Find Lasik

Find Lasik | Find Lasik Doctor | Find Lasik Surgeon
How to find a Lasik surgeon and what questions to ask before making a final choice... 

Do you have Lasik questions?  Questions such as where to find Lasik doctor offices where you live?  Where to find Lasik surgeon information?  Do you have questions about what you should ask and consider when you choose Lasik doctors?  Do you have questions about Lasik such as what's the best way to find a LASIK specialist? Where to find laser eye surgeon specialist practices?  Where to find a Lasik doctor in your area? Or exactly what factors you should consider when choosing a Lasik surgeon?  Here are some answers...

Find Lasik specialists who have performed at least 700 Lasik procedures.  “Finding A Good LASIK Specialist.  I'd advise seeking care from someone who has performed at least 700 LASIK procedures. Check to see that the surgeon has a valid medical license (state medical boards list this information on their Websites) and is a board-certified ophthalmologist. Ask to speak with other patients, perhaps ask to view actual surgery and request disclosure of the surgeon's LASIK results. These results should be carefully tracked, and the more proficient surgeons generally have less to hide. If you want to be extra careful, you may want to check one of the public information databases on the Internet for evidence of malpractice claims against a particular surgeon (for example, www.knowx.com).”   (David A Wallace, “LASIK for pilots,” Plane and Pilot, October 1, 2000)

Find Lasik surgeons who will spend pre- and post-op time with you.  “[B]efore you even think about [Lasik] procedures, the experts can't stress enough that the most important decision is choosing a quality [laser eye] surgeon — someone who spends time with you pre- and post-op, and who will turn you away if you're a poor candidate.” (Thea Singer, “10 minutes, perfect vision: what's new with LASIK, and is it for you?, O, The Oprah Magazine, June 1, 2006)

Find a Lasik surgeon who is conscientious, meticulous, methodical, insightful, experienced and compulsive.  “Select a surgeon as you would a fellow pilot.  Like pilots, surgeons can suffer lapses in judgment, ‘pilot error,’ equipment fault or other errors. Remember, these are the only pair of eyes you've got. Be very careful. Try to find a surgeon who's as conscientious, meticulous, methodical, insightful, experienced and compulsive as the best pilot you know, and you'll likely be in great hands.”  (David A Wallace, “LASIK for pilots,” Plane and Pilot, October 1, 2000)

Avoid shooters.  “In particular, warns Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD, director of the Joint Clinical Research Center at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, avoid "shooters"--surgeons who fly in to work at a mall, zap eyes, and fly out, leaving follow-up care to optometrists or so-called LASIK technicians, whose degree of training varies. "It's one thing to buy your dish detergent at a discount store," Colby says, "but don't get your medical care there." (Thea Singer, “10 minutes, perfect vision: what's new with LASIK, and is it for you?, O, The Oprah Magazine, June 1, 2006)

Find Lasik surgeons online through AAO and the ISRS websites.  “The AAO [American Academy of Ophthalmology] website (geteyesmart.org) has a feature that can provide you with a list of their members who perform Lasik.  Ninety-five percent of all ophthalmologists are AAO members. The International Society of Refractive Surgery [ISRS] website (LocateAnEyeDoc.com) also has names of refractive surgeons.”  (“Basik Lasik: Tips on Lasik Eye Surgery,” Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection office, produced in cooperation with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, October 2008, last modified Friday, April 24, 2009)  Follow the AAO on Twitter.

Don’t pay attention to Lasik testimonials.  “Don't pay much attention to patient testimonials in ads, [Glenn Hagele, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance in Sacramento, Calif.] says. ‘First of all, you're never going to hear from a bad patient. And secondly, even the worst surgeon can get it right sometimes.’” (Bill Radford, “Laser Wars - Focus on reality when pondering eye surgery,” The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colorado, May 2, 2000, p. 1)

Find a Lasik surgeon with a laser eye surgery complication rate of less than 1%.  “Check on successful results vs. complication rates. Ask the doctor or case manager for this information during your initial consultation or examination. The complication rate should be less than 1 percent, with few ‘touch-ups’ or ‘re-dos.’ A competent doctor won't mind answering these questions. Be wary of a clinician who touts "zero" post-operative problems.” (Mike Schwartz, The Press-Enterprise, “Do some research prior to eye surgery - Tips: When selecting a doctor, consider recommendations, qualifications, success rates,” The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California, September 23, 2003, p. E02)

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 Tiger Woods' Advice on Lasik

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Factors and questions Lasik prospects should consider in their search to find the right Lasik surgeon...

• Ask your eye doctor what he or she recommends as the least risk solution to treat your particular vision needs.
• Ask if there are non-surgical alternatives available that may offer promise at improving your vision without undergoing surgery.
• Ask your eye specialist to provide you with a thorough list of non-surgical and alternative surgical treatments for addressing your vision needs.
  
• Ask how long the doctor you are considering has performed Lasik.  Find out how many Lasik procedures he or she has performed.
  
• Find Lasik surgeon candidates who have performed at least 700 Lasik procedures. (1)
• Ask how much direct experience they have with the procedure you are considering.
• Find out how familiar the Lasik doctor is with the specific laser instrument that will be used in the procedure you are considering. 
  
• Find Lasik surgeons that have valid medical licenses by checking with state medical boards which list this information on their websites.
• Choose Lasik surgeons that are board-certified ophthalmologists.
• Ask for information about the doctor's education and training.
  
• Talk to others who have already undergone laser eye surgery. 
  
• Create a list of questions to ask other Lasik patients. 
• If possible ask to view an actual laser eye surgery and request disclosure of the surgeon's laser eye surgery results.
• Perform your due diligence not only through standard search engine research but also through public information and professional fee-based database services available on the Internet (e.g., www.knowx.com) for evidence of malpractice claims against a particular surgeon.
• If you reside in a high altitude city such as Denver, find how familiar the doctor is with procedures at this altitude? “In Colorado, eye surgeons normally compensate for the high elevation by removing 30 percent less tissue than they would at sea level.” (3)
  

Questions the FTC recommends that you ask a Lasik surgeon before making a final choice:

• How long have you been doing Lasik surgery?
  
• How much experience do you have with the Lasik procedure?
  
• How do you define success? What’s your success rate? What is the chance for me (with my correction) to achieve 20/20? How many of your patients have achieved 20/20 or 20/40 vision?
  
• How many patients return for retreatments? (A five to 15 percent return is not unusual.)
  
• What laser will you be using for my surgery? Make sure the surgeon is using a laser approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Visit www.fda.gov/cdrh/LASIK for more information.
  
• What’s involved in after-surgery care?
  
• Who will handle my after-surgery care? Who will be responsible?
  
• What are the risks and possible complications?
  

Source:  “Basik Lasik: Tips on Lasik Eye Surgery,” Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection office, produced in cooperation with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, October 2008, last modified Friday, April 24, 2009