Dr. Edward Boshnick: "Over the years I've had the misfortune of examining hundreds of patients who have lost quality vision and suffered severe depression as a result of LASIK surgery. Two of these patients were so depressed by their post-surgical vision loss that they attempted suicide. In fact, there are several documented cases of post-lasik suicides."
Source: A Few Words About LASIK
Dr. Arthur B. Epstein: “... many of us in the contact lens community have spent untold hours trying to help patients who have had their lives literally destroyed by LASIK.” Source: Review of Optometry, November 2006
OSN Supersite 5/19/2009: Dr. Lawless said his practice has amended its essential clause to include language about the risk of possible psychological damage from an ideal or less-than-ideal refractive surgery procedure in response to last year's U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel meeting on LASIK safety, which examined quality-of-life issues as well as reported psychological damage resulting from poor LASIK outcomes in patients.
We are presenting this information because people, particularly prospective LASIK patients, need to know that LASIK complications may have a profound negative impact on quality of life. If you are experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts after LASIK, please get professional help. If you are in crises and need immediate help, click here, call 1-800-273-8255, or call 911.
Dr. Edward Boshnick testifies at FDA hearing regarding LASIK complications, depression and suicidality
FDA hearing testimony of attorney Todd Krouner regarding suicide of police officer Larry Campbell
Todd Krouner, attorney for the widow of a police officer who committed suicide in March, 2008, gave this presentation to the FDA advisory panel, including 3 pages of the suicide note which states:
"DO NOT HAVE LASIK SURGERY! Tell the media!!!"
Beth Kotsovolos speaks on behalf of families affected by post-LASIK depression and suicide
4/25/2008 Diana Zuckerman, PhD, President, National Research Center for Women & Families wants more information about the Emory study of suicide rate among cornea donors (Go to 4:44).
Dr. Zuckerman: "The possibility of a higher suicide rate among [LASIK] patients has been raised and will be raised. More research and really good quality objective scientific research is needed. I tried to get that information. I contacted Emory University but was not able to get better information about that research which, it has not been published."
Patient with post-LASIK ectasia suffers depression and thoughts of suicide, now wearing speciality contact lenses
Patient with burning dry eyes after LASIK commits suicide
From the article: "'He went for a walk and my brother though it was strange because he usually always took his dog with him but he didn't take his dog with him on this walk. He didn't come back, and my brother, obviously feared the worst,' says Roger Pedretti, Robert’s older brother. On that February day four years ago Robert Pedretti ended his life with a blast from his shotgun...
'I was around him all the time and despite reading afterwards the degree to which he was suffering he, I think tried as much as he possibly could to look like his normal self.' But inside, Robert was dealing with a job change, depression, and health problems. 'I didn't know his eyes were burning to the extent because of Lasik eye surgery or his ears were ringing.'
Therapist, Dr. Joel Rooney says that combination, for a man, at that age can be lethal...
Now his family has his memories, and his writings, which have given them insight into his suffering. 'He said it was like a cancer, like a terminal illness that you just couldn't get through and the pain was too much to overcome it he couldn't live that way anymore,' says his brother."
Haverford man found dead at old hospital site
From the article: "While many patients achieve satisfactory outcomes, Dorrian began experiencing debilitating visual aberrations following surgery, such as glare, double-vision or ghosting, blurred vision, halos, and impaired night and low-light vision."
"Gerry Dorian said his son consulted many specialists and closely followed developments in the technology, hoping for a breakthrough that could reverse the damage. Colin took his own life after concluding “that wasn’t going to happen,” Gerry Dorrian said."
"Colin left a message on his computer indicating he would kill himself if he couldn’t get his vision corrected, Gerry Dorrian said."
“There wasn’t anything else going on in Colin’s life that would have driven him to this,” Gerry Dorrian said. “For some people, the outcome of LASIK can be impossible to deal with.”
Perils of Lasik: Double Vision, Eye Pain and even a Suicide - Lawyers and Settlements 4/28/2008
From the article: Colin Dorrian was a promising law school student when he sought relief from a chronic dry eye condition by undergoing Lasik laser eye surgery. However, rather than improving his vision and freeing him from his contacts, the procedure left him with so much eye pain and fuzzy vision that after six years, he took his own life... Dorrian, who ended his own life six years after having Lasik surgery, should have been disqualified from having the surgery. His pupils were overly large, and he suffered from extreme dryness of the eyes—two conditions that should have disqualified him from having the procedure. And yet he was cleared for it.
