Seeing the Light

LASIK, the latest surgical sensation, is luring celebrities and others

in search of 20/20 vision.

PHOTO BY RICHARD PIERCE

Reprinted from W Magazine, December, 2000

     A medical procedure can be like the new hot handbag: Suddenly everyone has to have it. First it was breast implants; then it was liposuction. And as with fashion and beauty trends, when everyone decides that going under the knife is a must-do, celebrities lead the charge. Now, though, the stars have more than just vanity at stake: LASIK, the vision ­correction surgery that has quickly become the country's top elective proce­dure, may free the Woody Allens of the world from four-eyed nerd-dom, but it also makes life a lot easier.

     Academy Award-nominated actress Julianne Moore was more than ready to take the leap. "I'd worn glasses since I was nine years old," she says. "I was completely nearsighted, and it became more difficult to deal with after my son was born." Fumbling for glasses for nighttime feedings is one thing, but like countless others in the public eye, Moore found that trying to work with the only other alternative, contact lenses; simply wasn't cutting it anymore. "When you're working on a movie, you're on a dusty film set for 18 hours, and after such a long day contact lenses really hurt," she says. Add to that the other requirements of her trade, such as take after take of tears on demand --and in the much-hyped Hannibal, which she recently finished filming in Virginia, there are likely to be a lot of those --and one can see why Moore finally entrusted her eyes to LASIK.

     For the more than 60 percent of Americans who have less-than-perfect vision, LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis) offers freedom from a variety of vision problems: myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism, an uneven curvature of the cornea that distorts vision and often accompanies both nearsightedness and farsightedness. LASIK is also relatively affordable: It usually costs around $5,000, and some clinics offer it for as little as $2,000. The surgery's nickname is "flap and zap," and with good reason, since LASIK is in theory as simple as that. After treating the eyes with anes­thetic drops, the physician first uses a microsurgi­cal device called a microkeratome to slice across the top layer of the cornea, creating a hinged flap. The doctor then uses the highly precise excimer laser -- invented at IBM more than 20 years ago for the purpose of etching microchips -- to reshape the exposed cornea, correcting the way it refracts light. This takes anywhere from 14 to 40 seconds, and afterward the doctor gently reposi­tions the flap; within 24 hours, it will reattach itself naturally,, without any need for stitches.

 

 

     Of course, the concept of eye surgery under­standably makes prospective patients jittery "Fear is the greatest thing that keeps people away, and pain is what they're worried about," says Moore's doctor, Martin L. Fox, who is a corneal and refractive surgeon and a medical director at the TLC Laser Eye Centers. But, Fox says, patients usually experience only three or four hours of irritation right after surgery, which he describes as "a burning, sandy sensa­tion – like having lenses in too long.”  The FDA requires physicians performing LASIK to provide patients with statistics on the risks of having the surgery.  According to clinical trials cited by TLC Laser Centers, the country’s largest vision-correction provider, the chances of severe complications are much less than 1 percent.  “Blindness is definitely not associated with this,” Fox says.  Complications, which are often correctable, usually involve irregular healing, which creates mile vision abnormalities.

     Like other surgeons, Fox has acquired most of his high-profile LASIK patients, who also include Lisa Ling of “The View,” makeup mogul Bobbi Brown and several top fashion executives, through word-of-mouth recommendations. "The reasons celebrities have it done are pretty typical of why other patients have it done," says Kerry Assil, national medical director of the Aris Laser Vision Institute and medical director of the Sinskey Eye Institute, both in Santa Monica. "However," he adds, "since celebrities can't afford ever to have red eyes, a lot of them go around not wearing any contacts or glasses. They're pretty much roughing it, if you will."  Assil, who has performed LASIK on Brad Pitt and "Friends" star Courteney Cox Arquette, even recalls a patient who turned down an opportunity to host the Emmys for fear that she wouldn't be able to read the TelePrompTer.

 
 

 

 LASIK is just as popular among professional athletes, whose vision is arguably even more important to their careers. Assil reports a higher level of difficulty in operating on athletes, usually because of prior eye injuries that they've suffered. But he says they're also the most satisfying to treat, because of the dramatic difference in athletic per­formance that a sight improvement can make Golf wunderkind Tiger Woods underwent LARK last fall and went on to win his next six events. Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux returned to the field within 48 hours of his procedure and went on to a whining season. Other sat­isfied athletes include the Lakers' Rick Fox, former New York Knick Patrick Ewing and champion swimmer Any Van Dyken.

     But despite all of the positive hype surrounding laser eye surgery, many are still reluctant to sign up for it.  Nicole Kidman has said that even though she wishes she weren’t so dependent on glasses, she’s still apprehensive about the surgery.  Baseball superstar Mark McGwire is also keeping his lenses firmly in place.  He anticipates that he’ll eventually have LASIK, but most likely after retiring.  And then there are those – Woody Allen or Old Navy pitchwoman Carrie Donovan, for example – whom it would be hard to imagine without their signature frames.  Donovan insists she’s not going anywhere near LASIK.  “I have my glasses, and I can see.” She says.

 

 -- Patricia Reynoso