LASER WARS/ Focus on reality when pondering eye surgery

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 2, 2000 | by Bill Radford

How does the center handle follow- up care and the need, if any, for further surgery?

What is 20/20 vision?

Having 20/20 vision means seeing at 20 feet what a normal person sees at 20 feet, as measured by lines on an eye chart. A bottom number larger than 20 indicates diminished vision. A person with 20/ 40 vision, for example, has to walk up to 20 feet to see clearly the same line of text that someone with 20/20 vision can see at 40 feet.

20/20 is only one indication of visual clarity, the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance points out. Under controlled conditions, you may have 20/20 vision, but in the real world you might be unable to drive at night because of debilitating haloes around lights.

More online

www.ascrs.org, Web site of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Click on "Eye Care" to find refractive-surgery video clips.

www.aao.org, Web site of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Click on "Public Information" to find information on refractive surgery.

www.lasikinstitute.org, Web site of the nonprofit Lasik Institute, which offers a step-by-step guide to the procedure

www.usaeyes.com, Web site of the nonprofit Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance, which includes tough questions to ask your doctor and the names of doctors certified by the group.