What you need to know when choosing a doctor for vision correction
Did you decide that it’s time to get LASIK and finally get rid of your eyewear? We applaud your decision and wish you success with your new vision! But before you sign on the dotted line, there are a few important questions you should ask your eye surgeon.
LASIK was approved as an advanced vision correction surgery in the US back in 1999. Since then, its popularity has grown considerably and many doctors currently offer this procedure in their eye care clinics. With so many choices out there, how can you decide which eye surgeon to use? To boost your confidence in choosing the best eye care center and surgeon for your LASIK surgery, our staff at Turner Eye Institute outlined the top 3 questions for you to ask:
-
How many laser vision correction procedures have you done?
Experience is essential. A reputable eye surgeon should welcome any questions about his or her qualifications and expertise. Nowadays, it isn’t unusual for a highly experienced doctor to have performed over 25,000 LASIK surgeries. In our offices in San Leandro, Concord, and Castro Valley, CA, we’ve provided tens of thousands of patients with crisp vision with laser eye surgery! We are proud to have a long-standing record of excellent results and outstanding surgical outcomes.
2. Do you own your own eye care practice?
Bottom line – you want an eye doctor who is dedicated to you and your vision. Generally, the owner of a private eye care practice will be much more committed to providing exceptional service and ensuring patient satisfaction than someone who simply clocks in and out. In addition to the actual surgical procedure, the preoperative consultation and postoperative care are important parts of the entire LASIK process. At Turner Eye Institute, Dr. Patel is passionate about helping his patients navigate every step of vision correction comfortably.
3. Do you offer alternate options for vision correction?
LASIK isn’t for everyone. People with a thin cornea, certain pre-existing medical conditions, or an extremely high vision prescription are not always good candidates for this type of laser eye surgery. That’s why it is important to ask about alternate options and explore what’s best for you. If your eye doctor does a preoperative eye exam and determines that LASIK isn’t a viable solution, why go back to square one to research for a new eye care practice? You want an eye surgeon who is skilled in different types of surgery, such as PRK, LASEK, Epi-Lasik, and conductive keratoplasty (CK). Our eye doctor in San Leandro, Castro Valley, and Concord, CA, is experienced in performing many procedures, using both laser and non-laser technologies.