Dr. Levinson's Lasik Blog

When gathering information on Laser Vision Eye Surgery, you will find out that the average cost of surgery varies depending on the various providers and the wide range of pre-operative testing conducted and the post-op care that is included.

There is a wide variety of equipments used, with varying costs, for testing and surgery. Varying technologies and equipments are required for measuring corneal thickness, corneal topography, eye tracking, etc. and all this is reflected in the cost towards the surgery.

• The cost of Laser Eye Surgery includes a variety of costs, including:
  Lease and maintenance of all devices used in the procedure, such as Microkeratome and corneal ring segments, etc.
  
• A royalty fee of around $100 to $150 to the manufacturer of the excimer laser. This covers the cost of developing the equipment.
  
• In case of the Custom LASIK procedure, a royalty of about $150 to $250 is to be paid to the laser manufacturer.
  
• Costs covering Microkeratome blades, medications, and other surgical items, such as gowns, gloves and masks, etc. to keep the operation sterile.
  
• Overhead, such as salaries of the surgical and office staff, the surgery center, rent, office equipment, office administration, etc.

Average Cost of LASIK Surgery - How it is Charged

As mentioned earlier, the cost of LASIK surgery depends upon various factors, and is generally quoted, per eye basis. The price quoted is always indicative and will finally depend on the type of procedure and the type of correction chosen. Although many may quote a figure of $600 per eye, approximately, the average cost is rarely less than $1,200 per eye.

Newer surgical procedures and the advent of newer technologies are the main causes of the rising average cost of LASIK surgery. LASIK with IntraLase is more expensive than LASIK with Microkeratome. The LASIK flap is created by a laser in the IntraLase procedure, whereas in the Microkeratome procedure, the surgeon uses a microkeratome blade to carry out the procedure. This raises the average cost of LASIK surgery by about $400 per eye.

Taking into account all the overheads, and the costs, rents, etc. of the equipment, and the procedure itself, the average cost of LASIK surgery is around $1700 to $2400 per eye.