LASIK eye surgery, often marketed as a simple procedure with complication rates below one percent, has now been linked to an alarming number of suicides.
LASIK, or laser vision correction, has even been described by Miami-based eye doctor Edward Boshnick as “the biggest scam ever put on the American public.”
After a 26-year-old police officer took his own life while reportedly suffering complications from the surgery, several other heartbreaking cases connected to the procedure have resurfaced. Officer Ryan Kingerski of the Penn Hills Police Department experienced severe pain, double vision, and persistent headaches following LASIK surgery.
“I can’t take this anymore. Lasik took everything from me,” he reportedly wrote in his suicide note.
Former FDA official petitioned to revoke LASIK approval
Morris Waxler, the former head of the FDA branch responsible for reviewing and approving LASIK procedures, later petitioned for the agency’s approval of the surgery to be revoked.
His decision reportedly came after conducting his own analysis, which suggested complication rates could actually range between 10 and 30 percent — far higher than the less-than-one-percent rate often promoted to consumers.
“It didn’t matter what questions and concerns I had, because the surgeons were very powerful and still are,” Waxler told The Post.
Devastating complications linked to multiple suicide notes
In 2018, Detroit TV meteorologist Jessica Starr died by suicide at age 35 after reportedly suffering complications following LASIK surgery.
According to her family, Starr struggled with intense pain and worsening vision issues after the procedure. Before her death, she documented her emotional and physical difficulties in video diary entries and reportedly sought help from eye specialists and therapists.
“Prior to the procedure, Jessica was completely normal, very healthy,” her husband Dan Rose told The Post. “There was no depression… no underlying issue.”
Another case involved Canadian father-of-two Paul Fitzpatrick, who blamed decades of post-LASIK pain in his suicide note before taking his own life in 2018.
Fitzpatrick reportedly described years of burning sensations in his eyes, headaches, and constant pain that left him barely able to function.
“Pain, pain and more pain,” he wrote.
Paula Cofer, who runs an online support group for LASIK complications, told The Post she personally knows at least 40 people who have died by suicide following severe complications from the procedure.
“Not everyone has severe complications, but a lot more people are suffering than you know,” she said.
More than 10 million Americans have undergone LASIK surgery since the FDA approved the procedure in 1999. According to the FDA, potential risks include vision loss, glare, halos, double vision, and other serious visual symptoms.
