e is a revolution happening in vision correction, says Dr. Guy Kezirian, a refractive surgeon in Arizona, and spokesman for the International Society of Refractive Surgery. Were seeing a stampede of people interested in a surgical alternative. The question I ask is, why not? Glasses can be very inconvenient, and contacts can be a hassle, so why not venture in this vast, growing field of LASIK? LASIK is not just an eye operation anymore, it is a 2 billion dollar a year industry that has revolutionized the way surgery is looked at. Usually costing two thousand dollars per eye, LASIK is not a surgery that anyone can afford, especially since it is not covered by insurance. Yet when asked, a LASIK patient consistently states that the surgery was one, if not the, best thing which they have ever done for themselves: no worries of sleeping with contact lenses and contracting a sight threatening infection (Slade, 254). No fear of scuba diving or swimming with contacts, and no fear of waking up 3 a.m. after having heard noises downstairs, and not being able to find your glasses. LASIK surgery gave Diane, a forty-five-year-old doctor assistant, a newfound sense of freedom. Before the surgery, she couldnt clearly see her feet when she was in the shower, but now after LASIK, she is taking rock-climbing lessons with her twelve-year-old daughter; something she would have never done if she were wearing glasses or contacts. Stories like this are becoming common as Americans flock to eye doctors at record rates for this surgical fix. LASIK is blossoming like a flower in the Fertile Crescent and soon everybody will be taking advantage of its wondrous gift that it provides; the gift of sight....
