“Lasik Took Everything From Me”: Alarming Rise in Suicides Linked to Laser Eye Surgery Sparks Urgent Safety Questions

The recent suicide of 26-year-old police officer Ryan Kingerski has cast a harsh new spotlight on a growing and unsettling pattern: a number of patients who undergo Lasik eye surgery are later driven to the brink of suicide by devastating complications—despite the procedure being marketed as nearly risk-free.

Kingerski, a dedicated officer with the Penn Hills Police Department in Pennsylvania, took his own life in January after months of agonizing post-Lasik symptoms. In his suicide note, he wrote chillingly, “I can’t take this anymore. Lasik took everything from me.”

Once a vibrant young man with a promising future, Kingerski had hoped Lasik would be a simple solution to improve his vision for police duty. Instead, he was left with constant headaches, double vision, dark floaters, and unrelenting eye pain. His parents described him as unrecognizable in the final months—consumed by despair and physical agony.

His case is far from isolated.

The recent suicide of a young Pennsylvania police officer has reignited concerns over Lasik eye surgery, as dozens more were pushed to the brink of death over similar complications – despite the surgery being marketed by providers as 95 to 99 percent safe

In recent years, a growing number of post-Lasik patients have reported severe complications ranging from chronic pain and dry eyes to psychological breakdowns and suicidal ideation. Some, tragically, have followed through. The list includes 35-year-old Detroit meteorologist Jessica Starr, who hanged herself in 2018 after struggling with vision issues and unbearable pain for just two months. She left behind a 30-page suicide note and multiple video diaries detailing her suffering and regret.

Another victim, Canadian father-of-two Paul Fitzpatrick, ended his life in 2018 after living with post-Lasik agony for 20 years. “Pain, pain, and more pain,” he wrote in his suicide note. “I cannot experience any type of pleasure anymore. Just the pain of burning eyes inside my head.” His family said he spent most of his final months with his eyes closed, unable to function or leave his bed.

The situation has drawn the attention of former FDA official Morris Waxler, who once led the agency’s approval of Lasik in the late 1990s. Now 89, Waxler has become one of the procedure’s fiercest critics, calling it a catastrophic mistake. “It didn’t matter what concerns I had,” he told the New York Post. “The surgeons were too powerful. They still are.”

Ryan Kingerski (pictured), a 26-year-old officer with the Penn Hills Police Department, took his own life after months of excruciating pain, double vision and persistent headaches – claiming the Lasik surgery he underwent five months earlier was the source of his suffering

Waxler’s own review of Lasik data found complication rates between 10 and 30 percent—dramatically higher than the “less than one percent” figure often cited by providers. He has since petitioned the FDA to revoke its approval of the surgery, calling it one of the biggest medical oversights in modern history.

And he’s not alone.

Miami-based eye doctor Dr. Edward Boshnick, who specializes in treating patients harmed by eye surgery, calls Lasik “the biggest scam ever put on the American public.” He has treated dozens of patients suffering debilitating effects—many of whom were never properly warned of the risks.

Boshnick and others argue that Lasik is performed on healthy eyes that often require nothing more than glasses, yet leaves many with permanent damage. The surgery involves cutting a flap in the cornea to reshape it with a laser—a process that removes nerves and changes the eye’s structure in ways that are not always predictable or reversible.

Starr documented her struggles after Lasik in video diary entries. In one recording, she spoke about feeling mad at herself for deciding to go through with the procedure (pictured)

In some cases, as with 60-year-old Gloria McConnell, the pain becomes too much to bear. After undergoing two Lasik procedures in 2019, McConnell developed burning eye pain, ingrown eyelashes, and other complications. She spent her final years bedridden, unable to function, before taking her life. In her farewell note, she cited the surgery as a major factor.

Survivors have come forward too, including Paula Cofer, who experienced two years of suicidal thoughts after her own failed surgery in 2000. She now runs the Lasik Complications Support Group on Facebook, where hundreds of patients share stories of chronic pain, impaired vision, and emotional collapse. Cofer claims to personally know at least 40 individuals who have died by suicide after Lasik.

“Not everyone has severe complications, but a lot more people are suffering than you know,” Cofer told the Post. “The percentage of those with poor outcomes is in the double digits—not one percent. And they know it.”

Today, over 10 million Americans have undergone Lasik since it was FDA-approved in 1999. An estimated 700,000 to 800,000 have it done annually. Yet warnings remain buried in fine print, and few patients are told that life-altering pain and vision loss—however “rare”—could be permanent.

Dr. Edward Boshnick (left), a Miami-based eye doctor, said that Lasik is ‘the biggest scam ever put on the American public… and it’s a multi-billion dollar business’

The FDA does acknowledge on its website that Lasik carries risks including vision loss, halos, glare, and debilitating symptoms. But to critics, that’s not enough.

“People come in with healthy eyes and leave in agony,” said Waxler. “And for some, the pain becomes a life sentence.”

As families like the Kingerskis grieve unimaginable losses, calls are growing louder for greater transparency, stricter regulation, and a full-scale reevaluation of a procedure that has quietly destroyed lives behind the promise of perfect vision.