Talking to Your Lasik Surgeon

For anyone considering a Lasik procedure to correct vision, it is crucial to find a physician that is reputable and caring. It is also very important that they are experienced and knowledgeable in the Lasik procedure, and that they have a track record of patients that are happy with the treatment they received and the results that they got.

This guide gives a number of basic questions that you should ask when deciding on which Lasik center and which doctor to select for your Lasik procedure. The comfort you have during the process, and even the results that you receive, may depend on getting good answers to these questions. It is important to realize that the answers to these questions will vary from physician to physician.

The first question to ask is “How many years have you been performing this type of Lasik surgery?” There are several variations of the Lasik procedure, and the doctor should have a track record of at least three years in doing Lasik procedures. This amount of time also allows the doctor to watch his patients and the long term success of their Lasik procedures.

Next, ask the physician for the number of Lasik procedures they have performed in the last two years. The physician should do the operation frequently enough that he is well versed in current procedures. Also, he should be successful enough that prospective Lasik patients feel comfortable in coming to the Lasik center. The physician should perform at least 500 Lasik surgeries in the last two years.

At this point, ask what percent of his clients that underwent Lasik surgery ended up with 20/40 vision or better. Notice that not all patients will achieve 20/20 vision, and that is acceptable. However, it is important that 90 percent of the patients get at least a 20/40 correction after the first Lasik procedure. Claims of much more than 90 percent might make him seem much better, but in this case ask for evidence that that number is true. There are some exceptional physicians out there, but also a few Lasik doctors that make unfounded claims. Asking the doctor what percentage of Lasik patients achieve 20/20 should run about 50 percent. Again, if the number is greatly higher, ask for evidence.

Finally, ask about post-Lasik complications. The percentage of patients that experience complications after 6 months is complete should be 3 percent or less. If the physician claims that complications are so rare that he doesn’t keep records, you should be very suspicious and ask for evidence, if any. No doctor is perfect. Similarly, when asked the percentage of patients that require an additional operation to achieve clear vision, the number should be less than 10 percent.

To wrap up the interview, ask the physician what types of Lasik procedures he recommends and practices, and under what circumstances he denied a Lasik procedure to a patient. Not all vision challenged people are good candidates for a Lasik operation, and the doctor should at least have a few examples of people he dissuaded from the operation.

Finally, ask about the cost of the operation and if financing plans are available through the Lasik center. A physician that is willing to sit down and discuss these questions is often a physician that will address any other medical issues that come up, and is a good prospect to perform your Lasik procedure.

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Statistics for Lasik Surgery Patients

The Lasik operation can be a wonderful, life-changing option for many people whose vision is less than perfect. There are several different types of Lasik operations now available, from the original and well documented procedure to Lasik procedures done with three dimensional wavefronts, or done entirely with lasers. Each of these variations of the Lasik procedure should be discussed with the physician that is to perform the operation.
Like any surgery, Lasik does have the potential for side effects.

Sometimes reading the horror stories of the outcomes of a Lasik procedure can deter people from seriously considering such a choice. It is also true that the vast numbers of people who have a successful, trouble-free Lasik surgery tend not to report a long and detailed story of their experience, unlike those that have experienced trouble afterward.

However, it is good to know what the possible side effects of the Lasik procedure are, and also the likelihood that one of these side effects will occur for a particular patient. Just like any medicine we take, each has a possible number of side effects, but we generally assume that the likelihood of a serious side effect is small, and we take the medicine anyway. This article will hopefully put concerns of the prospective Lasik patient into perspective so that they can calmly and thoughtfully ponder having a Lasik procedure done in the future.

More than one million Lasik procedures are done in the US every year, according to the FDA. This arm of the national government has accumulated the following statistics for the most common side effects of the Lasik procedure. These statistics will also vary by the physician performing the surgery, so make sure to get as much information on the prospective Lasik physician as possible.

After Lasik surgery, 1.7 percent of patients experience some glare or sensitivity to light after the operation. This varies by patient, but this sensitivity is especially noticeable when looking at a bright light, such as a streetlight when walking at night, or other strong light and dark contrast. Another light related side effect is a halo around a light, and this occurs in 3.5 percent of Lasik patients.

The new, corrected vision can be noticed quickly by some Lasik patients, in as little as a few hours after surgery. Most patients that have undergone the Lasik procedure find the change is permanent within a few days. In 2.6 percent of clients that have had a Lasik procedure done, there is persistent visual fluctuation within at least a part of their sphere of vision.

Finally, some patients do not get a fully corrected sphere of vision after their Lasik procedure. This happens with a small number of clients, and the FDA statistics are that only 3 percent of patients have this effect. In all or nearly all cases, the physician in charge will perform an additional Lasik procedure to improve this.

This detailing of the major permanent side effects of the Lasik procedure should put any personal horror stories into perspective. Notice that none of the percentages are above 3 percent, and this should bring comfort to most prospective Lasik clients. However, it should also motivate them to look carefully at the Lasik physician’s personal record.

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My Day for Lasik Surgery

This story is for my family and friends who wonder what it is like to go through a Lasik vision correction procedure. I’ve shared my experiences with one or two colleagues at work that have also had Lasik done, and there are enough variations to give insight to those who are trying to choose between different Lasik physicians or different Lasik centers.

First, my Lasik procedure was scheduled for 4 PM in the afternoon, which was fine with me. One of the directions for patient that has just had a Lasik procedure was to go to sleep as soon as possible, in order for the healing process to begin as quickly as possible. And usually by the end of the afternoon I am too tired after working all day to be very nervous. Well, usually anyway.

I had only been there a few minutes when I was called into a room to prepare me for the Lasik procedure, and to get instructions (again!) on how to care for my eyes once the Lasik vision correction has been done. They offered me some Ativan, which is a mild sedative just to keep me calm during the Lasik process. The lasers themselves monitor any head or eye movement and turn themselves off when it occurs, so it isn’t that the sedative is for anything other than psychological reasons. I took it anyway. All of my colleagues at work also took it, though none of us really felt any different than we did before. Apparently it is a VERY mild sedative.

My eyes were prepared for the Lasik procedure by being dosed with eye numbing drops and some kind of medication. I cannot be sure of the other pre-operative steps, as I think I was trying very hard not to think about either Lasik or my eyes. Perhaps the sedative was a bit stronger than I imagined it was.

At this point I was escorted into another room for some time, where I sat back, listened to the piped-in music, and awaited my turn in the Lasik operating room. There were two other people waiting with me in this room, so apparently my doctor different setup for his Lasik patients than my colleagues. Both were alone in their pre-op rooms until they were escorted into the room where the Lasik procedure was actually performed.

As to the Lasik procedure itself, all of us have similar memories from this procedure. Each of us felt some pressure when the various Lasik implements were used on our eyes, though there wasn’t any real discomfort or pain. There was a blurring of vision for the eye being worked on, but the real sensation was mainly audio – the whirring and clicks of the machine. One of my colleagues also remembers a distinct smell, somewhat reminiscent of hair burning. There may have been a slight smell during my Lasik procedure, but it wasn’t significant enough for my attention to be focused on it.

After a short amount of time, my Lasik physician said he was done and that I had been a good patient. In all of our Lasik experiences, the operation itself was much easier than all of our worries about it beforehand. I hope this helps those of you considering having a Lasik procedure done.

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