Laser eye surgery gained popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the American Refractive Surgery Council (RSC). Compared to 2020, the RSC saw 32 percent more laser vision correction procedures in 2021.
According to the RSC, “The total procedure volume for 2021 topped 833,000 for the first time since RSC began tracking LASIK, SMILE, and PRK procedures in 2015, demonstrating a significant consumer shift toward refractive surgery options to glasses and contacts.”
Some factors contributing to the rise in LASIK popularity include more people working from home, foggy glasses while wearing a mask, dry eyes, an increase in contact lens wearers, and more. Since more people started prioritizing their health, self-care also experienced a boom. Money once saved for travel and entertainment is now being allocated for self-care.
Moreover, patients who experience LASIK have been more inclined to tell friends and family about their positive experiences, which trickles down the referral pipeline.
Younger adults seem to be driving the increase in LASIK patients, with the average age being 34 years old, a seven-year difference from the early 2000s.
Since Laser Sight Technologies Inc.’s Kremer Excimer Laser System was granted U.S. approval in 1998, an initial boom in the early 2000s was followed by a slow pace during the Great Recession. In early 2004, online searches for LASIK peaked and bottomed out earlier this year. When the pandemic hit, searches spiked, and now the industry is set to hit $4.1 billion in sales by 2027, more than doubling 2018’s total.
Quarantines and social distancing caused weight gain and much more self-consciousness due to up-close-and-personal video chats. Spikes in Botox injections, breast implants, and repairing droopy eyelids were also seen during the pandemic.
If more people are working out of the office, they have ample opportunity to recover in the privacy of their own home after certain procedures. Whereas before, it was almost taboo to take time off, now, people can get these procedures done without anybody at work knowing about it.
But it’s not just elective surgeries seeing the spike; knee, hip, and ankle replacements are also picking up after the initial Covid wave. LASIK has an advantage over the other procedures, as the recovery period is quite minimal. After a brief consultation, patients can have surgery the same day and notice better vision within a few hours.
Now is the time to schedule your LASIK eye procedure appointment. Call the experts at Rohr today.
Rohr Eye & Laser Center offers the most advanced technology available to provide personalized and extraordinary care to our patients. Whether your goal is to maintain or improve your natural vision, we are here to help you. Call us at 877-579-0202 to learn more.
Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/