Ask DS? Lasik eye surgery

[woundedduck]

I am thinking about having the surgery done pretty soon as I am tired of wearing contacts/glasses all of the time. My vision is -6.50 in both eyes, so I am legally blind. I have already been tested a few years ago and I know that I am a candidate for the surgery. My question is who is the best with the best prices......if there is such a person? Thoughts, opinions, etc. Thanks for your help in advance.


Cameron

[Greenhead22]

http://www.conniemccaa.com/

Best in Jackson.

[levi127]

Toyos in Memphis is the best. That's where all tr athletes and celebrities go to get it done. My wife just got hers done and couldn't be happier man. She can actually see again!
Surgery only takes maybe 10 minutes and done, if that long. It costs around 4k for both eyes done, but if you come up here to get it done let me know. They gave us some coupons for discounts for people to use.

[dukmisr2005]

i had it done by Connie Mcaa in Jackson about 10 years ago now. i was a -9 and now been a -2 or -2.25 for about 6 years now. i still have to wear contacts but i am much better now than i was... she does free enhancements also down the road as your vision changes. my cornea was so steep she couldnt do any more enhancements with out getting it too thin and my cornea falling in...

[Dutch Dog]

I had PRK done, which is a form of lasik if you will for folks with thin corneas (or something like that if my memory serves me correctly) Anyway, I had TERRIBLE vision before having it done and here I am 5 years later with 20/15 vision...can read the 20/15 line no problem so it might be even better. After the surgery I could read the 20/10 line. It cost $4400 for both eyes 5 years ago and can't say what the cost is today. I had mine done at MECA in Memphis as it came highly recommended. http://www.mecavision.com/
Info on PRK
http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/prk.htm

[Chuckle12]

With LASIK it's better to go with a very reputable doctor than the one with the lowest prices. I had it done at UMC and had a terrible problem with dry eyes. They are better now, but there was a time about 2 months after my surgery that I would have told you not to do it. It's all good now.

[Dr. B]

LASIK is a wonderful procedure when performed by an experienced surgeon. Be very wary of bargain price lasik outfits.

Based on your prescription you are a very good candidate. However, your doctor needs to perform a comprehensive evaluation to cofirm that. Postoperative dry eye is the biggest battle we face as doctors. It's frustrating at times but usually eventually resolves but can be long-term. We do a very careful dry eye evaluation prior to surgery and aggressively treat it before perfoming LASIK.

Our office performed LASIK on 24 eyes Friday morning. The next day, the worst vision I saw was 20/20. Everone else was better! Believe me, it will be one of the most amazing transformations in your life. You need contacts on Friday and you don't on Saturday! Those 1-day post-ops are some fun days at my office! Everyone is estactic!

I'll pm you my cell if you have more questions, feel free to call. My office webpage is in my signature too. There is some info on our site about the procedure and our office.

And for the record, you are NOT legally blind, thank God! I will give you that you have a high nearsighted prescription and have very blurry distance vision without contacts or glasses. Legal blindness is measured by how well you see when you are WEARING your correct prescription. It doesn't matter how bad your vision is without contacts/glasses. It's a little complicated but legal blindness is defined as having worse than 20/200 vision in the best eye when wearing glasses. That basically means that if you can see the big "E" with your glasses on (even if you have only one eye), then you are NOT legally blind. If you can't see the big "E" with your best eye while wearing your glasses, then you can be legally blind. Scary huh? You can also be declared legally blind based on your field of vision. I have patients with 20/20 vision but their visual field is similar to looking through a soda straw. They are legally blind based on this. The only reason I'm saying this is because I hear it everyday that "I'm legally blind without my glasses!" I try to clarify the definition for folks.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Dr. B

[timberjack]

I am scheduled to see a doc in Meridian for a pre-surgery evaluation this wednesday. He was recommended to me by my regular eye doc who has already done his own evaluation such as eye dryness, pupil measurement, etc. I've always wondered about docs referring you to a specific surgeon, seems there would be a conflict there because I'm sure there's some kind of referral commission being paid, but I could be wrong on that. I dont know the guy in Meridian at all, has anyone here had any experience with a Dr. Marascalco?? Hope it aint Ben..............

[mfalkner]

Good post Dr B. I've wanted to do this for years (-8.5 and -9), but my local eye dr says my corneas are too thin. Never been evaluated at a surgical clinic. I have dry eyes - used to wear contacts but now can only wear them occasionally and best when outdoors. Major drag. I guess I hate to spend that much and only get to -4 or so, but then I also hate not being able to read the alarm clock....

