Letters

THE LASER FIX

Thank you for the wonderfully balanced article on laser surgery to reshape the cornea and help improve vision [HEALTH, Oct. 11]. As a cornea-trained ophthalmologist who performs LASIK, I am always concerned that patients will have unreasonably high expectations because they have heard only the "good side" of the surgery. Although the results are impressive, we are currently not able to achieve more than a 60% to 70% portion of 20/20 vision because of the range of biological variation in the general population. Not all people correct predictably after a given amount of applied laser energy. Remember, the goal of LASIK is not necessarily to eliminate glasses but to decrease (often dramatically) dependence on them. DEAN HU, M.D. Honolulu

Great steps forward in technology and medicine--the LASIK procedure is undoubtedly one of them--will always carry some risks. Our patients need accurate information like your report in order to make an informed decision. JEFFREY D. NIGHTINGALE, M.D. New York City

My eyesight before LASIK was about 20/900--which amounts to being legally blind. Three weeks after LASIK, I am at 20/50. I'm using artificial tears pretty regularly, but I am thrilled that I can see what I could not before. Was I expecting better? Sure! Am I satisfied? You bet! LARRY JOACHIM Sugar Land, Texas

Much of what has been written about LASIK has hyped the procedure without addressing the potential risks. I had LASIK done two years ago, and my vision improved afterward. But gradually it deteriorated, and the dry-eye syndrome set in. Luckily my vision can still be corrected with glasses, which I wear for driving and movie viewing. Look long and hard before you leap. The facts can be disguised by the enthusiasm. ELAINE ULACKAS Vero Beach, Fla.

I was able to read your article sans glasses after going from 20/200 with an astigmatism to 20/15 in both eyes, thanks to LASIK. Was it uncomfortable? Slightly. Is it amazing? Absolutely. To be able to see my children in the water at the beach is truly wonderful. Could I afford it? No way. So to my incredible mother who gave me (and my sister) the gift of sight after 20-plus years, I say, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." ELLEN MURPHY BENNETT Atlanta

Treating myopia with corneal surgery is like treating obesity with liposuction. Corneal surgery is an elective procedure that carries the risk of serious and permanent complications. Corneaplasty, now in FDA trials, could carry fewer risks. While both corneaplasty and corneal surgery are treatments for refractive errors, neither is a cure for myopia. You cannot treat myopia comprehensively just by altering the shape of the cornea. High tech may be glamorous, but it is not always the best medicine. JULIE RALLS, M.D. Newport Beach, Calif.

You did an excellent job in presenting both sides of laser eye surgery. As an optometrist, I am not recommending this procedure. History will teach us that the cornea is not a structure we can mess around with. The risks (e.g., current surgical mishaps and potentially devastating long-term complications) are simply not worth it. CLAYTON Y. GUSHIKEN, O.D. Honolulu

WHY KNOCK NEANDERTHALS?

You reported the discovery that "at least some Neanderthals butchered, ate and disposed of their kin" [SCIENCE, Oct. 11]. Whether or not modern man acknowledges having some Neanderthal genes, there is ample evidence that cannibalism, a horror of history, has been widely practiced among many past populations and in the present era for reasons of war, traditional rituals, famine and possibly, at times, convenience or even preference. So why knock Neanderthals for gnawing neighbors? If a Neanderthal could comment, he might protest, "Hey, we're only human!" KATHRINE E. BOBICK Lake Katrine, N.Y.

THE DANGERS OF CO-SLEEPING

Your article on the recent study done by this commission warning of the dangers of letting infants sleep in adult beds was off base [PERSONAL TIME: YOUR FAMILY, Oct. 11]. We showed that every year 64 children under the age of two die in adult beds. Your article referred to the deaths as "only 64," but even one death is too many. Since 1989 the CPSC has warned that infants should never be put to sleep in adult beds because of the risk of entrapment or suffocation. This is the first study to quantify the number of fatalities resulting from infants' sleeping with adults. The American Medical Association agrees that this is vital safety information that parents can use in making decisions on how best to keep their infants safe. ANN BROWN, CHAIRMAN U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Washington

LOOKING DEATH IN THE FACE

I am truly grateful that TIME's art critic Robert Hughes survived his terrible auto accident [DISPATCH, Oct. 11]. But some of his comments disturbed me, as I'm sure they did other readers. After having his life saved, Hughes said, "Jesus must have been busy...he didn't show." That offends me. I am Hindu, and faith is deeply rooted in me. Though this was not a fairy-tale ending or a religious experience for Hughes, someone holds this life that we all cherish. You may call him Christ, Allah, Vishnu or Bob, for that matter, but Hughes shouldn't think he was saved because of an astute Aborigine or some glitch in chaos theory. It is normal to fear death, but to mock others' faith when one's life has been spared is not only confusing, it's disgraceful. ADITYA SURENDRAN Edison, N.J.

Cheers to Hughes for declaring himself a skeptic who saw only Goyaesque fantasies and nothing supernatural or divine when he was near death. Inundated as we are by the current wave of religiosity, it is refreshing to hear from an honest and rational man. JEAN AND JACK BROOKHART Huntington Beach, Calif.

