EYE doctors here are among the best in the world when it comes to Lasik surgery to correct short-sightedness.
Their success and safety records beat several international centres, including some in the United States, said a paper from the Health Ministry (MOH).
The head of Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Lasik Centre, Dr Lee Hung Ming, said: 'The results are excellent by any world standard.'
US regulators require surgeons to perform 'safe' operations - with zero problems such as glares and haloes - in at least 97 per cent of patients.
Of the more than 10,000 Lasik operations done by the four centres here that took part in the study, more than 99.2 per cent had no complications, not even minor ones.
Only patients with mild to moderate myopia were included in the study.
The ministry found that the success rate was also better than in the US where, after Lasik, between 96 and 100 per cent of patients had vision that no longer required spectacles.
Here, the success rate ranged from 98.8 at the National University Hospital, which did only 262 Lasik operations last year, to 100 per cent at both TTSH (2,284 operations) and the private sector's Jerry Tan Eye Surgery (665 operations).
The fourth was the Singapore National Eye Centre, the biggest player with 18 doctors doing more than 7,000 Lasik treatments last year. It achieved 6/12 spectacle-free vision in more than 99 per cent of cases.
The best performer was Dr Jerry Tan. None of his patients last year had problems or needed glasses after their surgery. Dr Tan was also the best scorer when the comparison of results for cataract operations were released in March this year.
In the US, more than 85 per cent of patients attained perfect vision after Lasik surgery, but such data was not captured here.
Participation in the study was voluntary but Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan has said it will be compulsory to provide such data from next year. The four centres cover the vast majority of Lasik surgeries done here.
Lasik is a popular way to correct short-sightedness or myopia. The top layer of the eye is cut and folded back so the cornea can be reshaped to give better eyesight. After surgery, the flap is replaced. No stitches are needed.
The flap can be cut with a knife, which is the standard and cheaper way, or with a laser. Dr Lee said the future of Lasik lies with laser or bladeless surgery as it gives straight clean cuts which practically removes any risk of complications when the flap is replaced.
Wavefront guidance may be used with either method. This involves evaluation of the patient's eyesight through the use of light waves before surgery and ensures greater accuracy.
The cost of Lasik for one eye ranges from $1,275 to $2,230 when a knife is used without wavefront guidance, to $1,970 to $3,400 for wavefront-guided laser surgery.
There is no subsidy for the treatment, nor can Medisave be used, as it is considered cosmetic rather than medically necessary.
Before 2004, when a price war resulted in a $1,000 drop in prices, many Singaporeans headed to Malaysia or Thailand for the treatment. The cost of Lasik in those countries is about $1,200 an eye.
But Dr Lee said his gut feeling is that this trend has petered out as prices fell here following the release of bill sizes by the ministry.
'The difference in price now does not justify travelling there for surgery and follow-up checks,' he said.
Surveys like this, indicating the high quality of medical care here, may help Singapore pull in the a million foreign patients a year it is targeting by 2012.
But Mr Khaw said last week that such data is 'good not just for foreign patients, but for our own patients too'.
Lasik is the second procedure to be compared this way. The first was cataract surgery.
(Straits Times, 22 Dec)
