Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Doctors have issued a warning on a popular surgery after a police officer has died by suicide following complications.
A Pennsylvania police officer has died by suicide after suffering from side effects caused by a popular elective eye surgery, his family confirmed.
Advert
Now, surviving patients and medics are warning about the procedure for it's alleged life-changing risks.
Who was Ryan Kingerski?
Ryan Kingerski worked at the Penn Hills Police Department and took time off in August last year to undergo LASIK.
Advert
However, just five months later in January, he tragically took his own life.
The 26-year-old reportedly suffered debilitating side effects after the surgery, such as headaches and double vision.
He saw dark spots and 'floaters,' tiny spots that look like streaks or unusual shapes in his vision, reports New York Post.
His grief-stricken parents, Tim and Stefanie Kingerski, told CBS News how their 'witty' and 'charming' son became 'full of regret' from the surgery, and left behind a suicide note that revealed he couldn't take the pain anymore.
Advert
Tim said: "He left us a note that said, ‘I can’t take this anymore. LASIK took everything from me.’ That’s the note that we got left."
“It just … it ruined his life. Ruined it. Completely ruined his life in 12 seconds,” Tim said to WTAE News.
"His exact quote was 'I'm paralyzed without being paralyzed,' is what he would say."
What is LASIK surgery?
LASIK is a type of laser vision correction, which stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, which involves the reshaping of the cornea.
Advert
It is pitched as an alternative to glasses or contact lenses, according to the Mayo Clinic, by changing the dome-shaped clear tissue at the front of the eye.
It claims the procedure is 95 to 99 percent safe, with the rate of serious complications coming in at less than one percent, the American Refractive Surgery Council claims.
The Mayo Clinic further adds that while side effects of LASIK eye surgery 'are common,' complications that pose a loss of vision 'are very rare'.
However, symptoms can include dry eyes, glare, halos and double vision, 'overcorrections', where too much tissue removed, astigmatism, 'flap problems', corneal ectasia, regression, and/or visions loss.
Advert
LASIK was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for correction of refractive errors, such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism.
Since then, it has seen more than 10 million people across the US opt for the surgery.
According to the medical journal Clinical Ophthalmology, between 700,000 to 800,000 people sign up for it every year.
What have other patients said about LASIK?
Dozens of patients and survivors have come out to claim the surgery can pose some serious complications, as per a LASIK Complications Support Group on Facebook documents.
Advert
Ryan's death also comes as a meteorologist from Detroit TV, Jessica Starr, reportedly came after she took her own life in 2018.
The 35-year-old mom died just two months after LASIK, leaving behind a 30-page suicide note with videos that indicated the surgery was to blame.
Her widower, Dan Rose, said she was 'completely normal' and 'very healthy' prior to the procedure, with no signs of depression or other underlying issues, reports WJBK.
Another LASIK patient told the Post how she suffered suicidal ideations for two years after her 'disastrous' procedure in 2000, saying she similarly suffers from 'floaters, severe dry eyes, induced astigmatism and severe night vision problems.'
Advert
Paula Cofer, from Tampa, Florida, also claims to have known of at least 40 people to have taken this own lives after suffering with pain and vision issues.
She said: “I really didn’t want to stick around at times, but I decided I would to get the word out about how dangerous this surgery can be."
The 66-year-old added: "The LASIK lobby and the surgeons will tell you only one percent of patients have issues afterward. That’s not true. There are multiple studies that indicate otherwise.
Advert
“The percentage of those with poor outcomes are in the double digits, not one percent. And they know it."
“If you understand Lasik and what it does to the eyes and cornea, you realize you can’t do it on a healthy eye and not expect complications,” Cofer claimed.
Abraham Rutner, an electrician from Brooklyn, slammed LASIK as 'the biggest scam ever put on the American public' after his surgery went wrong.
“It’s like you have a layer of oil on top of your eye — it was so hazy and terrible,” the 43-year-old told The Post. “I couldn’t work. I couldn’t drive. I felt like I was still a young man and I lost my life.”
Advert
Fortunately, both Rutner and Cofer managed to get another surgery to correct the LASIK issues, which involves a scleral lens that sits over the top of damaged corneas.
What have experts said about LASIK?
Morris Waxler was an FDA advisor who worked in the branch that approved LASIK in its early days.
Advert
The 89-year-old told the news outlet that he regrets the move and has been publicly speaking out against its apparent dangers for the past 15 years.
“People come in with healthy eyes and all they need is eyeglasses. But when surgeons cut the cornea they are removing nerves and leaving the corneas with odd shapes and some patients will have intractable pain,” he explained.
Waxler says he has petitioned the FDA to remove its approval of LASIK to no avail.
“They cut nerves, then, in addition, they take out a divot, which removes all the support structure or muscle out of the support section and all of it,” he said about the surgery.
“Sometimes it grows back, sometimes it doesn’t grow back, sometimes it grows back poorly. For some people, it’s a bigger problem than others.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
Topics: Health, Mental Health, Pennsylvania , US News
Liv Bridge