People are afraid of the consequences of this type of procedure going bad. As with any surgical procedure, the risks are there. Still many athletes have now had LASIK surgery preformed on their eyes. Let's see how it went.
Tiger Woods is one of the biggest names in sports. He made the decision to use LASIK to improve his vision so he wouldn't need contacts anymore. He has improved his vision to an incredible, but not totally uncommon, 20/15.
Baseball is one of the sports where your vision is hyper important. Seeing the ball coming at 100 mph and hitting it with a bat is quite a vision related challenge. Many baseball players have now had LASIK surgeries, hoping to see that ball better.
Greg Maddox, all-star pitcher has had the surgery. He went on a long run of good pitching after the operation. He sees at 20-15 now.
Maddox doesn't think the surgery had anything to do with his improved pitching. He never felt it would help him on the mound. He had the procedure done to help him in his daily life.
The list of hitters that had the procedure includes Jeff Bagwell and Bernie Williams, both perennial all-stars. Because they have great lifetime statistics it's hard to see big changes there.
It's when you here these players talk about life after LASIK surgery that you get an idea of how it is for them. Maddox talks about how nice it is to just sit and watch TV now. Bernie Williams feels it is simply a miracle.
Tiger decided to use LASIK for a couple of reasons. Seeing better of course. But, also getting rid of contacts that were a problem wearing when allergies would flare up.
The surgery had another positive effect. Everything he saw seemed bigger and more defined. He feels this has helped him read long putts better.
One thing is for sure. If these great athletes feel it's safe enough to risk losing millions of dollars, then we should all feel safe. Millions of people have had successful LASIK surgery.
