Congratulations on deciding to take important steps towards improving your vision with laser eye surgery.
You’ve done all your homework on the procedure itself. Now, it’s time to choose the right laser eye center to perform your procedure.
If you’re the first person you know or just the first person you know in your town to correct their vision with laser eye surgery, then you’re making this all-important decision without initial guidance from trusted friends.
But don’t let that put you off of searching. You can find the perfect doctor and center all on your own with these tips.
How to Find the Perfect Laser Eye Center
Are you ready to start your journey and achieve better eye health?
Follow these instructions to select the right center for you.
1. Start with Referrals and Recommendations
Do you know someone else who has had the procedure? In most cases, someone with experience is the best place to start.
Referrals and recommendations are the best way to source a great pool of candidates to start, and in this day and age, those recommendations aren’t hard to find.
Even if you don’t know someone, then someone you know will. And there is no reason to discount friends who don’t live in the area – they’ll also have helpful tips regarding the procedure to help you narrow down the initial list of doctors.
Still now sure where to start?
Use the recommendations provided by strangers. Search for local or regional clinics on social media and read reviews. Look out for clinic reviews and ratings on sites like TrustPilot.
Remember, don’t discount a practice just because it didn’t suit someone else’s needs. Your vision and health are unique to that of your friends’ and neighbors’. There may be aspects of care that don’t make sense for others but would very much benefit your own care.
2. Then Narrow It Down
Once you’ve got your list of eligible clinics, begin to whittle those clinics down according to the factors most important to you.
Not sure what that means? Here are a few of the things other patients have looked for in a laser eye center:
Trusting Relationships Between You & Your Providers
The relationship between you, your current eye doctor, and the doctor who will perform your procedure is an all-important one. It must be built on trust not only prior to but after the procedure.
Be sure your provider is willing to discuss the risks associated with the procedure. They may say the risks are minimal and that only 2% of procedures result in complications. But those complications will be 100% real if they happen to you.
While your trust in both your doctors is important, the relationship built between them is also important.
You need your current doctor and a laser eye center, such as Eye Consultants, to be able to work together to prepare you for surgery and to come to a happy conclusion after.
Friendly Staff
From the receptionist to the intake nurse, every individual member of staff will impact your experience on the day of the procedure.
Look for staff who are not only professional but friendly. Those who are willing to work with you to make the most of your own situation – both health and financial – will help you make the most of your procedure once it’s done.
Equipment
There’s more than one way to perform laser eye surgery. Look out for the use of modern equipment in your doctor’s office to ensure they’re staying up to date on the latest advancements in their field.
A good laser eye center will offer LASIK, LASEK, PRK, and other new FDA approved technologies.
Equipment is also helpful because it provides choice.
A doctor who doesn’t offer laser treatment and only uses microkeratome blades won’t be able to accommodate you because they don’t actually offer laser eye treatments.
Cleanliness
Cleanliness is a basic expectation, but you still need to keep an eye on it. Visit the office and make a mental note of the level of tidiness you encounter.
Don’t forget to pay attention to the instruments used during your exam. Are they sterile? Have the scopes recently been cleaned?
Results
The results of your procedure are highly dependent on your eyes. Because each case is unique, look for a provider who doesn’t promise certain results but who instead works with you to meet your combined expectations.
Providers who also provide adjustments for patients who require them are also a plus depending on the expected results.
3. Ask the Right Questions
By now you’ll have narrowed down your choice to a handful of laser eye centers. Before making the final decision, schedule a consultation to learn more about what they provide.
To get a clear picture of what your experience will be like, ask them some if not all of the following questions:
- What is the clinic’s complication rate? How does it compare to the average rate?
- What about outcome statistics? How do those compare?
- Are procedures done in-house or at an external clinic?
- Has there ever been an eye infection outbreak at the surgery center?
- Will I have to pay for enhancements if the surgery doesn’t meet my vision expectations? If there is a charge, when is the cutoff date?
If the provider can’t or won’t answer these questions to your satisfaction, don’t be afraid to move on to a laser eye center that will. After all, there is no such thing as a minor surgery!
Choose the Best Laser Eye Center for You
Laser eye procedures have exploded in popularity over the past twenty years but not all centers are made equal.
To find the best center for you, you’ll need to do your homework including asking for referrals, scheduling consultations, and asking the right questions.
It requires plenty of hard work and sometimes a few hard decisions. But it’s worthwhile because finding the right center is the difference between finally achieving the vision you want and potentially ending up with worse vision than you have now.
Have you had laser eye surgery or are you considering the procedure? Browse listed providers with our search tool.