LASIK etc. are not "cosmetic". Being able to see properly without glasses is a substantial thing for some people, from sports participation to not worrying about fogging to not groping around to find your glasses in the middle of the night.
The Doctor clearly saw that my eye hadn't fully healed and therefore diagnosed that it was the reason I wasn't seeing perfectly. Don't get me wrong, it is still far better than when I didn't wear my glasses. So even if it doesn't go back to normal it would still be an improvement.
As I understood it, the procedure in itself won't make you blind—ever. If you get complications—like an infection—then that's another story. I didn't have any.
So I didn't think about the risk-reward as everyone around me just had eye dryness or halos at night. Both of which are very easy to live with.
If you have other questions, I would be happy to answer them. But I'm just one of many thousands person.
I think all Doctors would tell you that you should do the surgery because they have a financial incentive to tell you so. However, I don't live in the USA and a lot of things I read didn't apply to where I went. For example, they prescribe bandage lens for at least 7 days in the USA but I only wore mine for 40 hours. Then a bunch of eye drops and all was fine.
They probably meant elective. It's sort of cosmetic in the sense of preferring your look without glasses I suppose, but you wouldn't call gait-fixing surgery cosmetic.