Some link depression, failed lasik. Patients with impaired sight turn suicidal; surgeons reject any connection
The News & Observer 2/3/2008
Sabine Vollmer, Staff Writer
From the article: "Frustration and even sorrow can follow any unsuccessful surgery, but when the procedure leaves a patient with unremitting eye pain or permanently impaired vision, the emotional toll can be particularly severe... Scientists at the Emory Eye Center in Atlanta reviewed suicides among organ donors who had had laser eye surgery. Preliminary results suggested the suicide rate might be four times as high among cornea donors who had had lasik as among cornea donors who had not."
Effect of LASIK complications on quality of life reported to the FDA through the MedWatch program
"It has been 21 months since the surgery and my vision is still poor in the both eyes... I tried to get help from lasik plus, but all they could say to me was , we are sorry... If it were not for my strong relationship with Jesus Christ and many Christian brothers and sisters praying for me daily, would have most likely taken my life." Read report
"I feel like my life has been ruined. And the thought of living the rest of my life with this pain is horrible." Read report
"I have not had one happy moment since I started having complications. I am in a severe depression." Read report
"It ruined my vision, and gave me permanent eye pain and dryness... It affects my work, my hobbies, every aspect of my life is pain and difficulty... I never knew depression until lasik." Read report
"My vision has progressed to the point where my left eye is legally blind... This surgery has destroyed my life." Read report
"The immediate effect of my lasik and dry eye was severe depression that endured for three years post-surgery... My mental state required me to make several treatment attempts including medication and therapy. I had no prior history of depression." Read report
How does the LASIK industry respond to reports of LASIK-related depression and suicide?
In response to reports of LASIK-related suicides, LASIK industry representatives made statements in the media and at an FDA hearing denying any connection between a bad outcome from LASIK and risk of depression or suicide...
“There is simply no scientific basis to support a direct connection between a sub-optimal outcome from eye surgery and suicide.”
Lindstrom, Richard. (2008, March 12) Letter to the News & Observer
“There is no scientific evidence of any direct link between LASIK and the development of depression or suicide.”
Morse M.D., Jennifer (2008, April 25) FDA Special Hearing on Post-LASIK Quality of Life
“There's no cause and effect.”
Schallhorn, Steven C. (2008, February 3) Some link depression, failed LASIK
Study finds link between visual impairment and risk of suicide
Lam BL, Christ SL, Lee DJ, Zheng DD, Arheart KL. Reported visual impairment and risk of suicide: the 1986-1996 national health interview surveys. Arch Ophthalmol. 2008 Jul;126(7):975-80.
Excerpts:
Increased mortality risks also have been noted in adults with visual impairment and disabling eye disease... However, reported visual impairment indirectly increased suicide risk significantly by 5% through poor self-rated health and by 12% through the number of nonocular conditions. The combined indirect effects of reported visual impairment operating jointly through poorer self-rated health and a higher number of reported nonocular conditions increased the risk of suicide significantly by 18%. When we examined the combined indirect effects of the other covariates in the model, only older age produced stronger associations, providing further support for the importance of the indirect effects of visual impairment as a contributor to increased risk of suicide... Up to two-thirds of people who commit suicide have some type of physician contact in their last month, and physician education is effective in reducing suicide rates... In summary, we observed that reported visual impairment increased suicide risk, particularly indirectly via reported health status and health conditions.
Reported cases of post-LASIK depression in the medical literature
Disappointment of patients on antidepressant therapy after excimer laser treatment.
Cataract Refract Surg. 2006 Oct;32(10):1775-6.
Celik L, Kaynak T, Ozerdem A, Kocak N, Kaynak S.
