A LARGE number of near-sighted students are undergoing myopia surgeries at ophthalmic hospitals over the summer holiday. Many of the students are going to attend college this September, the Shenzhen Evening News reported.

Being near-sighted has become a severe problem among Chinese students, the national health care committee said on National Eye-protection Day this June.

According to the committee, approximately 30 percent of primary school students are near-sighted, 80 percent of senior high school students need to wear glasses, and as much as 90 percent of college students are near-sighted.

Shenzhen Eye Hospital announced that the number of people receiving myopia surgeries at the hospital has been increasing each year and the number of surgeries during winter and summer holidays account for over half of all the surgeries taking place throughout the whole year.

One surgical device can perform surgeries for as many as 74 people per day, said the hospital.

Another private ophthalmic hospital, C-MER (Shenzhen) Dennis Lam Eye Hospital, also echoed that the number of near-sighted patients undergoing myopia surgeries there has been increasing, especially during summer holidays.

The average age of students becoming near-sighted appears to be trending younger, which is worrisome for many parents.

Yan Zonghui, a doctor from Shenzhen Eye Hospital, said that his youngest near-sighted patient was in kindergarten.

To undergo a myopia surgery, patients must be above 18 years old with stable eyesight for the last two years, according to the report.

According to the news report, most female students choose the surgery because they want to “look prettier” and boys want to take off their glasses while playing sports.

There are also students who have the surgery to meet the enrollment requirements of certain degrees and majors. For instance, students attending military schools and police colleges, and those who are performance majors, are required to fix their eyesight before attending the colleges.

Xiao Dong applied to study to be a flight attendant and her parents supported her in undergoing the myopia surgery. “There were six people in our school dormitory and four of us decided to have the surgery,” said Xiao Dong.

Another student, surnamed Wang, said it took her a long time to make up her mind about the surgery. Wang likes to travel and photograph. For her, wearing contact lenses was not the best option as they sometimes cause eye diseases, and she wanted to get rid of her glasses.

Although myopia surgery has been practiced for a long time and is considered a mature surgery, not all patients are suitable for the surgery. The private eye hospital said that nearly 30 percent of the patients could not have the surgery due to a variety of physical reasons, including eye disease and diabetes.

A doctor from the private eye hospital also said that the surgery inevitably causes damage to the patient’s eyes, and would trigger temporary complications such as dry eye and glare. The complications could occur for one month, three months or even a year.

Experts reminded residents to protect their eyes by using electronic devices for shorter periods of time and doing more outdoor exercises. School-age children especially need to be instructed to use their eyes properly, said the doctors.

(Zhang Qian)