READING PASSAGE (3 minutes)
In the past several years, a number of technological advances have made laser eye surgery more widely available. The procedure uses tiny lasers to alter the surface of the eyeball, significantly improving a patient’s vision. In spite of its growing popularity, however, laser eye surgery is a costly procedure. Given the number of problems that may accompany the laser vision correction procedure, it is unlikely that many will choose to undergo the surgery.
The first problem with laser eye surgery is the cost. The process requires sophisticated laser systems, which can cost several million dollars. In order to remain in business, the doctors administering laser eye surgery have to charge patients approximately $1,000 to $2,000 per eye. For many people, this is far too costly.
In addition, there are concerns about post-operative problems, which are issues that may arise after the surgery. There have been reports of the cornea (the lenses at the front of the eye) detaching themselves from the eyes after laser vision correction. Moreover, laser vision correction advertises a quick recovery time, but many patients report taking weeks and sometimes months to heal fully from the surgery.
It also remains unclear how long laser vision correction will last. A number of people have to go back to a doctor just four or five years after their surgery for another procedure. Even worse, others have to receive a second round of surgery just a few months after the initial procedure in order to perfect their vision. For most consumers, the benefit is not worth the risks and costs involved with the procedure.
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LECTURE TRANSCRIPT
Now, the book also addressed laser vision correction surgery, right? Let’s talk about this part because, well, I don’t feel that the book was entirely accurate in this area. So I want to correct some misunderstandings you may have about laser vision correction surgery.
First off, I’ve got good news for anyone who wants to undergo laser vision correction surgery. In general, the cost for the procedure is decreasing. One expert that I know said that laser vision correction surgery on average has decreased by thirty percent in recent years. The procedure is still going to cost some money, but not nearly as much as it used to. This is because of two factors. First, the costs for basic equipment are lowering because technology is becoming more available. Also, there are more laser eye surgeons out there, so the competition is rising. Now doctors are being forced to compete in order to get patients, and more competition almost inevitably results in lower prices.
The book also made it sound like there were all of these post-operative issues and problems, right? Now this was just ridiculous. There are only a few known cases where someone’s cornea became, you know, detached, and guess what they were doing? Really extreme stuff—for instance, one guy was climbing Mt. Everest when His cornea became detached; apparently, the high altitude created a pressure difference or something. Oh, and as for the healing time, well, you can’t tell how someone is going to heal, but still, average healing time really isn’t that long—two or three days, at most. The post-operative concerns really aren’t greater than any other surgical procedure.
Finally, the book’s last point was the length of time that the corrective procedure was effective for. It’s extremely uncommon for people to have to go back in just months or even years after their surgery. In fact, we have a number of cases where the corrective procedure has lasted over twenty years, so it’s not really fair for the book to claim that the procedure is only good for a limited time since there’s lots of evidence that suggests otherwise. So on all three points, the book was pretty much unclear or just plain inaccurate. The equipment’s already pretty inexpensive, and it’s just getting (...)
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SAMPLE ESSAY
Both the lecture and the passage discuss laser vision correction surgery. While the passage predicts that the procedure will not be popular, the lecturer says that it will.
First, the passage says the surgery is too expensive for most people. The lecturer refutes this, explaining that the cost is starting to decrease. Moreover, he says it will cost even less in the future.
Second, the passage mentions that many people may experience problems after having the surgery. Again, the professor disagrees. He says that the complications mentioned in the passage are rare.
Finally, the passage says that the effects of the surgery do not last long. The lecturer denies this, explaining that in most cases, the procedure is effective for many years.
Corrective laser surgery is a developing procedure. The passage says that it will never be popular; however, the lecturer says many people will want to undergo the surgery in the future.
