Monday, April 04, 2005
I attended a LASIK information evening
I went to a LASIK information session at The Eye Institute today. I was hoping that this would be an opportunity to ask some questions about the procedure and to hear from others who have undergone it.
The evening was well organised -- a little too well. They are very good at the marketing and at presenting a professional image. I'm more interested in getting a good procedure than being "marketed at".
First there was an Optometrist who gave a typical overview of vision correction and how Laser Surgery works. They, of course, emphasised the benefits of having good vision without glasses.
Next was an Orthoptist who spoke about the Institute (which, contrary to its name, is a business, not an academic place of learning), emphasising the quality of its surgeons.
Then was had a past atient talk about her experience. This is, of course, where most of the questions fly. It's obvious that they would pick a good person to do the talk, but it certainly allayed my fears a fair bit to hear from a 'consumer' rather than the 'provider'.
Finally, they brought out Dr Michael Lawless, one of the refractive surgeons at the Institute (and, from what I gather, the most respected). He managed to answer all sorts of questions from those present.
The one that stuck most in my mind was his observations about the age of patients. If you're too young, your eyes are still changing and you shouldn't get LASIK. If you're too old, you won't get as much benefit since you'll need glasses for reading. He'd have no qualms recommending it for people in their 20s since they'd get so much benefit from it over the years.
Another interesting thing they do is cater for older patients by making one eye better for reading and the other better for distance. This can alleviate the need for reading glasses. It takes a little while for the eyes/brain to adapt, but sounds quite fascinating.
I did some mental math about how many people go through the Institute. Each surgeon does something like 500 per year, times 3 surgeons, times $6000-ish each. I guess the equipment is expensive, plus the insurance, but they're onto a good thing here!
I took great interest during the discussions when they were talking about IntraLase, which I think makes the whole of LASIK worth considering. The whole idea of a microkeratome slicing through my eyeball and all the potential complications would put me off LASIK. But Intralase seems to avoid much of the trauma.
The Results
So, what next? I'm going to do some more research, look at other clinics, read up on the Internet and see what information I can gather. I'm not convinced yet.
-- Fabbo
Tags: LASIK Laser Eye Surgery
The evening was well organised -- a little too well. They are very good at the marketing and at presenting a professional image. I'm more interested in getting a good procedure than being "marketed at".
First there was an Optometrist who gave a typical overview of vision correction and how Laser Surgery works. They, of course, emphasised the benefits of having good vision without glasses.
Next was an Orthoptist who spoke about the Institute (which, contrary to its name, is a business, not an academic place of learning), emphasising the quality of its surgeons.
Then was had a past atient talk about her experience. This is, of course, where most of the questions fly. It's obvious that they would pick a good person to do the talk, but it certainly allayed my fears a fair bit to hear from a 'consumer' rather than the 'provider'.
Finally, they brought out Dr Michael Lawless, one of the refractive surgeons at the Institute (and, from what I gather, the most respected). He managed to answer all sorts of questions from those present.The one that stuck most in my mind was his observations about the age of patients. If you're too young, your eyes are still changing and you shouldn't get LASIK. If you're too old, you won't get as much benefit since you'll need glasses for reading. He'd have no qualms recommending it for people in their 20s since they'd get so much benefit from it over the years.
Another interesting thing they do is cater for older patients by making one eye better for reading and the other better for distance. This can alleviate the need for reading glasses. It takes a little while for the eyes/brain to adapt, but sounds quite fascinating.
I did some mental math about how many people go through the Institute. Each surgeon does something like 500 per year, times 3 surgeons, times $6000-ish each. I guess the equipment is expensive, plus the insurance, but they're onto a good thing here!
I took great interest during the discussions when they were talking about IntraLase, which I think makes the whole of LASIK worth considering. The whole idea of a microkeratome slicing through my eyeball and all the potential complications would put me off LASIK. But Intralase seems to avoid much of the trauma.The Results
So, what next? I'm going to do some more research, look at other clinics, read up on the Internet and see what information I can gather. I'm not convinced yet.
-- Fabbo
Tags: LASIK Laser Eye Surgery
# posted by Fabbo @ 8:43 pm 
