Myopia, or near-sightedness, affects approximately 25% of Americans between the ages of 12 and 54. Though glasses are the common quick fix to myopia, laser eye surgery has become more commonly used to correct vision problems since being introduced in the early 1990's. Though over 18 million LASIK procedures have been performed worldwide, some controversy still remains regarding the maximum possible correction and efficacy using this technique. An article published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Opthalmology has reported that LASIK for myopia is an effective procedure in the long-term.

During the study, 196 highly myopic eyes of 118 patients, who required at least 10 diopter correction to achieve 20/20 vision, were evaluated 10 years following the surgery. Uncorrected vision was 77% of best-corrected vision before the surgery procedure. Only 5% of eyes lost some quality of vision and 40% avoided the use of glasses. 61% of the eyes were within plus or minus 2 diopters after 10 years.

Lead investigator, Jorge Alio, claims that "This study has allowed us to demonstrate that, in spite of the prejudices about the limits of the LASIK technique, the results regarding predictability, efficacy and safety for high myopic patients are very good in the long term... This reference study, with a long time perspective, allows us to know the safety, precision and limits of LASIK in highly myopic eyes."

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