Cindy Crawford did it. Tiger Wood did it also. So did the millions of Americans that underwent the revolutionary outpatient eye surgery known as Lasik. "As many as 1.7 million Lasik procedures will be done this year alone and about 2.7 million will be done in 2001" (Marsh, 2000). Lasik eye surgery uses a cold laser beam to correct vision by reshaping the cornea, the clear tissue that covers the front of the eye.
             Lasik is the acronym for laser assisted in situ keratomileusis. "Kerato means anything relating to the cornea, and mileusis is Greek for carving or sculpting. It is called situ because surgeons work on the cornea while it is in the eye" ("First the Flap, Then the Zap" 1999). The name Lasik refers to the use of laser to reshape the cornea without invading the adjacent cell layers. Lasik is a surgical procedure that is capable of correcting eye problems such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism.
             LASIK is popular for a reason; it is quick, painless, and an effective procedure that is better than other surgeries that reshape the cornea to improve eyesight. For most people, the recovery period is at most a few days, which is one of Lasiks big advantages over a previous generation of operations for the same purpose. One of the disadvantages of Lasik is that it can be quite expensive. Most Health insurance companies and HMOs do not cover the cost because they generally classify LASIK surgery as an optional or cosmetic surgery. So many patients have to pay for the correction procedure from their own pockets. The average cost for correcting two eyes is around $4000 to $5000 (Eyes Wide About LASIK, 1999).
             The procedure of a Lasik eye surgery starts with Step 1: Anesthetic eye drops are applied to numb the eye for surgery, so the patient experiences no pain during the procedure. The surgeon then marks the cornea with a water-soluble ink t
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