According to a study carried out at the University of Illinois, Chicago and published in the December, 2006 issue of the American Journalof Ophthalmology, there are no clinically-significant differences in safety, reliability, and effectiveness when the two major types of laser eye surgery (LASIK and LASEK) were compared in a retrospective analysis.

Both LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) and LASEK are used to treat the three most commonly encountered forms of visual disturbances: nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.