Is LASIK and other laser corrective surgery really safe? And how long could it really last?

My doc said about 8 years.Did he say this to discourage me? And which laser is better? Does cheap mean safe?

I've read good but mostly bad stories. To me my sight is too precious to take the chance. I can deal with the reading glasses and if eventually I need them for more than just reading so be it.

How much does LASIK laser corrective eye surgery cost on average? How much does LASIK laser corrective eye surgery cost on average?

Overall traditional lasik procedures still cost roughly $1,000 to $3000 to complete. If you pay less than $1,000 per eye treated, you may want to question your surgeon and verify his or her credentials. You should also see if there are hidden fees you are not aware of you may have to pay for later. When it comes to your eyes, a first and then a second opinion is best. Don't choose your surgeon on cost alone.

Where should I go to get laser corrective surgery?

Near the Chicagoland area.

Get to MN - Minnesota Eye consultants - some of the dr's there are the ones who have the patent on the technology.

I'm seeking to get that since I wear glasses. I hate glasses so I use to wear contacts for about a year or so but then they got lost or dried up. I don't quite remember so now I'm seeking to get corrective laser eye surgery.

I'm gonna see if I can get it with my insurance but I'd also like to know how much it costs. Does anyone know ? Of an estimate or exact cost ? Thanks !

With LASIK surgery you will generally get what you pay for: the more experienced surgeons with the more advanced technology will charge more for LASIK. Here in Southern California you could probably find someone good who would charge in the range of $2,500-3,800 per eye.

Probably the most important decision someone who is considering LASIK must make is what surgeon to choose. Although I do not perform LASIK, I have created a document for my cataract patients to help them in choosing a surgeon. The article can be viewed by clicking this link:

http://sgveye.com/en/resources/35-about ... ct-surgeon

The advice in this document can be applied to choosing any surgeon in any specialty, not just cataract surgeons.

Sincerely,

David D. Richardson, M.D.
Medical Director

San Gabriel Valley Eye Associates, Inc.
207 S. Santa Anita Street, Suite P-25
San Gabriel, CA 91776
626.289.7856

Tell me about your experiences with corrective laser eye surgery?

I'm interested in having surgery to correct my extremely poor vision. I have astigmatism in both eyes, and I have several family members who swear they've heard horror stories about botched surgeries. I'm SO sick of the discomfort of contacts and glasses, not to mention the insane amount of money and time I've invested in them over the past 17 years. I'm 25 now. Tell me about your experiences? I'd like to hear about cost, side-effects, pain, results, and your reflections on the experience as a whole. Thanks so much!

I had Lasik on my eyes several years ago. My vision wasn't too bad, but I still needed glasses/contacts.

I live in Singapore, so the cost was about S$3,000 (US$2,000) for both eyes with top-of-the-line eximer lasers to correct my astigmatism. I blew more than US$2000 doing stupid stuff, so it was a drop in the bucket to do something that made an actual impact on my life.

I had an initial consultation that took several hours to map my eyes and measure the corneal depth (if it isn't thick enough, you can't get the surgery). My doctor even had a mock surgery where you sat in the surgery room, had the retractors put in your eye and a targetting laser put in your eye. This is key because you need to be very still when the razor goes around your eye.
The doctor then told me everything that I was to expect, ran a video and gave me a book (3x redundant, but that's a good thing).


As you can imagine, it was a bit unnerving - but that what the practice was for. I was then told to practice fixing my gaze on points for two minutes at a time. It's much harder than it sounds.

When the time of the surgery came around, the Doctor did one eye only (as a risk mitigator). You first pop a valium to make you sleepy (mostly so you sleep through the most uncomfortable time after the surgery).

He put me on the table. I fixed my gaze. He put the ratractor in my eye. Put a piece of plastic bibbing around my eye, irrigated the eye with saline, put the cup on my cornea, which just feels like someone pushing your contact in your head hard enough that your see stars on your eyeballs. Everything goes dark for a second as the "cup" suctions onto your eye to secure it in place. There is a whir as the razor goes around your eye. No pain, just a two second whir. Then the doctor takes some foreceps and retracts the flap of your cornea. He tells you to stare at a dot - which is the focusing laser. The doc then turns of the laser and you hear a snapping noise as the laser ablates part of your eye. Your vision gets gradually worse. Depending on how bad your eyes are, it takes about 20 seconds to 3 minutes per eye. He then puts the flap back down on your cornea, your vision gets better. You are told to close your eye. A plastic shield is taped over your eye and you go take a nap in a recovery room.

After about 1/2 hour, you wake up. Nothing really hurt. At most it's uncomfortable. Like when you have an eyelash underneath your contact. You then go home, take it easy. The next day, when you wake up. You take off your plastic shield and - voila - you can see perfectly. A few days later, I had the other eye done.

The only side effect I have is night-halos. These are circles of light around bright lights at night. It doesn't bother me because I ahad them BEFORE my surgery, but I was night-blind to boot.

My wife also had Lasik. She's perfect. No side effects.

Now we scuba, do sand volleyball, go to windy places and other things you would dread doing with contacts. We don't miss the money and we love our vision.

I've recommended that friends come out to Singapore to do the same thing. Cost of a plane ticket and the surgery sometimes cost less than doing it in their home country. I went to Dr. Jerry Tan.

www.