[skywalker]

Had mine done 6 years ago in Atlanta Lasik Institute. The Dr. had performed 1000's. I was amazed at how many people were in there. I was there at 6am, next day day 20/15 left eye & 20/20 right eye. Best $ ever spent.

skywalker

[Dr. B]

I am scheduled to see a doc in Meridian for a pre-surgery evaluation this wednesday. He was recommended to me by my regular eye doc who has already done his own evaluation such as eye dryness, pupil measurement, etc. I've always wondered about docs referring you to a specific surgeon, seems there would be a conflict there because I'm sure there's some kind of referral commission being paid, but I could be wrong on that. I dont know the guy in Meridian at all, has anyone here had any experience with a Dr. Marascalco?? Hope it aint Ben..............

There is no "kick-back" for referrals. Or at least there shouldn't be. I'm not naive enough to say it doesn't happen in other ways (hunting trips for example), however the surgeon cannot get paid then in turn pay the referring doctor. That's a big federal no-no. We have a LASIK surgeon come into our office and perform the procedure because we are not trained to do it. He's been coming here from Panama City, FL for 8 years. Excellent outcomes. Good luck.

Dr. B

[Dutch Dog]

Good post Dr B. I've wanted to do this for years (-8.5 and -9), but my local eye dr says my corneas are too thin. Never been evaluated at a surgical clinic. I have dry eyes - used to wear contacts but now can only wear them occasionally and best when outdoors. Major drag. I guess I hate to spend that much and only get to -4 or so, but then I also hate not being able to read the alarm clock....

I too was told by an eye doctor that I wasn't a candidate...guess what, he was the one making money every year on my by prescribing me contacts and didn't want to lose a customer. Well, #1 he lost me and everyone I can tell as customers, and #2, I WAS a candidate for PRK and had it done and am extremely happy. As Dr B said the worst vision that was reported the next day was 20/20 and that is out of 24 patients. Don't EVER listen to your regular eye doctor about you not being a candidate.

[Dr. B]

Good post Dr B. I've wanted to do this for years (-8.5 and -9), but my local eye dr says my corneas are too thin. Never been evaluated at a surgical clinic. I have dry eyes - used to wear contacts but now can only wear them occasionally and best when outdoors. Major drag. I guess I hate to spend that much and only get to -4 or so, but then I also hate not being able to read the alarm clock....

Obviously you have a high Rx and that does bring corneal thickness into play. However, if your surgeon will use a laser to create the flap (which ours uses on over 90% of all our patients) you can safely and effectively treat many high prescriptions even if the cornea is thin. PRK is also an option if your cornea is too thin even for the laser to make the flap. PRK (as Ducth Dog stated) is a good procedure but comes with some recovery issues that you don't have to deal with when you have LASIK. Also things like age come into play as well. If you're over the age of 45, you might like being left at -0.75 or -1.00. You're still gonna see about 20/25 at distance but be able to read pretty well without needing reading glasses. I'm really simplifying things here and A LOT is being omitted. I'll PM you my cell in case you have any more questions about LASIK, PRK, or any other topics. Good luck with it!

Dr. B
http://www.primaryicare.com

[Dr. B]

Good post Dr B. I've wanted to do this for years (-8.5 and -9), but my local eye dr says my corneas are too thin. Never been evaluated at a surgical clinic. I have dry eyes - used to wear contacts but now can only wear them occasionally and best when outdoors. Major drag. I guess I hate to spend that much and only get to -4 or so, but then I also hate not being able to read the alarm clock....

I too was told by an eye doctor that I wasn't a candidate...guess what, he was the one making money every year on my by prescribing me contacts and didn't want to lose a customer. Well, #1 he lost me and everyone I can tell as customers, and #2, I WAS a candidate for PRK and had it done and am extremely happy. As Dr B said the worst vision that was reported the next day was 20/20 and that is out of 24 patients. Don't EVER listen to your regular eye doctor about you not being a candidate.

I'm sorry that you were misinformed but glad you had an excellent outcome! In contrast to your original doc, we tell our patients that we are excited they are not going to need glasses and contacts anymore! I still need to do an annual eye exam to make sure the overall heath of the eye is stable even if they no longer need correction. If I don't sell you glasses or contacts, I've more than made up for it by the new patients you're gonna send me because you had a great LASIK result and our awesome staff teated you professionally!

Dr. B

[Marenisco]

Whats the name of the doctor from Panama City?