I just went in for a consultation at a place my friend recommended. I was disappointed that I did not meet with the MD- instead I met with an OD who works for him. I am a -7.5 in both eyes and she mentioned that my corneas were borderline thin (512) and double-checked them with a pachymeter(?) and said they improved some but didn't give me a number. She said I was an excellent candidate for Lasik and Interlase. I mentioned some concerns about my dry eyes and she kind of brushed it off based on positive strip test results. I am thinking about going somewhere else but I have a feeling that I will be treated impersonally at many places and the testing is a hassle with the eye-dialation, etc. I'm not sure what I'm looking for. What questions should I have asked?

Marlene,

If you have dry eyes, maybe you should look into Lasek, Prk, or Epi-lasik. Different recovery, but results are the same.

Kelly

If you're not totally comfortable with the experience then I wouldn't trust them with my eyes. I did meet with my surgeon twice before the actual surgery and he answered all my questions and did a lot of the measurements himself. He recommended LASEK (different than LASIK) because my eyes were slightly dry and he thought LASIK would make my dry eyes too uncomfortable. I wouldn't settle for a brush off from the doctor. Here's a link to a site that has lots of suggestions for questions to ask of a surgeon and it was helpful to me.

http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/tough_questions.htm

Good Luck!

Nancy

prk or lasek may be better, its more forgiving on dry eyes and wont thin your cornea as much. Whats your expectations and do you accept the risks?

I agree - you should see the surgeon. Consider Parag Majmudar or Randy Epstein at Chicago Cornea Consultants. Also Bruce Larson is great. I am sure there are other excellent surgeons who I should be listing here- but hopefully these are a good start

Best of luck

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

I talked with the doctor today and he recommends LASEK for me, mostly based on my thinner corneas. I wish I had just talked to him in the first place. I'm still thinking about pros/cons and second opinions.

We have a detailed article regarding LASEK at http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/subjects/lasek.htm that you may find helpful.

Glenn Hagele
http://USAEyes.org
Patient Advocacy and Surgeon Certification

I am not a doctor.

One thing to keep in mind is that often times if a surgeon is able to do the pre-operative exam, she or he probably doesn't do that many treatments. A valuable thing to keep in mind is surgeon experience is extremely important in determining outcome. Seeing an Optometrist isn't necessarily a "brush off," as many OD's have more familiarity with LASIK candidacy than some surgeons. Although it sounds backwards, often times the most expensive surgeons are expensive because they don't do many LASIK treatments and have to wheel in their Laser for one day that month. Less expensive surgeons at centers dedicated to refractive surgery often do higher volume and are more affordable to remain competitive.