Retired FDA Doctor Says Lasik Surgery Needs Stronger Regulations

Sacramento, CALasik Surgery requires stronger warnings and regulations, according to a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official who was once a proponent of the procedure.

In an interview with News10 ABC.com Dr. Morris Waxler said that as the number of people who have undergone the procedure increases, so too does the number of complaints. Complaints such as those from the News10 Operations Manager Brian Plumb who said "Initially, it went really well. I had 20/20 vision in both eyes." But in the years since his surgery his vision deteriorated. "In my right eye, I currently see multiple images at distance at night," Plumb told News10. "I see four or five headlights (in my right eye), but my left eye is still 20/20."

Retired from the FDA for over a decade, Dr. Waxler says that the data show Plumb's experience is not isolated, that in fact some 50 percent of Lasik patients experience vision problems following the surgery. Those problems include seeing starbursts and halos around lights and objects, and blurriness. Thirty-three percent of Lasik patients end up getting glasses, he told News 10. That's exactly what Plumb has ended up doing, and he may require 'touch-up' surgery on his right eye.

Since his retirement, Waxler has petitioned the FDA to strengthen warnings and regulations regarding Lasik. "I think people don't understand this is not like getting your nails done," Waxler said. "This is not like getting a curler caught in your hair."