Why Lasik Testimonials Are So Important

Why Lasik Testimonials are so Important

"I have always said that if I were a rich man I would employ a professional praiser."

The wisdom of Osbert Sitwell

Millions of people now consider themselves to be either grateful recipients or victims of Lasik surgery and many of them, for a variety of reasons, have either produced testimonials to laud the procedure or denunciations to criticize it. This is not a question of who to believe . . . there is no reason to suspect that either the testimonials or the denunciations are untrue, and together they give an accurate picture of the Lasik procedure from the patients point-of-view.

On the positive side, the testimonials tell the stories of people who, in some cases, have had vision problems since childhood and now, thanks to a successful Lasik procedure, have almost perfect vision. On the negative side, criticisms of Lasik range from mild disapproval because of unmet expectations, to angry denunciations because of serious problems after the Lasik procedure, to the extreme cases of catastrophic results.

From the point-of-view of the Lasik provider, a patient's testimonial is invaluable evidence that they have not only improved the vision of that patient, they have improved the patients life to the extent that the patient has now, willingly, become a spokesman.

From your point of view, as a potential Lasik consumer, the testimonials and condemnations both need to be considered and taken at face value. These, in a very real sense, are not the praises or critiques of individuals as much as they are 'The History of Lasik.'

It is because of some quirk of human nature that we are more fascinated by tragedy than we are by triumph and, consequently, tend to give more weight to criticism than we do to praise. We, too often, assume the negative is true and the positive is just hype. The news media certainly understands this quirk and they are quick to produce stories of tragic occurrences and tell tales of defeat and disaster while holding the positive stories for a 'slow news day.' They understand that sad and negative news will hold our attention and motivate us to action while the happy, positive stories will soon be forgotten.

So it is with the testimonials and denunciations of Lasik:

The following is a testimonial excerpt from the Diary of a Lasik patient, found at Ienhance.com

(http://www.ienhance.com/community/diary.asp?diaryid=28):

"Let me tell you though, the best part of my day? The one thing that I will never forget? I heard my wife's car in the driveway as she drove up to pick me up, and then something wonderful happened. When the door opened, my wife walked in and I could see her! No glasses, no squinting - my beautiful wife. I could see her smiling face, her beautiful eyes... the love of my life. I don't think she realizes how much I have wanted to do this Laser surgery. I love her with all my heart. She is so beautiful. I am so happy she was one of the beautiful things I was able to see on the first day with my new eyes. I drove us home that evening... without glasses. "

That's so vivid and inspiring it could bring tears to the eyes of the unjaded reader.

Now this excerpt from a much less positive point-of-view, found at the SurgicalEyes site on their bulletin board: http://surgicaleyes.infopop.cc/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/6541031211/m/3296066494

"I had lasik surgery on July 20, 2000. with enhancement October 26, 2000. Not a day goes by that I don't blame myself for the temporary insanity I must have experienced when I decided to go ahead with the surgery. At all other times I am very cautious about my health, eat right, don't take medications and I exercise regularly. How could I have done this to myself? I trusted the surgeon to give me the facts, all the facts, and he didn't, in fact, he lied by omission.

"The complications I'm living with today: induced astigmatism in my left eye, starbursts, lights, unpredictable fluctuation vision, dry eyes, foreign body sensation, floaters in both eyes (which I only very seldom experienced in my right eye before surgery), eye pain, eyes tiring easily when reading and working on the computer, right eye constantly shadowing (I have to turn my head to make the shadows go away). I had none of these symptoms before surgery."

Actually this story of a Lasik failure and a bad doctor may not be as emotionally moving as the previous testimonial but this excerpt induces another, stronger emotion: fear.

Testimonials are important but so is the contradictory evidence, and only when considered together can you learn the whole story.