I hate my glasses with a passion. Some form of allergy made my eye doctor tell me I should stop using contacts. But still, I won't do LASIK(1). For a few reasons.
First, there's this thought of having a software-controlled laser beam digging pits in the cornea. And pits they are, it's not like the laser pulses create a smooth surface, we are long ways away from that.
Second, there's the corneal flap, which never fully heals.
Third, related to the second point, there's the fact that the cornea is cut and some nerves are permanently damage, which could create a dry eye condition. Apparently people commit suicide over that. And my eyes are not that moist to begin with, AC already bothers them.
Reason four is the fact that, even if 100% successful and a 20/20 results is achieved, your vision can still be really poor. Halos are just one of many (common!) conditions that aren't really correctable and you'll have to live with forever.
Last, LASIK surgeries are rather new. The first LASIK patients should be now reaching old age. And the first generation LASIK equipment was pretty poor, so any problems they have are blamed on that. But what if I do a LASIK today, and have really nasty complications as I age? They are unlikely to be corrected.
Does anyone remember that procedure where surgeons would cut the patient's eye radially to try to correct nearsightedness? Some of those patients tried LASIK later, with really poor results due to a weak cornea. Not to mention the nasty complications. That procedure sounds barbaric now.
I just hope LASIK won't be seen like that too in a few years.
[1] I'm still on the fence about LASEK. Recovery is reportedly horrible, but at least there's no deep corneal cutting.