Laser Eye Surgeon

Choosing the right laser eye surgeon is the most crucial step to take when deciding to undergo refractive surgery.If you have decided to take the leap and correct your vision with LASIK surgery, choosing a surgeon that is skilled and experienced will make the difference between a success story and a bad experience.

In spite of the fact that LASIK laser eye surgery was only approved by the FDA in 1998, it has grown in popularity and demand.This means that there are more and more surgeons entering the market and advertising their services.So how do you choose the surgeon that is right for you?

Chances are you know someone, whether it is a friend, co-worker, or relative, who has had laser eye surgery.Ask them about their experience and who their surgeon was.A referral from someone you trust is a good place to start, but don't commit yourself to anyone without asking some specific questions about the surgeon's years of experience, level of expertise, and past patients' recovery and outcome.

Schedule a consultation or screening interview with the potential surgeon and ensure that there is enough time scheduled to ask and have answered any questions you might have.In order to make sure you don't forget anything, write down your questions beforehand and take them with you to the consultation.Your list of questions should include:

? When did you first start performing laser eye surgery on a regular basis?The United States FDA approved the use of the Excimer Laser for laser eye surgeries back in 1995, and by 1998 there were qualified, trained surgeons prepared to operate using the Excimer Laser.When considering a laser eye surgeon, select one who has been operating regularly for at least three years.

How many laser eye surgeries have you performed in the past 12 months?To maintain basic competence performing laser eye surgery, a LASIK surgeon should perform at minimum 20 procedures per month or approximately 250 or more each year.

What percentage of your consultation patients do you consider good candidates for laser eye surgery?While there is no one right answer for this question, there should at least be a small percentage of candidates that are NOT good candidates for surgery since there are certain conditions that would exclude a patient from having the procedure performed.

What percentage of patients is able to pass a standard driver's eye exam within 24 hours of their operation?It is reasonable to expect that ninety-five percent of a laser eye surgeon's patients will pass the driver's eye exam after only twenty-four hours without the use of contacts or eyeglasses.

What percentage of patients has a complaint after surgery, including dryness or halo vision?(Complaints like these normally resolve within 3-6 months after surgery.)The only wrong answer to this question is "none" or a very, very low number since it is very common to experience dryness or seeing haloes for up to six months after surgery.A laser eye surgeon might not be completely honest if he or she reports that none of his or her patients have experiences like this.

What was the poorest LASIK outcome you've ever had, and how did you handle it?Use your personal discretion when evaluating this response.No laser eye surgeon will have a perfect record so the important part of the answer is how that surgeon handled the situation.Find out if the individual involved is still a patient of that surgeon.

Has any laser eye surgery patient ever obtained a malpractice suit against you and been awarded more than $25,000?The surgeons who perform the most surgeries are more likely to have had at least a few malpractice suits filed against them.The key is to determine how many were awarded a considerably large amount since that would be indication of a more serious complication.

What percentage of your laser eye patients has had to have some sort of enhancement after the initial surgery in order to achieve desired results?Since laser eye surgery is still relatively new and every case is different, there will be some percentage of patients that required follow-up procedures.A reasonable percentage for a good surgeon will be somewhere in the five to fifteen percentage range.

Have you ever been denied access to certain insurance plans or been denied malpractice insurance?The answer should be no.If it isn't, find out specifics why or feel free to end the consultation and resume your search for a laser eye surgeon elsewhere.

Take notes during the consultation so that you are clear on the surgeon's answers and can refer to them later if you want to.Once the consultation is complete, don't think that you have to be committed to that laser eye surgeon.Don't hesitate to get a second opinion, even if you feel that you are satisfied with the first surgeon's answers.