Beyond Glasses & Contacts

After suffering various discomforts when she couldn't find her glasses during a 1994 tornado, author Franette Armstrong flew to Canada to have photo refractive keratotomy, or PRK. The only vision-correction alternative thus far approved by the FDA, this procedure uses a laser to reshape the cornea to correct near- and farsightedness, and even astigmatism. Armstrong has since written a layperson-oriented book on PRK and some half-dozen as-yet-unapproved vision-correction developments; this 1997 video explores the benefits and risks of all of them. Via interviews with physicians, FDA officials, and patients, and very detailed scenes of actual treatments, we learn that not everyone is a candidate for these procedures; that there can be some short-term problems such as pain, glare, haze, and light sensitivity; that very occasionally a patient experiences over- or under-correction or scarring; that 98 to 99% of moderately nearsighted patients have 20/40 vision after treatment, and that 80% of them progress to 20/20 vision (note that the percentages are much lower for extremely nearsighted patients); and which lasers have been approved for use in the U.S. Not addressed are costs, insurance-eligibility, whether people with bifocals can benefit, how long the treatment really will last, and what happens to those folks who are overcorrected or scarred. Despite these omissions, I can recommend this well-done video for its honest, straightforward approach to a topic of high interest and importance to millions of people. Aud: P. (K. Glaser)