FDA Warns LASIK Providers about Misleading Ads

On Sept. 23, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to eye care professionals who offer LASIK surgery warning them against deceptively marketing the procedure and the FDA-approved lasers involved.

The letter came in follow-up to warnings regarding complaints that some LASIK providers’ “advertising and promotion often failed to properly inform consumers of the indications, limitations, and risks of refractive procedures and the lasers used for those procedures.”

According to the Sept. 23 letter, “The FDA continues to receive information concerning improper promotion and advertising practices by eye care professionals.”

Vision practices that misrepresent the FDA-approved lasers used in LASIK and other laser-based vision correction procedures may be found in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and could face fines and the seizure of products.

Although LASIK is a statistically safe procedure with a success rate of more than 95 percent, it is still a surgical procedure, and as such it is advised that those considering LASIK do their research when choosing an ophthalmologist and specific procedure.

The FDA provides a list of lasers approved for LASIK surgery.

If you would like to learn more about the benefits and risks of LASIK and other laser eye surgery procedures, please contact an ophthalmologist near you.