Hughes may discover a deeper meaning to his Goyaesque hallucinations if he seriously reflects on them as a portent of what might have been if only "blind luck" had not spared him the journey down Death's tunnel. MARTIN LOPEZ Miami

Hughes says he didn't see Jesus beckoning at the end of a tunnel of white light (although he claims to have seen Death opening his mouth). I would like to ask if he also didn't see Christ among the Aborigine family that found him, the Bidyadanga people who chanted to keep him alive, the Filipina nurse who wept for him, his friend Danny who raced to save his life, the police and the medics who got to the scene, the medical personnel who decided to fly him to Royal Perth Hospital, the people who operated for 13 hours--or in the midst of relatives and friends who gave him the support and affection he talks about in his article. Hughes just might have missed Jesus in such a crowd. PEDRO COSTA Abrantes, Portugal

JAPAN'S NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE

Regardless of its scope, an accident that can be classified as nuclear--like the one at the JCO uranium-processing plant at Tokaimura, not far from Tokyo [WORLD, Oct. 11]--seems to get wide media coverage. This event, though certainly serious, was on par with other industrial accidents that occur with some frequency and generally get only local attention. Unfortunately, workers are regularly killed and injured in chemical plants, refineries and manufacturing facilities, occasionally with some release of a hazardous chemical.

Yes, Japanese regulation needs to be strengthened to prevent such mishaps, but it is time that the media become more knowledgeable about industrial safety and not treat everything nuclear like a grade-B movie. THEODORE M. BESMANN Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Ours is the only country in the world that has suffered through a nuclear bomb. We Japanese know firsthand how life threatening nuclear power is. Did JCO forget the terror of this invisible force? We must once again come to terms with the horrors of the nuclear age and investigate the security of all the nuclear facilities in Japan. MEGMI YASHIRO Okegawa, Japan

I found your coverage of Japan's nuclear nightmare the most informative piece on the accident, and I live within 6 miles of the JCO plant. I and many others I have spoken with were disturbed by how long it took the company to inform the public and by how ill prepared the government was for such an emergency. Even though I was within the affected area, I went outside in the rain and slept with my windows open. I know many people who did the same on the night of the accident because of the lack of information. Now I must see the young students I teach line up to get checked for radiation. I hope the citizens in Tokaimura and the surrounding areas will take an active role in making sure a life-threatening nuclear accident like this doesn't happen again. NAOMI COOK Kanasago, Japan

TURNING A BLIND EYE

Charles Krauthammer is correct in thinking America's intervention in humanitarian crises such as the one in East Timor [ESSAY, Sept. 27] is dictated by the importance attached to the transgressor in terms of foreign policy. It seems as if nations such as Russia, China and Indonesia literally get away with murder. By that token, what can be read into the apathy shown toward Africa's humanitarian crises? None of the transgressors can be considered "important" in that context, so why have America and the rest of the world shown scant interest in the suffering of the innocent civilians of Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other African states? PAUL MATHIAS Pretoria, South Africa

HISTORY REPEATS IN CHINA

Kudos to all the Chinese people who made it through a surreal and dreary half-century [WORLD, Oct. 4]. Mao and Deng Xiaoping were great leaders, but the people who survived their dogmas were greater.

I think the most historic place in China is Tiananmen Square. It was there that Mao gave birth to a beautiful nation in front of a crowd of thousands of optimistic Chinese. Forty years later, it was the very same Tiananmen Square where Deng massacred hopeful Chinese. Now as China celebrates its 50th anniversary, President Jiang Zemin has promised a better future for thousands of hopeful Chinese people. Talk about history repeating itself. MAHESH SUBBA Kathmandu, Nepal

MASSACRE AT NO GUN RI

The report that in 1950 U.S. Army troops in Korea fired on civilians under the bridge at No Gun Ri did not come as a surprise to me [WORLD, Oct. 11]. I spent 26 months in the U.S. Army in Korea doing my mandatory military service. I've seen G.I.s in panic. And what's worse, when a few stupid G.I.s don't stop doing foolish, sometimes cruel things, the result can be murder and rape. YOON WONSUP Seoul

As a teenage boy fleeing the Chinese Red Army, I experienced an air raid by U.S. forces on Jan. 4, 1951, about three miles south of Seoul. At first a few fighter aircraft circled above our heads. The flyers must have seen that we were refugees, mostly women, children and the elderly. In the next instant dozens around me were burning to death as fire bombs fell indiscriminately. This scene is not one that will ever fade for me, even after almost 50 years. At the time I thought that such horrific acts were perhaps inevitable during the course of war. But now I question such actions. Does not justice dictate that we should at least acknowledge the loss suffered by innocent civilians, whether inflicted under orders or by panicked units? CHIRL SOO KHANG London

THAT TRAGIC CARPET?

The debate over the use of artificial turf in athletic stadiums and its role in player injuries is one of long standing [SPORT, Oct. 4]. As a researcher of football-injury risk factors, I believe scientific studies of artificial turf have been inconclusive, because natural grass has been treated as a single entity. The hardness, density and traction of natural grass vary significantly from field to field. Since natural grass changes with the weather, it is very difficult to compare it to artificial turf. The relative injury risk for artificial turf vs. natural grass will be understood only when researchers can come up with different categories of natural grass that have a fixed injury profile. But I believe that eventually softer natural-grass surfaces using a low-traction species (e.g. ryegrass) will be proven to be the safest surface. DR. JOHN ORCHARD South Sydney Sports Medicine Kensington, Australia