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EW NEWS & OPINION 14 January 2016 more than 20 years, Dr. Donnenfeld said. The science of the procedure is unprecedented, and risks and bene- fits have been analyzed in detail. Dr. Donnenfeld said the goal moving forward is for continued improvement of patient satisfac- tion, with 100% of patients seeing the same or better than prior to surgery after LASIK. He also advised physicians to embrace patients who are dissatisfied after LASIK and to make sure that these patients do not feel abandoned. Better informed consent and continued investment into resources to improve safety and efficacy are also good goals for the future. The golden age of laser vision correction is today, and tomorrow looks even brighter, Dr. Donnenfeld said. "We should be proud of what we have accomplished," he said. "But we should never be satisfied." EW Editors' note: Dr. Donnenfeld has financial interests with Abbott Medical Optics (Abbott Park, Ill.), Alcon (Fort Worth, Texas), and TLC Laser Eye Centers. Contact information Donnenfeld: ericdonnenfeld@gmail.com by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer worn for 30 years. Dr. Donnenfeld said that when considering the mis- conceptions about glare and halo, modern LASIK actually improves on these problems. The fifth myth that Dr. Donnenfeld addressed, over the safety and efficacy of LASIK, he said is the "greatest fallacy." LASIK is the safest procedure with the greatest patient satisfaction of any surgery performed in the world today, he said. The safety and efficacy have improved markedly over the last 20 years and will continue to do so with new and improved technology advances. Finally, he said that although dry eye is common after LASIK for the first 3 months, it resolves after 6 months. In response to whether or not LASIK is worth saving, Dr. Donnenfeld said definitely yes. LASIK is the safest, most successful, and most studied elective procedure in the world. It has the highest pa- tient satisfaction rate of any elective procedure, and the results have continually improved as technology and surgical techniques advance and preoperative diagnostic screen- ing and patient selection become more refined. LASIK has been a "tremendous asset" for patients for the right patients for LASIK, Dr. Donnenfeld said. In response to 140 patient com- plaints after more than 10 million LASIK procedures, the FDA held a public hearing. The concerns were overwhelmingly about dry eye, and the FDA responded by chang- ing their website and organizing a prospective LASIK trial. Last year, the PROWL 1 and PROWL 2 stud- ies were released, documenting the excellent visual results of LASIK including improvement in glare, halo, and starbursting after LASIK as compared to preoperatively with glasses and contact lenses. At the end of his lecture, Dr. Donnenfeld responded to the myths that he mentioned earlier. In terms of the myth that physicians do not want to have LASIK themselves, he said that there are a number of stud- ies that document high physician satisfaction with LASIK. Regarding the long-term effects of LASIK, Dr. Donnenfeld said that the procedure has a 20-year track record, and long-term studies have shown refractive stability and safety. Contact lenses are not necessar- ily safer than LASIK, as daily wear and extended wear contact lenses are likely less safe than LASIK if Dr. Donnenfeld discussed myths, misconceptions, and the reality of LASIK in the Barraquer Lecture at the 2015 AAO annual meeting T he Barraquer Lecture at the 2015 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting was given by Eric Donnenfeld, MD, Rockville Centre, N.Y., and was titled "How good is LASIK? The myths, misconceptions, and reality." LASIK has fallen into decline in the last several years, according to Dr. Donnenfeld. There has been no rebound despite an improvement in consumer confidence. So is LASIK worth saving? In spite of LASIK's long clinical and historical presence, misconceptions regarding the risks and benefits of the procedure persist, Dr. Donnenfeld said, and this erodes the reputation of the procedure and of those who remain its unwavering supporters. The aim of his lecture was to explore the myths and realities of the LASIK procedure using an evidenced-based approach and to evaluate upcoming advancements. Dr. Donnenfeld highlighted 6 major myths that people associate with LASIK: physicians would not have LASIK on their own eyes; long- term effects of LASIK are not known; contact lenses are safer than LASIK; LASIK significantly increases the risk of a patient having glare and halos; the safety and efficacy of LASIK have not improved over time; and dry eye is extremely common following LASIK. Before addressing each myth, Dr. Donnenfeld reviewed the history of refractive surgery and LASIK. The evolution of LASIK starts with Jose Barraquer, MD, he said, for whom the lecture is named. He invented the microkeratome and is the "godfather" of refractive surgery, Dr. Donnenfeld said. The development of LASIK began in 1988 and 1989 with the first human procedures. Then there were the FDA trials, and in 1995 the excimer laser was first approved in PRK procedures. Over the past 10–15 years, we have seen a number of notable papers on how to select Barraquer Lecture highlights LASIK During the Barraquer Lecture at the 2015 AAO annual meeting, Dr. Donnenfeld presented the myths, misconceptions, and realities of LASIK. He also discussed the topic in a video interview with EyeWorld. Source: ASCRS