People often ask how long the benefits of their procedure will last. Laser vision correction has been commonly performed in many countries around the world since the late 1980's. In addition, many clinical studies have analyzed the long-term effects of the excimer laser on the cornea. Every study performed so far has shown without exception that there are no long-term negative effects of the laser on the eye's integrity or strength. The first nearsighted patient's eye ever treated with laser vision correction was in the United States in 1987. Today, most experts around the world are confident that they will discover no long-term problems with laser vision correction. They also believe, based on the excellent results seen to date, that laser vision correction will remain the most commonly performed refractive procedure in the world. In general, there are few patients who require an enhancement procedure.