Seven Tips for Finding a Reputable Lasik Surgeon
Knowledge is power, as the old saying goes. This is true, but when considering a doctor for your laser eye surgery, knowledge is also security—you need to be completely convinced that your doctor not only knows what he or she is doing, but is also sensitive to your every concern.
Clear communication and the reassurance of your chosen physician are crucially important, particularly if there is a problem with the procedure or your recovery. Patients who are hurting and scared never wish to feel abandoned by their doctor, so building a good relationship is essential.
Before undergoing any vision correction procedure it is important to study everything about the surgery, especially about any problems that may occur during or after surgery. It is advisable to seek out reports from those patients who did have “negative outcomes,” so that you will be fully prepared for any eventuality.
Although there is a virtual mountain of information available at DocShop and other Web sites, the most important information you will have to assess is what your potential LASIK surgeon tells you. There may be scores of questions in your mind, and dozens of ideas about how to choose the surgeon, but you can get started in the process with these seven tips for finding a reputable LASIK surgeon.
1. Do not hesitate to ask tough questions. Ask about everything from the doctor’s background and the procedure to follow-up care—and what you can expect from the doctor if something were to go wrong. With proper study and preparation on your part before speaking with potential surgeons, you should be able to gauge the doctor’s professionalism and attitude in a short period of time.
2. If the doctor, clinic or office staff seem off-putting and impersonal to you, you should make a note of it. If you feel like you are just a number in an assembly-line procedure, or that you are dealing with a “surgery mill,” then look elsewhere. Be sure to trust your intuition, or if yours is undeveloped then bring someone along to help you “feel out” the doctor and the clinic.
3. You want a doctor who will listen to you and see you as an individual, a human being, rather than an earnings entry in his accounting ledger. Therefore, if the doctor acts hurried or seems distracted during your initial meeting, you may take this as an indication of the attitude you will find during and after the laser eye surgery itself.
4. You should check with all of the appropriate medical specialty boards and organizations, and ensure that your potential LASIK surgeon is in good standing. You should also check with the local Better Business Bureau and other financial oversight groups about the doctor’s business practices. A surgeon who over charges or whose practice is going bankrupt may not engender the level of trust that you need to have in your doctor.
5. It is essential for the doctor to be honest and forthright about discussing possible problems with the LASIK procedure. If he or she is less than straight forward, or does not seem to want to get into these negative outcomes, then you should take that as a signal that there may be a problem. You shouldn’t assume the doctor is inept or unprofessional, but you want more than an average physician on your case—you want the very best.
6. Watch how the first contacts with the doctor and staff go. You must be completely confident that you were fully and correctly examined and questioned. This is essential to establish that you are a good candidate for a laser eye surgery.
7. You must be willing to pay more for quality, especially if you want “the best of the best,” and should put additional effort into finding just the right doctor. Once you understand what the range of prices is and the particulars of the outpatient LASIK surgery and after-care, you will know how to rate the doctors that you are considering.
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Help answer the question about lasik surgeon
A lasik surgeon may smooth out striae (cornea flap wrinkles), with a wick cell. What is a wick cell?
When Lasik is performed, a flap is slit into the top of the conea and folded back in order for the lazer to work inside the cornea, then the flap is folded back down in place. Sometimes, when it is folded back down into place, it has wrinkles, (striae) like window tint that has wrinkles in it from not being smoothed down into place well enough. A wick cell can be used to smooth out the wrinkles in the cornea. What is a wick cell?
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Choosing the right LASIK surgeon is not overly complicated, as long as you have done your homework and you are asking all the right questions. Continue to study and read up on laser eye surgery and show the potential doctors that you intend to be an informed, involved patient. More than anything else, if a doctor has a problem with that, you definitely need to keep looking.
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4 years of college, then med school, be a resident, intern and do a fellowship. You have to be an Ophthalmologist a "MD" to do LASIK.
Talk to your regular eye doctor to refer a skilled physician in your area. Ask around if you know people who have had the procedure done.
The costs are typically around $2000 per eye.
Hi James – I am a representative from LasikPlus, hoping to provide you information about your LASIK options in the Raleigh area. We have one center in Raleigh, NC at 4035 Lake Boone Trail. The doctor in that center is Dr. Patricia Smith, MD. She is a board certified Ophthalmologist.
We offer a free, no obligation consultation so that you may come in, meet the staff and understand if Laser Vision Correction could be right for you. You may visit the website to schedule an appointment, http://tinyurl.com/LasikPlus or feel free to call 1 (866) 953-0282
I hope this information was helpful!
I am not familiar with NC, as I live in CA. But, I had Lasik over a year ago.
My advice would be to talk to everyone….talk to your family, friends and co-workers. Then ask your family, friends and co-workers to talk to their family, friends and co-workers….you get the idea. I found my surgeon by word of mouth. I asked everyone I know if they had Lasiks (or knew anyone who had Lasiks), and what doctor they went to. Almost everyone I talked to in my area went to the surgeon I ended up going to, and everyone was perfectly satisfied. I went into the procedure very confident! Good luck to you!
Never assume that a doctor is good based on the number of offices he has, what he charges, the advertising he does, etc. The best way to find a good lasik surgeon is to do your homework and to know exactly what to look for and what to ask. These sites should be of great help to you:
http://www.lasersurgeryforeyes.com/questions_you_should_ask.htm
http://www.the-lasik-directory.com/choose_doctor.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-on-Choosing-a-Good-LASIK-Surgeon&id=305337
http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/surgeons.htm
http://www.docshop.com/education/vision/refractive/lasik/choose-surgeon/
Also, do not be afraid to ask the doctor for references from those on who he has performed the procedure. Also, you would be amazed how many people had the surgery done so ask around! Someone you know will know someone who had it done and can talk to you about it and who performed it.
Top 5 ways to tell if someone is NOT a good "Lasik" surgeon :
#5 Online degree
#4 "Laser" turns out to be old prop from a James Bond movie
#3 Claims to give eyesight – "so good, you can see the future!"
#2 All former patients have become NFL referees
And finally the #1 way to tell if someone is NOT a good "Lasik" surgeon : Wears glasses!!
Depending where you live a good surgeon costs about $3,000 and up depending on what your prescription is. I would ask how long they have been doing Laisk and how many procedures they have done, and how many they do weekly or monthly. Moist insurances do not cover lasik, they might pay a couple hundred dollars. The best way to find out if a surgeon is good at lasik is by word of mouth. A nationwide clinic like TLC is a good bet. I know they hire well qualified surgeons and do tons of lasik weekly.
What is a "reasonable price" when the risk is your sight? 17 lawsuits is a lot, even by high-volume refractive surgery standards. Are you willing to take this kind of risk to save a few dollars?
These are your eyes, don't cheap out on your vision. It's one thing if you buy a cheap LCD TV and the pixels go bad – you can take it back and exchange it for a new one. But if you have a bad outcome with eye surgery you're stuck with that for life.
Probably the most important decision someone who is considering LASIK must make is what surgeon to choose. Although I do not perform LASIK, I have created a document for my cataract patients to help them in choosing a surgeon. The article can be viewed by clicking this link:
http://sgveye.com/en/resources/35-about-your-eyes/233-10-things-you-must-know-before-choosing-your-cataract-surgeon
The advice in this document can be applied to choosing any surgeon in any specialty, not just cataract surgeons.
Sincerely,
David D. Richardson, M.D.
Medical Director
San Gabriel Valley Eye Associates, Inc.
"LA and So Cal’s Trusted Source of Eyecare"
207 S. Santa Anita Street, Suite P-25
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626.289.7856
good and well explained thank you