About 5 years ago, I started thinking about getting LASIK. I've worn glasses for 25 years, and thought it was about time for an upgrade.
When I first looked into it 5 years ago .. there's clearly a two-tiered system of LASIK doctors.
The first tier "shop" is the kind of place you see advertised in the Sunday paper .. $399 per eye! The second tier is the professional ophthalmologists who also do LASIK surgeries.
So, I went to both, admittedly 5 years apart. The low-cost LASIK came out to $1,500. That $399/eye figure is for their lowest, most basic, old technology type surgery. I'll bet a total of zero people opt for that.
When I went to the regular ophthalmologist, the charge was around $4,000.
What's the difference? Neither doctor actually owns the multi-million dollar equipment .. they both RENT the exact same machine in the same building, performing surgeries. Most of the work is done by computer anyhow.
There is a difference in sales technique, though. The low-cost guys tend to "upsell." When I went in, they tell you the cheap price is for the old dusty machine, you want the new technology for double the price.. they explain for an extra couple hundred, they'll throw in "free lifetime tweaks" .. so that, 10 years from now, you want your vision tweaked, they'll do it free.
I asked the ophthalmologist about that .. he said, in general, he does "tweak" operations for only 1 in 20 patients, and almost never after a year or so.
Another up-sell: Tear Plugs. The low cost shop explained the various plugs that could be inserted into my tear ducts, so that healing would be quicker, eyes less dry, etc. For a fee, of course. The regular ophthalmologist said he never puts tear plugs in, as generally speaking, if you have a condition that required tear ducts installed, he would refuse to do the operation. -- Sure seems like tear plugs are a revenue generator for the low-cost shops.
When asking a tech about what they thought the difference between the high and low cost LASIK shops was .. she suggested that it isn't the LASIK technique that is any better from one doc to the next. -- She said they could teach ME to use the LASIK machine in a week. -- The true difference is the care before and after the surgery, where a highly trained ophthalmologist would be able to recognize ocular health issues where a low-cost doc might not.
I also think the trained ophthalmologist is quicker to turn you down as a candidate for LASIK, if you're not nearly perfect .. the low-cost guy is looking for volume and has a higher tolerance for risk.
So .. I think it comes down to .. 98% of the time, you'll come out with the exact same outcome. If you're a good candidate, with a "simple" LASIK procedure, no complicating factors (like you wore hard contacts for 20 years, or have some scarring, or whatever) .. I think you will be happy going the low-cost route. I mean, $1500 up to $4000 is a HUGE difference.
So, I had my surgery in February of this year. I did go with the high-cost ophthalmologist, not having learned the above, but also, being financially comfortable enough to pay the premium.
I won't get into the details .. suffice it to say, LASIK took about 25 minutes, beginning to end, which is a fact I state because knowing the short amount of time got me "through it." Truth is, I was pretty scared. Apparently, the prep-nurse wasn't the "usual" one, and didn't explain the steps. They tell you to focus on this red light .. I was unaware that at some point, you can't see anything, no red light, nothing, and you are effectively blind with your eye open. That's scary without being prepared in advance that something like that happens.
Anyhow, all went well. I had very little discomfort, my eyes felt pretty good right away. They give you pain and sleeping pills, but I did not need them.
The next day, I went in for another exam. The 20/20 line was razor sharp. All was well.
A week later, another exam. Suddenly, that 20/20 line was fuzzy. My vision had slipped to 20/25.
A month later, another exam. Now I'm 20/30, and having troubles reading, watching TV, the whole deal. At the end of the day, my eyes hurt. The doctor gave me a prescription for glasses.
Six months later, I'm still 20/30. At that time, the doc examines me for a possible 2nd LASIK procedure to "tweak" my vision. Apparently, I'm now more astigmatic than nearsighted (or something), meaning a 2nd surgery could do more harm than good.
So .. I went from wearing my glasses 100% of my day before LASIK .. down to about 75% of the time, after LASIK.
20/30 vision is "pretty good". I'm sure lots of people walk around with 20/30 all the time. I CAN read and drive with 20/30. But after having 20/20 vision, with glasses, for 25 years .. 20/30 is an intolerable downgrade, so I wear my glasses most of the day, so I'm pretty much back to where I started.
In the end, I paid $4,000 to not wear glasses for a few hours each day. I can't say I'd do that over again.
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