1. What are the Advantages of LASIK?
2. Is LASIK covered by insurance?
3. Should I shop for LASIK based on price?lasik cost
4. Is there any difference between the excimer lasers used la for LASIK?
5. How do I know if I'm a good LASIK candidate?
6. What is the difference between LASIK and Custom      LASIK? Who needs Custom LASIK surgery?
7. How soon can I return to my normal activities after my LASIK procedure? What is the down time after LASIK?
8. What is a LASIK enhancement?
9. What is the difference between farsightedness and eyes thpresbyopia? What is presbyopia?
10. Can I have LASIK if I have cataracts?

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1. What are the advantages of LASIK?

People have LASIK for many reasons. Some people have LASIK for vanity reasons, while others have it for convenience. But some people may not consider the safety benefits of LASIK. LASIK provides safety in emergency situations such as car accidents or house fires that may occur while you're sleeping. Where glasses may be broken or fly off at any given moment and contact lenses can't be put in fast enough, LASIK allows you to see all the time in any situation.

Contact lens wearers beware, because people that sleep in or abuse contact lenses are at a much higher risk of eye problems than glasses wearers or LASIK patients. Neovascularization and corneal ulcers are a few more reasons having LASIK is beneficial over wearing contact lenses.


As seen above, the lack of oxygen to the cornea through the use of contacts cause blood vessels to grow into the cornea where none should exist.

2. Is LASIK covered by insurance?

Almost all insurance companies consider Lasik an elective procedure. Insurance companies feel glasses and contact lenses are a fair alternative to having surgery. In this day and age with people changing health care providers, insurance companies do not want to spend money for surgery (especially when that person may have another insurance plan a year or two down the road). They prefer to spend a much smaller amount on annual or biannual glasses prescription and exams, because in the long run it is more profitable for the insurance companies. If  an insurance company announced its decision to cover the cost of LASIK, so many people would opt for surgery that it would cause a great financial burden for that company.

There are some companies that offer partial coverage, but in most cases this is just a way to refer patients to certain providers in exchange for a discount of surgery cost.LASIK provides convenience, safety, and long term savings over the daily use of contact lenses and glasses. Every individual has to look at each of these benefits and how they play a role in their lives before making a decision to have laser vision correction.

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3. Should I shop for LASIK based on price?

The price for LASIK should not be your only determing factor of choosing a LASIK provider. Envision Laser Centers incorporates the newest technology, unsurpassed surgeon skill, and affordable prices without cutting any corners. Many providers charge a higher price and may use fear as tool to charges these higher prices. Envision Laser Centers wants you to compare our equipment and our surgeon’s experience and results to any other Lasik provider, because regardless of price, our commitment to patient outcomes is unsurpassed nation wide.

Be wary of aggressive marketing techniques. Some national chains advertise outrageously low fees such as $199 or $299 per eye. For everything that is involved in eye surgery,  it would be impossible for any center to charge such a little fee to everyone and still stay in business. Be a smart consumer. Look for an asteric beside the price, because virtually no one qualifies for the advertised price. If you do manage to qualify, then you find out it is an older laser that doesn't have eye tracking, so they try to upgrade you to a laser such as the one we use. Realistically, most of the national chains average well over $1000 per eye--so don't be fooled by misleading marketing.
 
Envision Laser Centers are committed to providing the best care at the most affordable prices. Dr. Patel is committed to providing this surgery to as many people as possible using only the most advanced technology to ensure a good outcome.  Although his experience and skill could demand a much higher price, Dr. Patel opts to charge less per procedure in order to make it more affordable to patients.

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4. Is there any difference between the lasers used for               LASIK?

It's almost like asking if there are differences between cars. Just as there is a difference between a Ferrari and a Mustang, each laser is different from their beam size to their optical zones which can greatly affect LASIK outcomes. But the fact remains, the laser is only as good as the doctor operating it. Because multiple surgeons can have different results on the same laser, do not under estimate the importance of the surgeon. However, lasers with smaller beams tend to have smoother ablations that generally produces a better quality of vision. Lasers with larger optical zones greatly reduce glare and decrease the chance of regression. These are a few of the reasons Envision Laser Centers uses the Bausch & Lomb Technolas 217z Excimer laser.

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5. What if I am not a good candidate for LASIK?

Our goal is to help you decide on the procedure that will have the best chance of getting to your goal of good vision without glasses, while at the same time, having the least risk of any possible complications. During your dilated pre-operative examination, important detailed information is gathered regarding the health of your eyes, including various measurements of your prescription, size of your pupil, shape and thickness of your cornea, etc. If for any reason the doctor feels you are not a good candidate for LASIK, he will let you know of any other possible options such as PRK that may benefit you.

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6. Is there a difference between LASIK and Custom LASIK?

Traditional LASIK has been around for over 15 years. Since that time the procedure has not changed much, but the programming software for the lasers have. Most people who undergo conventional LASIK are extremely happy with their results, but a small percentage may complain of night time or low lighting visual problems. Custom LASIK may increase people’s vision, as well as, increase their clarity of vision. By using a computerized abberometer, instead of treating just a person’s near-sightedness, and/or astigmatism, doctors can treat corneal imperfections (higher order abberations), which can cause many visual symptoms including bad night vision or glare and haloing. During a pre-operative exam, the doctors can determine if you may benefit from Custom Lasik.

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7. How soon can I return to my normal activities after            LASIK?

LASIK is an outpatient procedure that requires only an anesthetic eye drop to successfully perform the procedure. The visual results of LASIK are usually very rapid and within hours of the surgery, most patients have functional vision. By the next day, most individuals are seeing well enough to drive and go back to work; however, individual results depend on a number of factors including age, amount of correction, and individual healing characteristics. It is not uncommon for vision to fluctuate for several weeks to several months as the eyes heal. If you have a specific question regarding your personal situation, please call us toll free @ 866-942-4001.

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8. What is a LASIK enhancement?

An enhancement is an additional LASIK procedure used for fine tuning after the initial procedure. Because of individualistic healing factors, it is sometimes necessary for additional treatment. This can be done no sooner than three months following the initial procedure and sometimes may take up to six months even if the correction is a little off at the one day post-operative visit. An enhancement is usually done on individuals with 20/40 vision or worse and must have at least 3/4 of a diopter of refractive error. Regression can occur at anytime and an enhancement can be performed as long as enough corneal tissue remains–even five or ten years down the road.

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9. What is the difference between farsightedness and presbyopia?

Farsighted means that you are able to see at a distance better than upclose due to your corneas being too flat relative to the shape of your eyes. Presbyopia, which has the same effect as farsightedness (can't see objects up close), is due to the aging of the lens, which reduces your ability to focus upclose. Presbyopia usually occurs around the age of 40 and continually progresses as you age, putting almost everyone in reading glasses by the age of 50.

Farsightedness of all different levels is effectively treated with laser vision correction. Presbyopia has no 100% treatment at this time; however, laser vision correction can be performed to accomplish monovision which is the most popular way we have of currently treating presbyopia.

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10. Can I have LASIK if I have cataracts or have had cataract surgery?

Yes, people who have cataracts or cataract surgery, may be candidates for LASIK surgery. Cataracts are due to the clouding of the lens of the eye, which is located behind the pupil. LASIK is performed on the cornea which is in front of the pupil. Because we are discussing two different parts of the eye, one surgery will not affect the other, however; no one can be deemed a LASIK candidate until they go through an extensive pre-operative exam by one of our approved doctors.



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