chang said. Source: Daniel Chang, MD

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