How To Find The Best Place To Get Lasik

It might seem there is a surgeon on every corner that offers lasik. When visiting their website, huge banners direct you to book your lasik consult. Is lasik really that easy and straightforward that anyone can do it?

The Actual Surgery

The actual technical maneuvers performed in lasik aren’t too complex. When we train to become ophthalmologists, we perform over a hundred cataract surgeries to ensure that we are proficient. To get trained for lasik, it often just requires ten procedures. Because of this, many ophthalmologists have added lasik to their repertoire of procedures.

It actually doesn’t take long for a good surgeon to pick up a few extra surgical skills. With their extra surgical skills they can get by and get pretty good results. Without doing a lot of volume, however, they will be limited in the results they can achieve.

_{We all want to read the smallest print on the eye chart; Image by Jeff Dahl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

But just because you can perform it doesn’t mean that you have mastered the procedure. Ten cases doesn’t create the skill you need to perform the highest quality lasik.

Surgeries can be very complex. In the world of ophthalmology we are dealing with micrometers at a time. Surgeons must have a tremendous dedication to their field and art. Surgical sills are mastered through experience as well as constant thought and reflection. It is only through these means that a surgeon can operate with finesse and ease.

Decisions Around The Surgery

There is also more to lasik than just simply learning a procedure.

Arguably more important is knowing everything involved before and after the surgery. This is where dedicated refractive or lasik surgeons shine. Refractive surgeons spend their lives focused entirely on just a few key procedures. The devote all their time trying to figure out how to get the very best results and vision. They know exactly what to do before, during and after a procedure and spend time honing their surgical skills to become a master in their field. In essence, refractive surgeons are the experts you want to get you out of glasses and contact lenses.

It’s important not to forget that surgeons must also be smart and talented. Medicine is a very demanding subject. The years in medical school are some of the most rigorous years any student ever goes through. Without knowing the medical knowledge, it is impossible to provide the best level of care.

Becoming good at lasik involves lots of important decisions prior to the procedure and lots of important management following. For someone who just does a few lasik cases a month, they may get by because lasik works pretty well on its own. However, just doing a few lasik cases doesn’t allow you to get into the upper echelon of lasik accuracy and also doesn’t prepare you for more complex lasik management decisions. There is no shortcut to experience.

But a good surgeon must also posses an empathy and compassion towards others. This is exhibited in the beside manner. Sure you may get a good outcome with a smart doctor, but the journey could be needlessly difficult if you are left confused, anxious, worried and frustrated. Part of providing care to patients necessitates becoming their ally on this journey and treating others like they are family. You must feel comfortable wherever you go.

_{Good doctors are better at taking care of you; Image by Luke Fildes / Public domain}

Thus, while anyone can do lasik, you really want to find someone who dedicates their practice towards lasik and other refractive surgeries. You want someone who is going to provide the highest quality of medical and personal care.

How Are Some Lasik Places Cheaper?

_{CAPTION; Image by 401(K) 2012, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

Ever see a billboard or commercial advertising lasik for about $200 an eye? If one provider can provide lasik for that cheap, how come other providers charge about $2,500 per eye?

Alas, some things are too good to be true - It is in fact impossible to perform modern lasik at $200 an eye without losing money. And what you'll also find is that very very few people actually qualify for that low low price. So after getting through the door, everyone else eventually pays a significantly higher amount.

So how can one perform lasik at a cheaper cost? Well for one, using old technology can reduce the cost. Modern lasers used for lasik have a charge with each use that gets paid back to the manufacturer. Just these fees alone can add up to about $1000. Using an outdated laser and a blade can get rid of these extra fees; but would you want to use inferior technology on your eyes?

With lasik, for the best result you want to get the latest most advanced treatment. Places that focus on high volume lasik always focus on upgrading to the latest and best lasers. Other casual surgeons may have owned their lasik lasers for the past 15-20 years. Because they don’t do a very high volume, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to spend extra money to upgrade their lasers. And while those treatments still “work”, technology has progressed quite a bit since then.

So how else can you reduce costs? One other way is to reduce service. Lasik is not just performed by a single surgeon. Lasik is performed by a team of individuals all working together in the background. From answering phone calls to scheduling appointments to taking care of you at your post op visits, all is necessary to direct you through the whole process. You could cut out some of the team, but all that does is lead to unnecessary hassle and frustration getting lasik done; leaving the patient unhappy.

So yes, you may find a cheap way to treat your eyes, but cheap lasik just cuts too many corners giving inferior results and inferior service. “You get what you pay for” has never been so true.

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