Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, you are not alone — and help is always available. Call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to connect with a trained counselor, or chat online at 988lifeline.org. Whether you’re seeking support for yourself or someone you care about, please know that it’s never too late to reach out. You deserve help. You deserve hope. Someone is ready to listen.
PITTSBURGH — The family of a 26-year-old Penn Hills police officer is speaking out after his death, saying complications from LASIK eye surgery led him to take his own life, KDKA reported.
Officer Ryan Kingerski, remembered by his parents as joyful, witty and dedicated to police work, underwent LASIK surgery in late 2024. According to Tim and Stefanie Kingerski, what was expected to be a routine procedure instead resulted in painful and life-altering complications.
“He kept saying how bad the pain in his head was. He had a terrible headache and wasn’t able to focus, and the vision and the blurriness and everything else — and that just continued.”
Kingerski, who had served with the Penn Hills Police Department for just one year, never returned to duty after the surgery. His parents said he suffered from headaches, floaters, dark spots and double vision, all of which persisted despite consultations with multiple specialists.
“Regret was the big thing. ‘Why would they do this to me? Why would they not tell me?’” Stefanie Kingerski said.
In January 2025, Kingerski died by suicide.
“He left us a note that said, ‘I can’t take this anymore. LASIK took everything from me,’” Tim Kingerski said.
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The LASIK procedure was performed at a LasikPlus clinic in Pittsburgh. When reached by CBS Pittsburgh, the clinic declined an interview but issued a statement saying there is “no clinical evidence linking suicide to LASIK eye surgery” and emphasized that patients receive informed consent outlining known risks.
The American Refractive Surgery Council estimates a LASIK complication rate of under 1%, with the majority of procedures considered successful. But Kingerski’s parents believe even one case is too many.
“It had nothing to do with mental health, so they are free to judge and say whatever they want to say,” Tim Kingerski said. “I know that my son before his surgery and after his surgery were two completely different people.”
“I just know a guy who talked about how fabulous his life was and how happy he was. We now visit in a cemetery,” Stefanie Kingerski said.
