As hundreds of thousands of U.S. adults enthusiastically embrace Lasik eye surgery, it's no surprise that children are beginning to ask, "What about me?"
Eye surgeons report that a small but growing number of teenagers who for various reasons cannot--or don't want to--wear glasses and contact lenses are seeking Lasik eye surgery. Some doctors question the ethics of performing Lasik on young eyes that are still developing, while also noting that the procedure, despite a strong safety record, is not without risks.
Meanwhile, some researchers have begun performing Lasik on young children with serious eye disorders that have not responded well to other treatments. One such clinical trial is underway in Pittsburgh, and studies are set to begin soon in Los Angeles.
Lasik, which uses an excimer laser to reshape the cornea to correct nearsightedness and farsightedness, already has been studied in parts of Europe and India for children with certain vision problems. Those studies have produced favorable results, prompting some U.S. doctors to reconsider the long-standing belief that children's eyes are continuously changing and therefore should not be surgically corrected. And doctors are also encouraged by the safety record of some 2.5 million Lasik surgeries in the United States.
Although the long-term effects of Lasik--especially repeated Lasik surgeries--are unknown, short-term studies show a very low risk of serious complications, such as blindness, and a 5% to 15% rate of less serious complications, such as dry eyes, glare or light sensitivity, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
"What's pushing this interest in children is the safety record in adults," says Dr. Jonathan Song, a pediatric ophthalmologist at Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles and the Doheny Eye Institute.
The notion that Lasik can't be performed in the still-developing eye of a child is "too simplistic," according to Song. Researchers know very little about how and why children's eyes change as they get older--or about why some kids' eyes don't change at all. "There is a whole field of research [that needs] to be opened up," he says.
Some Balk at Lasik for Children
But other doctors are uneasy with the idea of performing Lasik on children. Even a remote possibility of causing blindness in a child for an elective surgical procedure is reason enough to err on the side of caution, they say.
