LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis) surgery is the most frequently performed refractive procedure for correcting nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Its popularity increased over the late 1990's, rapidly replacing Radial Keratotomy (RK). The LASIK operation and excimer laser surface ablation procedures gained the rapid acceptance of refractive physicians and patients over the RK procedure because of greater predictability, precision, safety, and stable vision. In the mid 90's,

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... n doctors first began performing LASIK, it was referred to implicitly as the "FLAP and ZAP" procedure. This of course was an overly confident misstatement as unfamiliar complications began to appear. One of the ultimate goals in performing any surgical procedure is to minimize less than desirable outcomes arising from both infectious and non-infectious contaminants entering the surgical field. This is especially true of all corneal procedures, such as LASIK, where the normal mechanisms for fighting contaminations are diminished.