Dr. Levinson's Lasik Blog

A Free Laser Vision Consultation requires about 60 to 90 minutes and includes the following:

~ Detailed history of wearing glasses: The ideal candidate is at least 18 years of age with stable glasses or contact lens prescription for at least 1 year.

~ Detailed history of contact lens wear: Contact lenses may change the shape of the cornea and affect its prescription. However, you do not need to discontinue wearing your contact lenses for the initial consultation. If you wear your contacts to the consultation, please bring your current glasses (if you have some).

~ Detailed history of ocular or systemic diseases and medications: Some eye diseases and medications can affect the suitability of a candidate for Laser Vision Correction.

~ Detailed history of previous ocular problems such as lazy eye, strabismus (eye misalignment caused by muscle imbalance), or the need for special glasses to prevent double vision.

~ Detailed history of any previous eye injury.

~ Assessing lifestyle needs: The candidate’s work or recreational activities and needs can influence vision correction strategies. For example, different strategies can affect depth perception and the ability to see near or far.

~ Determination of uncorrected vision and vision as corrected by glasses or contacts.

~ Determination of the prescription of visual error with a refraction in each eye to establish the amount of surgical correction that is needed and develop the appropriate surgical treatment.

~ Assessment of the surface of the cornea by mapping its topography (corneal curvature orshape).

~ Measurement of pupil size in dim and room light. Pupil size is an important factor in counseling a candidate about night vision and planning the appropriate laser vision correction treatment.

~ Wavefront analysis to determine if you are a candidate for Customized Wavefront treatment.

~ Measurement of corneal thickness (pachymetry). The amount of LASIK correction may be determined in part by corneal thickness.

~ Glaucoma testing by measuring the intraocular pressure of the eyes to determine if you are predisposed to glaucoma.

Patients who are found to be good candidates for surgery can then choose if we are a fit for their Laser Vision Correction needs.

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.

In a study conducted in 2006, researchers at Oregon Health and Science University's Casey Eye Institute, suggested it may be safer, in the long run, to have LASIK surgery than to wear contact lenses. Now, a new survey may explain why the conclusions of that study may, indeed, be correct.

Poor contact lens care habits
Synovate, Inc., a global market research company, recently asked 508 contact lens wearers a number of questions about how they care for their contact lenses, and the results were startling. All respondents were over age 18 and wore their lenses on a daily wear basis (removing them prior to sleep every day). The survey of contact lens wearers revealed:

* 40% do not wash their hands prior to handling their lenses.
* 20% do not use fresh solution when cleaning their lenses.
* 40% have put their lenses in their mouth to clean them.
* 70% wear their contact lenses when swimming.

These behaviors cause more bacteria and other harmful microorganisms to be transferred to the eyes, increasing the risk for serious eye infections. Couple these statistics with the fact that an estimated 38 million Americans wear contact lenses, and you have a huge number of people who are putting themselves at risk for sight-threatening eye infections.

In fact, according to the Casey Eye Institute study, over a 30-year period, the risk of a contact lens wearer experiencing significant vision loss due to a contact lens-related eye infection is 5 times greater than the risk a LASIK patient has of experiencing a similar vision loss due to a surgical complication.

I have been performing iLASIK for the past 18 months. The iLASIK procedure combines all of the latest, all-laser LASIK technology in one efficient LASIK platform. It's safe and precise. In fact, thanks to studies using iLASIK technology, recently, all branches of the U.S. military and NASA approved LASIK for their service men and women. That's why 90% of my patients choose the iLASIK procedure!

The technology used in the iLASIK procedure have been in use for many years and is extremely safe. With approximately 17 million LASIK procedures performed to date, LASIK is the most common elective vision procedure in the United States. You can afford it! Financing options are available that can help make iLASIK a reality for you.

Richard Levinson, MD
LASIK surgeon