Web Victory for Dissatisfied Patients

It took over 5 years but one dissatisfied, legally-blind LASIK patient has successfully defended his right to host a website that publicizes his plight and identifies his surgeon.

Remember, Lady Justice is blindfolded!

Legal wonks can savor the full court decision.

Back in 2002 the surgeons claimed the website was defamatory and they threatened legal action. The host initially sanitized the website but subsequently reloaded it with clear documentation of the patient's claims. The doctors filed suit claiming that the initial removal of the website criticisms to avoid suit constituted an agreement never to mention their names on the Internet.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court in Philadelphia disagreed. According to the advocacy group Public Citizen:

Companies routinely threaten consumers and Internet hosting companies with libel, defamation or trademark infringement litigation in response to legitimate criticism. With a short deadline for compliance, consumers are often pressured into removing criticism from Web sites and censoring their speech to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation.

"This is another victory for consumers who use the Internet to criticize companies," said Paul Levy, the Public Citizen attorney who filed the appeal. "Free speech and consumer rights would be seriously endangered if the temporary removal of criticisms from a Web site could be construed as an 'agreement' not to say anything about the company in the future."

Caveat emptor? From now on the sign should read "Let both the Buyer and Seller Beware!"

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LASIK versus LASEK

Every year millions of Americans undergo laser refractive surgery. The two most commonly performed procedures are LASIK and LASEK. These are acronyms for some outrageously complicated medical terms. Just to satisfy your curiosity, the 'K' stands for keratomileusis!

LASIK requires a surgical incision to create a flap of clear cornea underneath which the laser energy is applied. That flap never really heals -- it can always be dislodged or lost...yikes!

LASEK only lifts the superficial corneal epithelium and heals permanently within days.

Technical differences, but are the outcomes similar?

Surgeons from the University of Illinois at Chicago reviewed 122 pairs of patients. They were matched by age, refractive error and many other criteria. These folks all had less than 8 diopters of myopia.

After all of the patients recovered from their surgery it was determined that both techniques were safe and effective. Six months later the postoperative uncorrected visual acuity was similar in both groups as was the rare incidence of complications.

Given that these operations are felt to be equivalent, the authors of the study acknowledge that LASEK offers the additional advantage of no flap-related complications as occurs with LASIK.

Thinking about laser refractive surgery? Ask your eye surgeon with which procedure she feels more comfortable and more experienced. Because this is elective surgery you do not want to be someone else's guinea pig, right?

SOURCE: American Journal of Ophthalmology, Dec 2006

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Technorati Tags: LASEK, LASIK, eye surgery