Excerpts:
Case 1
A 46-year-old woman was admitted with complaints of severe dry-eye symptoms, blurred and double vision, halos around objects, and inability to look at oncoming car lights. She had had excimer laser surgery 2 years earlier for myopia, which she said was around −10.00 diopters (D) and −11.50 D in the right and left eyes, respectively... Severe dry eye and visual disturbances due to a mid-dilated pupil were diagnosed. The prescription included frequent instillation of artificial tears and pilocarpine drops 4 times daily. Punctum plugs were also advised, but the patient did not want another ocular procedure. She called the office 4 days later from a psychiatry clinic where she was hospitalized because of intolerable visual disturbances resulting from longstanding pupil dilation. The patient did not return for a follow-up visit.
Case 2
A 34-year-old woman reported dryness of the eyes and visual disturbances after LASIK 11 months earlier. According to her statements, the refraction in her spectacles was approximately −8.00 D and −7.00 D. She was receiving antidepressant therapy with seroxate; one reason she had LASIK was to improve her mood and increase her self-confidence. She reported that the result of the surgery was a “catastrophe,” “worse than anything I could imagine,” and that “life became a burden” for her.
I've reached the end
Originally posted on Dr. Gerald Horn's board at http://www.chicagolasercenter.com
Posted on Wednesday, 23 May 2001, at 8:13 p.m.
Excerpt: I cannot battle this anymore, there is no current and there will be no future hope for me. I am so sad that my life has been stolen from me this way. How did this nightmare happen? Is this real? Did I really do this to myself? How did my eyes end up so screwed?...My pain now is not from my eyes, but from the thoughts of how devasted my family will be from this. I made the biggest mistake of my life, the biggest mistake ANYONE COULD POSSIBLY make. In one instant my life was destroyed and now my family and friends will suffer to. I only hope that they know this is to end my suffering.
LASIK and Quality of Life
"When compared with a hearing-impaired control group, impaired sight alone can acutely affect otherwise psychologically healthy individuals." Source: Psychosomatics, Jul-Aug 1999 Read article
“Functional vision for the normally sighted person is so basic to everyday living that sudden, or even gradual, vision loss can have a devastating impact on quality of life.” Source: Cleveland Clinic website [2009, February 24] Link
Robert Latkany, M.D.: "I have patients from around the world. They’re desperate and crying out for help,” he said. “It’s borderline scary. Numerous times I’ve heard people say they want to commit suicide. To the eye doctor, [dry eye] is just a nuisance [when], in fact, these patients are really suffering.” Source
Tuisku I, Tervo T, Belmonte C.: "It is important to comprehend that these individuals may be suffering from “phantom eye pain,” which does not have a psychiatric or “central pain” etiology. The recent discussion of mental depression up to suicide after LASIK suggests that we need to pay more attention to the pain issue after this therapy and analyze whether this problem is associated with unrealistic expectations, poor results, or development of peripheral neuropathic pain." Source: Letters to the Editor. J Refract Surg. Oct 2008, pg 772.
College baseball player, Trevor Tyre, finds healing after LASIK "depressing" - Dothan Eagle 5/19/2009
From the article: He had the eye surgery in December and had to put in eye drops every day for three months to regain the strength in his eyes. He could see, but not well enough... He saw an eye doctor who recommended the LASIK surgery, but Tyre still wasn’t sure. “I had my disbeliefs,” Tyre said. “Some people say you see halos around car lights and there’s only a 50 percent chance it works. But my doctor assured me that with my young age, it wasn’t as bad as it could be.” “I couldn’t pick up the rotation or spin on the ball,” Tyre said. “It was real depressing."
Atlanta Braves catcher, Brian McCann, vision problems after LASIK - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 5/16/2009
From the article: Dealing with a sense so delicate and wondrous as sight was a little different than trying to shake off a sprain... Since his 2007 Lasik surgery, McCann’s eyes had changed. He didn’t really begin to notice, he said, until the start of this season. But the change was drastic... “Until we got the two eyes equalized, it was not going to be better,” said Alan Kozarsky, the Atlanta ophthalmologist who did the Lasik, and one of several doctors on the case this month... The McCann boys had been taught early by their father to play through most any injury. But this was something else. There was no gutting out this type of problem... “I was more concerned with him mentally,” McCann’s father said. “He was miserable."
Related links
Refractive Surgery Shock Syndrome
Lack of Empathy in Ophthalmology