What is it?

LASIK is the acronym for "laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis" (Goldstein 2010). LASIK surgery is a type of surgery conducted on the human eye to correct deficiencies in vision. The human eye is not unlike a camera: "The cornea is a part of the eye that helps focus light to create an image on the retina" (LASIK, 2011, FDA). The cornea or lens is often imperfect in shape and contains refractive errors, causing vision problems such as "myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism" or combinations of these conditions (LASIK, 2011, FDA). Until the development of LASIK, glasses or contact lenses were the only ways to compensate for the eye's imperfections. But through LASIK surgery, the "precise and controlled removal of corneal tissue by a special laser reshapes the cornea, changing its focusing power" (LASIK, 2011, FDA).

During...

Next, a cool beam excimer laser sculpts the underlying cornea into a new shape to correct the refractive error. The flap is then repositioned and adheres on its own without sutures after only a few minutes" (Vision correction, 2011, LASIK Australia).
Supposedly, the surgery is supposed to be painless and to have no complications -- if conducted on appropriate subjects. The fact that the surgery can and is most often performed at out-patient facilities specifically devoted to LASIK surgery caused a rapid increase in its use, as well as how the surgery is administered -- requiring no extensive hospital stay (Vision correction, 2011, LASIK Australia)

The surgery was immediately popular with athletes and