Background: Past clinical experience has suggested that patients are more satisfied after radial keratotomy than when wearing contact lenses.
Methods: One-hundred patients who had worn contact lenses prior to receiving radial keratotomy compared subjectively these two methods for correcting myopia. The postoperative follow up ranged from 3 months to 13 years.
Results: The vast majority (93%) preferred radial keratotomy to the handling of contact lenses.
Conclusions: The desire to be independent of optical correction is a sufficient indication for refractive surgery.