There’s something amazing about being able to see the world without relying on visual aids like glasses or contact lenses. Imagine correcting your vision and seeing more clearly almost instantly.
That’s what LASIK offers. LASIK is a life-changing laser vision correction procedure that can restore your vision and give you greater independence from glasses and contacts. It can even completely eliminate the need for glasses and contact lenses.
Keep reading to learn more about LASIK and to find out why personalized care is a must if you’re undergoing this procedure.
Not Just Anyone Can Have LASIK
Although LASIK is an incredible procedure, it’s not suitable for everyone. The FDA-approved procedure is considered effective and safe, especially when performed within the approved parameters. It’s highly controlled and accurate, with patients first undergoing a thorough LASIK screening to determine if they’re eligible.
If a patient doesn’t qualify for LASIK, they can’t undergo the procedure. If this is the case, they may be a better fit for an alternative procedure like PRK.
LASIK can treat refractive errors like astigmatism, nearsightedness, and farsightedness. Most patients that have LASIK end up with 20/20 vision or better.
For many, this means finally achieving visual freedom and reducing their dependence on glasses and contact lenses. One of the reasons LASIK is the most popular elective medical procedure is its success rate.
LASIK has a 96% success rate with patients who have corrected their vision. However, although LASIK has incredible success rates and patient satisfaction, those on the fence may feel like it’s out of reach because of cost.
That’s why the appeal of what’s seen as affordable LASIK has lured many into eye surgery chains with the hope of finally getting visual freedom from contact lenses and glasses at a price they can afford. Patients are even more convinced they’ve made the right decision by the stellar reviews these dominant eye surgery centers have amassed online.
The problem is that their eyes are paying the price for many of these patients.
Lack of Personalized Care in Eye Surgery Chains
Sadly, eye surgery chains are putting profit over patients. However, LASIK isn’t a commodity.
It’s impossible to achieve the same results with different levels of care, yet your outcome is determined by the facility and surgeon you select.
Dominant eye surgery chains aren’t providing personalized care to LASIK patients.
When patients don’t get the personalized care they need and deserve after LASIK, it can lead to serious complications. More recently, a mass exodus from a popular eye surgery chain saw doctors disclose that they were pushed to perform more LASIK procedures than they were comfortable.
The number of LASIK procedures a surgeon can perform varies depending on the surgeon, but anyone working on hitting a quota is more likely to make mistakes. The problem is that when this happens with LASIK, it means you may not end up with the crystal-clear vision you’ve been dreaming of. Of course, this makes LASIK riskier and increases the chances of a surgery gone wrong.
Over a dozen former LASIK doctors said they felt pressure to qualify patients for whom the surgery may not be suitable. This may be due to existing eye conditions like dry eye syndrome, thinner corneas, or other candidacy factors.
They also divulged that the company owners discouraged them from suggesting LASIK alternatives that could be more beneficial to patients. Worse still, these discount centers don’t always perform comprehensive screening before LASIK.
These LASIK surgeons also shared that they discouraged bringing patients back in for additional preoperative screenings to make them look like better LASIK candidates. Or, the doctors make sure that regardless of what the tests show, they inform patients to go ahead and schedule the procedure.
Being dishonest with potential patients made them more likely to become paying customers, regardless of what would be safest for them.
The Dirty Secret About Discount LASIK Chains
Eye surgery chains tend to operate like a factory. Their mission is to perform LASIK on as many patients as possible to make the most profit. Unsurprisingly, this leads to grave mistakes.
For these LASIK chains, it’s all about quantity over quality. Even though LASIK is an incredibly safe procedure, these deals, which are too good to be true, pose a real chance of poor surgical outcomes and long-term complications.
For instance, a former patient of a dominant eye surgery chain has sued the company following LASIK. The surgery left the patient with severe dry eyes that forced her to remain at home in total darkness.
At some point, she became “permanently disabled and unable to work.” Without a doubt, discount LASIK facilities can be tempting, but you should be wary of them in reality.
The procedures are not often accurate, and in this patient’s case, one among many, it can be harmful to your eyes. Offering unreasonably low LASIK rates cuts corners and leaves you with less than optimal results and lasting repercussions.
In addition, budget LASIK surgery chains overlook critical guidelines laid out by the American Academy of Ophthalmology to save on time. Follow-up visits are rare instead of regular, meaning patients aren’t closely monitored for complications. These facilities see the time spent on follow-up appointments as more time to perform LASIK on patients.
Personalized Care
Some of the definitions of personalized care during LASIK include:
Having A Thorough LASIK Screening
One of the most critical steps patients must take if they want to have LASIK is scheduling a LASIK screening or consultation. A LASIK screening is the only way to know if you qualify as a good candidate for the vision correction procedure.
A series of comprehensive scans and tests will help your eye doctor understand your vision challenges and determine what LASIK can do for you. If laser vision correction surgery doesn’t address your needs, a top-rated surgeon can recommend another option that’s right for you.
Trust
Even if you are a good LASIK candidate, you must trust the surgeon performing your procedure. Feeling like you can trust your surgeon is crucial in any patient-doctor relationship.
Trusted, experienced, and highly qualified surgeons take the time to make sure you fully understand everything about LASIK. That way, you’re able to make a well-informed decision concerning your vision needs. A good LASIK surgeon should never pressure you or make you feel uncomfortable about your decision.
Ongoing Care
It’s essential to have your eyes and vision monitored closely by qualified eye doctors during several follow-up appointments after you’ve had LASIK. These follow-up appointments help ensure you’re healing correctly and not having complications.
In the weeks and months following LASIK, you’ll find that your vision only continues improving.
Second to None Personalized LASIK Care
Discount LASIK centers may seem like the best option for laser vision correction and saving money. But at the end of the day, your vision and eyesight are never worth the risk.
Instead, schedule your LASIK screening with the experienced team at Crews LASIK & Cataract Center. Dr. Crews is committed to offering exceptional, personalized care and will work with you to find out how to finance LASIK and make it fit your budget. Schedule a LASIK screening at Crews LASIK & Cataract Center in Vancouver, WA, today!