LASIK and other corneal refractive procedures (PRK, RK) have popularized to the point that most people either know someone who's had the procedure, or have had the procedure themselves. For the most part these procedures are successful and life-changing in the positive direction, reducing or eliminating the dependence on glasses or contact lenses for vision. However, about three percent suffer from visual complications that are not regarded as official "complications", but can be life-altering in a negative way.

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.