MDNews - Greater Boston

it sta r ted to interest me," he says. " We ca n't a nswer exactly why some people a re v ulnerable to it a nd others a re not. It ca n involve disabling photosensitivity a nd pa in described as sha rp pins a nd needles with scratching a nd burning. Laser eye surg ica l procedures a re a common trigger because they ca n cut the ner ves in the corneas, a nd the reg row th of new ner ves ca n be a patholog ica l cause of the pa in." Therein lies the rub. Laser eye surger y may be one of the causes of this problem for some people. For the most pa r t, laser eye surger y is touted as safe and effective, and it has high patient satisfaction scores. It has become a massive business, a nd there may be a hesita ncy to investigate problems that could potentia lly be a result of the procedure for some people. " This is a complicated issue, a nd we a re just beg inning to lea rn about it," Dr. Rosentha l says. "Doctors in genera l a re a conser vative group a nd f ind it ver y diff icult to put aside con- ventiona l wisdom. But these a re horrendous symptoms, a nd for tunately we a re getting increasing suppor t globa lly from ma ny exper ts a nd cha ng ing the dyna mics for this disease." Dr. Rosentha l believes determining the underlying causes for the condition and devising treatment moda lities will only happen when more scientists engage in studying the condition. The Boston EyePain Foundation is doing ever y thing it ca n to attract patients a nd physicia ns to the issue, striving to ga in knowledge from those a ff licted a nd to generate interest in exploring the disease a round the world. " We need to look at this disease another way and to consider the issues the patients a re having as rea l," Rosentha l says. "My hope a nd expectation a re that we ca n attract scientists to study the condition's mecha nisms. I look at myself a s a cata lyst for generating interest f rom t he scientif ic com- munit y to look into this in a rea listic way. We a re ma king rea l prog ress, as ma ny exper ts a re recog nizing that this is a n issue we need to tack le." For more information on the Boston EyePain Foundation and its effort to expand the conversation about possible causes of inadequately explained chronic dry eye and other eye pain symptoms, visit bostoneyepain .org. ■ Living Proof ALTHOUGH THE L A SER eye surger y industr y is widely accepted, there are thousands of people who say they have had the procedure without realizing any benefits. In fact, they say the opposite is true and that life after laser eye surger y is worse. Lisa DiLibero is from Rhode Island and under went a Lasik procedure in 2000. She began suffering from dr y eye symptoms immediately after the procedure. Over time, the symptoms dissipated before coming back within the last few years. "Now, it is like I am always aware of my eyes," she says. "I suffer from dr yness, irritation and pain. To my knowledge, I was given no indication that this could happen." Paula Cofer is another individual who has suffered from dr y eye since having laser eye surger y. Originally from Louisiana, she had the procedure in Florida in 2000. Initially, the sur- ger y seemed to improve her vision immensely, but Cofer soon began seeing what she described as ghost images and suffering from symptoms such as burning pain and intense pressure. "Ever yone kept telling me I had dr y eye and needed to use drops, but my eyes didn't feel dr y," Cofer says. "I star ted looking into solu- tions like hard contact lenses or surger y, but there were no options." Both Cofer and DiLibero met with degrees of skepticism from their physicians, and even those inclined to help have been unable to find relief. Although these are anecdotal instances of individuals who have connected their laser eye surgeries to their dr y eye diseases, the reality is that neither suffered from any of these issues until after they attempted to correct their vision. They are speaking out because they want the medical community to realize this is a problem that needs fur ther study to get to the root. "This corneal neuralgia is real, and it is not because eyes are dr y," Cofer says. "This condi- tion is hard to treat, and we see many people suffering from deep depression because of it. It is a big problem that is more common than real- ized, and it needs to be addressed." M D N E W S .C O M /// M D N E W S N O R T H O F B O S T O N ■ 2 017 1 7

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