The Beauty of Lasik

In refractive surgery we pride ourselves in how we make our patients better. The patient who could not see the alarm clock, can now see the tiny leaves on a tree far away. The patient who has their glasses right next to their bed for fear of not being able to get out of the house if there was a fire, is now able to swim and see the beautiful fish in the sea. This “vision” can allow for pleasures and memories never before possible, a wonderful thing. But what if physical clarity came with it a different type of clarity, a deeper clarity.
I had a patient last week who was very near sighted but just within the last few years began wearing glasses. She grew up in a small village in China so not seeing well did not prevent her from doing her work or driving, she did not drive. When asked why see did not wear glasses she replied, “When things were clear for me as a little girl, I saw all the flaws in everyone. And I did not like it.” Her solution to this dilemma was to not wear glasses and be in a blissful blur. Having been in refractive surgery for over 15 years, this was the first response of this nature I had ever heard, but made me ask; so why have surgery? She simply stated, “I no longer see the flaws only the beauty in people”. Sounds like a good reason for Lasik to me.