Peter J. Polack MD FACS LASIK Cataract Cornea Specialist Ocala FL

03/23/2026

Ask The Eye Doc: Laser eye surgeries, how reliable are they?

Dr. Po**ck responds - I am a LASIK surgeon and also had the procedure myself in 2000 and still have 20/20 uncorrected distance vision.

The issue of ‘success’ depends on the definition and on the point of view. You can have a successful surgery but still not be happy with results - “20/20 Unhappy”. You can have a procedure where the surgeon was not happy with his/her results but the patient was happy and considered the procedure successful - significant undercorrection of a myope but patient liked the outcome.

The ‘reliability’ of the procedure approaches 100% but that does not necessarily mean the patient will be satisfied with the outcome. We are usually most concerned with the safety profile of a particular procedure and here is an illustration of the safety profile of LASIK:

I was recently at a meeting where there were several cornea specialists like myself. Not only do we all perform LASIK but we also deal with any complications of eye surgery as well as other diseases of the cornea.

A question was asked of the audience: in your career, how many of you have had a single patient who had a significant loss of vision due to LASIK? Zero hands went up.

Next question: how many of you have had a patient who had significant loss of vision due to contact lenses? Everyone’s hands went up. When asked for specifics, most of us reported that we have had dozens of patients who had significant visual loss due to complications related to contact lens use, several requiring corneal transplants.

Anything you do to your eye - whether it is wearing contact lenses or having LASIK - has potential risks. But it is important to put things in the proper context.

If you are considering LASIK, do your research, seek a consultation with a reputable practice and laser center, and don’t just get talked into a procedure.

This answer is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Schedule your LASIK evaluation with Dr. Po**ck at (352) 290-7180

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03/16/2026

Question: Is Lasik a recommended procedure for someone who currently does not need glasses but may need them in the future due to aging?

Dr Po**ck responds - No. You do not have a procedure unless you need the procedure. You would not have cardiac bypass surgery now if you don’t need it on the possibility that you would develop cardiac disease when you are older.

LASIK is a laser vision correction procedure performed so that the patient does not have to wear glasses or contact lenses for distance vision (it does not correct near vision or presbyopia, which is age-related).

It works better for near-sightedness (myopia) than it does for far-sightedness (hyperopia) but is FDA approved for both, as well as for astigmatism.

If you don’t have these conditions by the time you are 25 then you normally will not develop them when you get older, until you start to develop cataracts in your 60s or 70s. And then the treatment would be cataract surgery not LASIK.

If you don’t need glasses or contacts now and had LASIK, then you would need to wear glasses (this is assuming you could actually find a surgeon that you could talk into performing surgery on eyes that don’t need surgery).

Schedule your LASIK evaluation with Dr. Po**ck at (352) 290-7180

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