Athletes and LASIK Surgery

If you live within broadcast range of a major sports franchise, you've probably heard or seen advertisements by or about team members for LASIK eye surgery. This high tech procedure for improving vision has clear advantages for professional athletes, and for weekend athletes, as well.

To perform well in most sports, athletes require excellent vision to help them move quickly and decisively. Those who require vision correction for better focus know from experience the disadvantages of relying on glasses or contact lenses. That's why so many professional athletes have chosen LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) refractive surgery.

Glasses are the least convenient method of vision correction for athletes. They're difficult to fit under the helmets used in such sports as football and car racing. For everyone else, they can be knocked off the face or even into the eye, causing a serious injury. Contact lenses, like glasses, can be dislodged in contact sports. In any sport, a speck of dust, a gust of wind, or perspiration can interfere with vision.

With LASIK, vision correction is achieved by reshaping the cornea, the outermost component of the eye, to maximize the proper focal length. Because the procedure does not involve the inner eye, recovering from LASIK and getting back in the game is relatively quick and easy. Although results vary for each of our San Diego laser eye surgery patients, some actually achieve better vision correction with LASIK than with glasses or contact lenses.

Some famous athletes that have undergone LASIK surgery include:

Basketball Players

• Amare Stoudemire (power forward and center for the New York Knicks)
• Channing Frye (power forward and center for the Phoenix Suns)
• Derek Fisher (point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers)
• LeBron James (small forward for the Miami Heat)
• Rick Fox (retired, small forward, last played for the Los Angeles Lakers)
• Rip Hamilton (guard for the Chicago Bulls)
• Tony Allen (defender for the Memphis Grizzlies)

Baseball Players

• Jeff Bagwell (retired, first baseman, last played for the Houston Astros)
• Greg Maddux (retired, pitcher, last played for the Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Jose Cruz Jr. (retired, outfielder last played for the Houston Astros)
• Mark Redman (retired, pitcher, last played for the Colorado Rockies)
• Paul Byrd (retired/free agent, pitcher, last played for the Boston Red Sox)

Football Players

• Bill Cowher (retired, linebacker, last played for the Philadelphia Eagles)
• Danny Kanell (quarterback, last played for the Denver Broncos)
• Jon Witman (retired, fullback, Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Ray Buchanan (retired, cornerback/safety, last played for the Oakland Raiders)
• Tiki Barber (retired/free agent, running back, New York Giants)
• Troy Aikman (retired, quarterback, Dallas Cowboys)
• Wayne Chrebet (retired, wide receiver, New York Jets)

Golfers

• Hale Irwin
• Mike Weir
• Scott Hoch
• Tom Kite
• Tiger Woods

Olympic Athletes

• Amy Van Dyken (swimmer)
• Lindsey Vonn (U.S. ski team)
• Chad Hendrick (U.S. speed skating team)

Many of these athletes aimed for 20/15 vision with their LASIK surgery, as opposed to the 20/20 vision that most patients desire. This improvement in vision can give athletes an edge over competitors. For golfers, it allows them to better judge distance when driving. For football players, it allows them to track the eyes of players on the opposing teams. If you are an athlete, contact North County Laser Eye Associates today to find out how LASIK surgery can increase your enjoyment of your favorite sport.