Seeking Advice on Lasik Surgery

My wife wants to have Lasik surgery performed on her eyes. She
consulted with a doctor who had various pricing plans, from a one-time
surgery to a lifetime plan which was *considerably* more expensive than
the one-time surgery. Is the lifetime plan worth the money, or is it a
scam? What's the liklihood of her needing additional surgeries after
the first one?

Any other advice folks would care to offer (such as how to go about
finding the best surgeon in my area) would be gratefully accepted.

-Fleemo

The likelihood of needing additional surgery varies with prescription,
but ranges from 5-10%. But, there are other complications that can
happen that don't necessarily result in additional surgery, but do
entail additional medical treatment and observation. Just make sure
that the fees cover as many followup visits as necessary.

The best surgeon in your area probably has the best reputation in your
area (for patient care), but is not necessarily the highest-volume
surgeon.

DrG

I personally find "lifetime" plans a bit misleading. You can start by
asking, "Who's lifetime?" What if your doctor gets hit by a bus,
retires, or loses his license? What if he sells the practice to
another entity or takes on a partner? What if you move out of the
area?

I'm all for doctors providing extended care for their patients, but
pricing based on something as nebulous as "lifetime" raises yellow
flags for me. Look very, very closely at the fine print.

There are two major organizations that evaluate and certify surgeons
who provide refractive surgery. Our organization
(http://www.USAEyes.org) and the American Board of Eye Surgery
(http://www.aces-abes.org). These would be two good places to start in
your search for a doctor.

We have a list of 50 Tough Questions For Your Doctor on our website
that will help you evaluate any doctor.

You should visit at least three practices and compare notes before
making any decision.

Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
USAEyes.org

"Consider and Choose With Confidence"

Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org

http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org

I am not a doctor.

I'd want to know the particular $ amounts. Any retreatments
("enhancements") should be much less expensive than the original surgery
if done in the first year, but increasing in cost the longer out you go.
Find out how much if done in 3 mos, 1 yr, and 3 yrs. And find out how
many office visits the initial price covers, and how much each of those
are. If you could factor in the pickiness of the patient, that would be
good, maybe decisive (the pickier, the more I'd want the warranty,
because the more likely the "need" for retreatment).

w.stacy, o.d.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> My wife wants to have Lasik surgery performed on her eyes. She
> consulted with a doctor who had various pricing plans, from a one-time
> surgery to a lifetime plan which was *considerably* more expensive than
> the one-time surgery. Is the lifetime plan worth the money, or is it a
> scam? What's the liklihood of her needing additional surgeries after
> the first one?
>
> Any other advice folks would care to offer (such as how to go about
> finding the best surgeon in my area) would be gratefully accepted.
>
> -Fleemo
>

Hey Fleemo-My husband is scheduled to have Lasik the end of October. We
do not have many options here if we want to have it done in town. I
live in Montana. No more driving to Washington or Canada-we are paying
more to have it done in Missoula but I think it is worth it.

That said...we were not offered any life time plan. John can have
enhancement in the next 3 years for $300.00. Hopefully he won't need
it but it would be affordable. After then, I don't know. Everyone will
need reading glasses eventually. Heck you can buy them at Walmart.

Hope this helps and lots of luck. I'll keep you posted on how it all
goes.


Sheila G.