Friday, April 9, 2010

Speak To Your Doctor Before Having Surgery

Jan.09, 2010 inLaser Eye Surgery

With the increasing availablity – and the competition-driven lowering in price – of Laser Eye Surgery, it is understandable that people will be more and more persuaded by the idea of having the treatment. However, the truth of the matter is that LASIK and other forms of Laser Eye Surgery are not for everyone. While most – the vast majority of – clinics will be diligent in ensuring that you are a suitable candidate, another effect of competition is that some clinics will do whatever is necessary to get the customer and, while this will not generally extend to acting illegally, it can mean a lower quality of care for you.

Before going for any kind of elective surgery, it is important to consult your family doctor. This may seem like a pain. After all, if you have public healthcare, you may expect that the doctor will take a dim view of people going private for surgery that they may deem unnecessary. While it is true that some doctors will be cynical about a patient going for treatment that they do not consider to be essential, most will not. They will simply look to offer advice that will ensure that any elective treatment is carried out in such a way as to ensure a positive result for you.

When speaking to your doctor, underline that you are keen to have the treatment and that it is your choice, but that you want to make the right decision. In order to make that decision, you want to know if you have any underlying condition that might make the treatment more complicated. This may include an absence of necessary corneal tissue, or even something as simple as the consistency of your tears.

In addition to speaking to your doctor, you should ensure that the surgery where you go for treatment is fulfilling its side of the bargain with regard to preparatory testing. Ask about their pre-surgery testing procedure and compare it to those available elsewhere. There are several factors that can govern the success or otherwise of Laser Eye Surgery, and a diligent clinic will check for all of them before operating.

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How Much Does Eye Surgery Cost ?

Laser eye surgery cost varies depending upon the type of surgery you want and where you want it doing.

Most clinics offer standard LASIK treatment starting at £395, with wavefront guided treatment starting from £795, however this price can be misleading.

When clinics say the price starts at £395 it is almost likely that isn’t what you will end up paying, unless you have a very low prescription and require little correction.

Generally, the more correction your eye requires, the more expensive your treatment will be. Other clinics choose to list prices as a one off price that stays the same no matter what your correction needs.

It is important that you choose a clinic you feel comfortable with, which has not only a good price, but well trained and experienced ophthalmologists.



There are a number of different procedures that are essentially modified LASIK operations. These obviously vary in price and are more expensive than the standard procedure.

The wavefront guided procedure starts from £1,500 per eye depending on where you decide to have it done.

The most expensive type of LASIK procedure is the bladeless form called Intralase. The prices for this procedure start from around £1,695 per eye.

It is important that when you go for your initial consultation to find out the prices for the different procedures. They will vary depending on the clinic, laser used and the aftercare. As always you should check to see what is included in the aftercare.



Another modified LASIK surgery procedure called Epi-LASIK is available at some clinics, depending on their size and equipment level.

On average Epi-LASIK prices start from £800 per eye including aftercare.



PRK or photo refractive keratectomy costs around £700 to £1000 per eye and should as always include sufficient aftercare.



Other corrective procedures include Laser Thermal Keratoplasty (LTK), which costs £1,000 per eye and PTK, for around £900






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Laser Eye Surgery - Is It For Me ?

Your eyes must be healthy. If you have any condition that can affect how your eyes respond to surgery or heal afterwards, you must wait until that condition is resolved. Examples are chronic dry eyes, conjunctivitis and any injury. Your eye surgeon may want to prevent dry eyes after LASIK by giving you treatment such as prescription eye drops as a precaution. Some conditions, such as cataracts that interfere with your vision, keratoconus and uncontrolled glaucoma, may disqualify you completely.

You must be an adult. By law, certain procedures require you to be 18; others, 21. Younger patients can be treated as an exception.

You must have stable vision for at least a year. Many young adults experience changes in their eyeglass and contact lens prescriptions in the teenage years. Vision stabilizes most often sometime in their 20s. Usually, it is nearsightedness that gradually becomes worse, but there may be other changes as well. Younger people are not good candidates until their eyes have "settled down" into one prescription. Your doctor can tell you whether your prescription is stable.


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Quality Of Life Improved Through Laser Eye Surgery

First Quality of Life Survey Among Laser Eye Surgery Patients Demonstrates High Satisfaction, Improved Daily Routine and Overall Quality of Life
Fairfax, VA– The vast majority of Americans who had their vision corrected by laser surgery are highly satisfied with the results and said that the overall quality of their lives and daily routines has improved, according to the results of a Harris Interactive survey released by The Eye Surgery Education Council (ESEC), the public education arm of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS).
The survey is the first nationwide quality of life survey assessing life implications for laser eye surgery patients. The survey asked patients to evaluate the impact of their eye surgery on the quality of their family life, careers, and sports. These survey findings, along with the ESEC’s newly updated LASIK screening guidelines, can help interested patients make educated choices by weighing the benefits and risks of laser eye surgery.
Of the approximately 3 million Americans who underwent laser eye surgery since 1995, more than 85 percent said the surgery improved their overall quality of life and 93 percent of patients said they were satisfied with the results. Among the benefits of the procedure, respondents cited improvement in several specific aspects of vision, daily living and everyday activities, including:
· Ability to see upon waking (seeing an alarm clock) (89%)

· Freedom from glasses and contacts (83%)

· Improvement in personal safety (69%)

· Increased confidence in personal appearance (65%)

· Better participation in sports or fitness activities (54%)
Specific to the surgery, 87 percent felt that the results met or exceeded their expectations and 73 percent of patients regretted that they did not have the surgery sooner. In addition to the high satisfaction rate, nearly half (47 percent) of the respondents said they began “a whole new life” after laser eye surgery.
An important aspect of the survey also focused on consumer education. Understanding risks and benefits of laser eye surgery prior to undergoing treatment is critical for patient satisfaction and an important factor in determining if a patient is an appropriate candidate. The survey findings showed that 86 percent felt they were well informed about the risks of laser eye surgery before treatment and more than half (54 percent) of respondents reported that they considered laser eye surgery for a year or more before they actually had the procedure. Significantly, those patients who reported that their expectations were not met or that they were not satisfied were also among those people who were less informed about the surgery itself or risks and benefits of the surgery.
“This kind of research is very helpful to physicians as we counsel future patients and understand the quality of life benefits for LASIK patients,” said Dr. Roger Steinert, chair of the Eye Surgery Education Council Medical Advisory Board and associate professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. “The majority of the patients reported they were well informed about the procedure, which supports the importance of patient education and discussion of realistic expectations prior to having the surgery.”


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