The LASIK/PRK Consult - Part 2

A GOOD CONSULTATION IS FREE OF CHARGE

If you have to pay for a consultation you may feel obliged to have surgery with an office that you are not entirely comfortable with. In fact, the laser centers that charge are counting on this. You should be able to screen the doctor and his or her office without feeling any obligation.

A GOOD CONSULTATION WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH COSTS UPFRONT

That sounds like a given, but as many laser centers have hidden fees, they are not able to give you a total cost until after your entire screening has been performed. You should be able to walk into an office and receive a cost before you ever step foot into an exam room. And that cost should be the same when you sit down to schedule.

A GOOD CONSULTATION DOESN’T MAKE PROMISES

No one can promise you what your vision will be after surgery. A good surgeon with lots of experience can give an expert opinion, and can usually be pretty accurate, but they can’t promise you how you will see when all is said and done. Many places will offer you a money back guarantee. You are generally required to pay extra for that guarantee, and what the surgery center is saying is that if you do not see as well as they hope you will, they will refund your money. It’s a gamble for them but the odds are in their favor. They still cannot promise they know how you will see.

Of course, there are many other things that are part of a good consultation, many of which are not quantifiable. How the staff and surgeon make you feel, how at ease you are with the office - these feelings are essential, and there are many different acceptable ways that an office may envoke these feelings. If you do not feel comfortable with the first consultation you receive, keep shopping until you do.

The LASIK/PRK Consult - Part 1

So you’ve decided to pursue laser vision correction and have made a few appointments for consultations. From your consultation you must make the choice of which surgeon to choose, providing that you are a candidate. We’ve previously discussed the qualities of a good LASIK/PRK doctor. So, what does a good consultation look like?

FIRST, WHAT HAPPENS AT A LASER VISION CONSULTATION?

A screening examination is performed to determine your qualification for the procedure. This usually consists of a determination of your refractive error (lens prescription), inspection of your pupils and front surface of the eye, an elevation mapping of your eye (corneal topography), and measurement of the thickness of your cornea. In some practices, a complete eye examination with pressure testing and dilation of the pupils is also done. The ophthalmologist reviews this information in light of your visual needs and provides you with options and recommendations for refractive surgery.

A GOOD CONSULTATION IS NOT RUSHED

When you are at your consult, you should never feel rushed. A good consultation should move along at a comfortable speed, and you should feel that you have ample time to ask any questions you may have. You should be treated as though you are an individual with unique eyes. Your laser vision coordinator and your doctor should both treat you as such, asking you questions about your lifestyle and your expected outcomes.

A GOOD CONSULTATION LETS YOU MEET THE SURGEON

Many laser vision centers will perform a thorough screening and determine your candidacy for LASIK or PRK without ever having consulted the surgeon. As the surgeon is ultimately the only one who can tell you whether or not you are a candidate and discuss what sort of outcome you can expect, you should always be able to meet with him or her at your consultation. Also, whether or not you like the doctor should be a major factor in choosing your surgeon. How can you determine this if you haven’t even met him or her?

Tune in later this week for the second part of this topic.

Finding a Good LASIK or PRK Surgeon

So our earlier blog entry stated that price should not be the main reason that you choose a LASIK/PRK doctor. How, then, should you find a good surgeon?

LASIK/PRK surgeons are advertising on every corner. You see them on television, you read their ad in the paper, and you hear them on the radio. Don't put all your trust in advertising, though. Remember that advertisements are written by people who want you to think their doctor is the one and only choice for LASIK/PRK surgery. Many of the best LASIK/PRK surgeons in Denver, the ones that I would trust to do my own LASIK/PRK surgery, don't even do much advertising. They don't have to. They get their business from word of mouth. This is, in my opinion, the best way to choose a LASIK/PRK surgeon. Ask your friends, family, and coworkers who did their own LASIK/PRK surgery. Keep asking until you get a good collection of names. See if any names come up more than once. Ask your friends about their overall LASIK/PRK experience. Some key things to ask them:

• Was their doctor both professional and personable?
• Did they like the office staff?
• Did they feel like they were treated as an individual?
• Was their anything unexpected that occurred during their surgery, or had it all been explained?
• Did they have the outcome that their doctor predicted for them?
• Was their any part of the process that made them uncomfortable?
• If so, how did the doctor and his/her staff address this?
• Would they recommend this doctor to others? to their own children or parents?

A patient who has had an outstanding experience is a very good indicator of a great LASIK/PRK surgeon. Keep note of all of the good and bad things your friends and family have told you about the doctor and then see if you agree when you arrive for your consultation. Next time, I'll talk about what to expect and look for in a LASIK/PRK consultation.

Glaucoma Specialists Release Consensus Findings in Intraocular Pressures Relation to Glaucoma

Leading experts from the World Glaucoma Association (WGA) recently launched the group's first consensus on intraocular pressure (IOP) and its relation to glaucoma. The panel's goal is to define more clearly the relationship between IOP and the optic nerve to minimize permanent damage, a leading cause of blindness worldwide.

So what does this mean in easy to understand terms? Well, IOP has always been known to be related to glaucoma. It is what the doctor measures when you have a glaucoma test during a routine exam. If you already have glaucoma, your IOP is what your doctor looks at to see how the disease is progressing. The WGA's recent consensus report has now gathered data from 70 leading experts in the field of glaucoma to help define more clearly what an accurate IOP measurement is. This report tells doctors that corneal thickness, contact lens wear, and time of day can all effect an IOP reading. These are factors that doctors knew impacted IOP, but now the impact has been defined further.

In a nutshell, this is not ground-breaking glaucoma information that the WGA has released. It is, however, an important step in minimizing vision loss due to glaucoma.

For the full article visit: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/77302.php

For more information on glaucoma visit: http://www.druckereyes.com/eyecare_pages.cfm?pagename=glaucoma%20Denver&groupid=20&sectionname=problems

Unbelievable LASIK prices

You've seen the ads, "LASIK for $299!" and you've been tempted to call. But before you pick up the phone, beware. How can one LASIK center offer such a low price while most reputable surgeons are charging between $1600 - $2500? It seems incredible!

Here's some advice: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Of the millions of people who have undergone LASIK in its ten years since inception, you would be hard pressed to find one who only paid $299 per eye. For example, a certain Laser Center advertises Lasik surgery on one eye from $299. While the fine print lists an incremental rise in the price depending on the level of myopia, you must also qualify for the promotion by having good credit. This Laser Center has previously been found guilty for operating a bait and switch tactic whereby patients were lured in by the low price but were then told they didn’t qualify for it. Lasik eye surgery price promotions like these usually come to light sooner or later.

Recently a patient reported to our office that he went in to a laser center that advertised $499 per eye. After his consultation, however, when they added a fee for his level of myopia, another fee for his level of astigmatism, a fee for his credit rating, and a fee for the lifetime guarantee, his total was over $2200 per eye. His price was higher if he wanted to have post op visits included as well!

The moral of this blog entry, however, is not beware of false advertising, nor is it even a warning to read the fine print. Rather the moral should be that price should NOT be the main reason you choose a LASIK surgeon. Choosing a well-established trusted eye surgeon who has your best interests in mind should concern you more than the cost of the procedure. These are your eyes, after all, and LASIK surgery is surgery. Even though it is a very popular procedure that seems rather routine, there are risks that are associated with any type of surgical procedure. Before you go under the laser, do your homework: choose a reputable doctor who makes you feel comfortable and who is conservative when predicting your potential outcome. Another good rule of thumb: When in doubt, don't.