Laser vision procedure volume up 48% year-to-date

John P. Berdahl, MD

After years of asking ourselves, “Why isn’t refractive surgery volume going up,” it is wonderful to see that the third quarter of 2021 is the highest third quarter in the last 6 years. As the pandemic has influenced every aspect of our lives, people seem to be reassessing how to live life to the fullest. This is evidenced by increased travel, leisure activities and sales of recreational equipment.

We have seen an increase in refractive cataract surgery volumes, all of which indicate that people are prioritizing living the best life possible. Additionally, stimulus dollars have provided many patients with cash for some of these procedures that may not have been attainable previously. Often, I ask patients, “Why did you come in for refractive surgery?” Usually, they say something like they have always wanted to do it and be less dependent on glasses. Then I follow up with the question of, “Why did you decide to have it now?” One of the common answers over the last 18 months has been the stimulus checks. Another common answer has been, “I just got so tired of my glasses fogging up with my mask.”

The combination of glasses fogging up, stimulus payments and people prioritizing living their best life has led to a surge in refractive surgery. Because we know refractive surgery is one of the most successful procedures in medicine and word of mouth is one of the most frequent reasons new patients come in, hopefully this surge in refractive surgery perpetuates itself to help more and more patients live their best life.