*snort* I remain pleased that I haven't yet hacked Rudey off enough to make him take notice of me.
My roommate just had the alternative to Lasik done (PRK? PKT? anyone?) He's a Marine, and had it done through them - apparently it's more permanent/trauma resistant than Lasik, but it's also more expensive and more painful.
He explained it as basically having the extra layers buffed off the cornea, vs. Lasik, which cuts the layers with a laser. His doctor explained that the resulting scar tissue from Lasik can cause vision issues later (esp. in someone like him, who has a lot of years between here and old age during which his vision can change) and that the methodology involved in Lasik can cause problems if there's blunt force trauma to the eye area later. Which is why the military prefers not to use Lasik - they do kind of specialize in blunt force trauma.
At any rate, that's just info from my roommate, and he knocked a girl up, so take that with a grain of salt. I'd probably want to talk to a family friend who was an eye doctor, or go to a couple informational sessions, or something - to get more info from a reputable source.
I did hear that the burning eye smell during Lasik is both gross and alarming.