Refractive (LASIK) Eye Surgery Laser eye surgery is being touted in advertisements as a quick, virtually risk-free procedure that can end patients' need for glasses. But with more than 1 million patients expected to undergo the procedure this year, thousands are learning what the ads don't say: The surgery can cause life-altering complications that sometimes can't be fixed.

Problems include double or triple vision so severe patients can't watch TV or read, light distortions so blinding they can't drive at night and eyes so dry that goggles must be worn outside. Some patients have spent thousands of dollars trying to fix problems only to find the technology doesn't yet exist to provide a remedy. Industry analysts and reports from the Food and Drug Administration suggest that up to 5% of patients experience some sort of complication.

The Federal Trade Commission is now cautioning that LASIK surgery is "too new to know if there are any long-term ill effects beyond 5 years after surgery".