Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, better known by the acronym Lasik, isn’t for everyone. Since it involves peeling back a flap of cornea and reshaping the underlying material with a laser, it's not recommended for people with problems that can cause the eye to change shape, such as diabetes.

Keep this firmly in mind while considering Lasik surgery: the procedure is too new to know whether there are any long-term effects beyond 5-10 years. However, radial keratotmy, from which it was derived, is time-tested and shows few negative long-term effects,

Although the thought of someone cutting open your eye and reshaping it with a laser may make you a little queasy, Lasik is much less invasive than other eye surgeries intended to improve vision, it doesn't take as long in most cases, and it requires less recovery time.