LASIK Clinical Co‐ManagementMilton M. Hom, ed. Boston: Butterworth‐Heinemann, 2001. Pages: 164. Price: 46. 95. ISBN 0‐7506‐7214‐5.

LASIK Clinical Co-Management Milton M. Hom, ed. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001. Pages: 164. Price: 46. 95. ISBN 0-7506-7214-5. LASIK Clinical Co-Management is the first book on refractive surgery written specifically for optometrists, by optometrists. As one correctly can infer from the title, the emphasis is appropriately on the pre and post-operative care of the LASIK patient and presents precious little material on the procedure itself. Both the strength and weakness of the book stem from the fact that each chapter is written in a different style by different authors. Most chapters do stand on their own however, and appear more as a collection of articles on various aspects on LASIK co-management than a cohesive monograph on the subject. Regardless of this somewhat scattered flow, the book presents a valuable set of information, perhaps most useful to the new practitioner, or one who is at least new to the field of refractive surgery. Chapters on pre-procedure and post procedure management may seem mundane to those already involved in refractive surgery, yet they form a sound base for those new to the field. Optometry students and office staff may find these particularly useful as they provide a thorough introduction. Chapters relating to contact lens wear should prove especially useful to the optometrist involved in refractive surgery, given the great overlap of these two approaches to refractive correction. In contrast to the cursory attention paid in most books on refractive surgery, the topics of monovision, preoperative considerations for contact lens wearers, and the fitting of contact lenses after LASIK are covered in detail and at a level commensurate with their importance. These topics are too often trivialized in the ophthalmic literature, and their impact on long term patient satisfaction should not be discounted. A final chapter gazes into the future with a look at a number of the proposed and investigational procedures, and provides an interesting review of what may be coming. This chapter ironically will most likely be the first in the book to become outdated, as the field is truly evolving. The choice to limit the book to the topic of LASIK is perhaps well justified by the prevalence of the procedure, yet the well informed co-managing optometrist will be aware of and well versed in management of alternative procedures such as PRK. Likewise, the current and growing demand for contact lenses for post-RK patients could have warranted attention in a more general co-management book. This book should prove most useful to students and others new to the field of refractive surgery co-management. As is appropriately pointed out in the preface, this is an evolving field, yet the role of the co-managing practitioner is a fairly consistent aspect of refractive surgery care. Surely, there is yet room for a more comprehensive work on this subject, particularly in the areas of post-operative management of other procedures and contact lens management of failed refractive surgeries.