A large longitudinal study in the United States of over 1,800 patients at 20 sites revealed that LASIK patients were substantially happier with their surgical correction than patients who opted for contact lenses.
The study also found to the researcher’s surprise that LASIK improved the ease of night driving compared to not just contact lenses but glasses and that dry eye symptoms were no worse than what they feel when they wear contact lenses and it improved over a 3 year follow up period.
According to the co-author Francis W. Price Jr., MD, who heads the Price Vision Group in Indianapolis, “At the time we put this study together, LASIK was being criticized by a small group of people who, rightfully or not, blamed LASIK for any visual problems they had or depression they felt. LASIK was being compared to perfection instead of to alternative treatments for visual errors,” he said. “Therefore, we felt it was important to see how LASIK patients compared with a control group using another popular form of visual correction, such as contact lenses.”
For more about the study:
https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/lasik-satisfaction-vs-contact-lenses
