LASEK Specialization and Experience

I am actually looking to do my eyes with Dr. R.C., who seems expensive but experienced. Did he train you? What are your thoughts about him performance and outcomes? What of this procedure you mention other/better than LASIK?

–Lourdes T.

Lourdes,

I have done thousands more laser vision correction cases than R.C. I perform LASEK and epi-LASEK, which are the more advanced, safer, noncutting procedures, whereas he only performs the older, cutting LASIK (which I stopped doing years ago) and does not do enough volume to own his own laser (I do about 1,000 cases a year, so I own my own laser). Therefore, he has to “rent out” someone else’s laser to do his cases on.

We also let low-volume surgeons like him use our laser, for which we charge $1000 - $1500 (more for CustomVue). So low-volume surgeons who are using someone else’s laser actually have to tack this cost onto their fees. So they sometimes wind up charging MORE than the laser owner who is doing 10x as many cases and is more experienced!

In other words, I am sure that I perform as many cases in a day as he does in a week, or in a week as he does in a month, or in a month as he does in a year!

He is really primarily a cataract and cornea doctor, who does a little bit of laser on the side. He never did a refractive surgery fellowship like I did, and hasn’t published dozens of articles about laser vision correction like I have. Basically, he is a good cataract and cornea surgeon, but I would not say he is one of the top laser vision correction surgeons in NYC - because the top surgeons ONLY DO THAT ONE SUBSPECIALTY.

If you ask him of his practice mix, it would probably be something like this:

• general ophthalmology 25%
• cornea 20%
• cataract 40%
• laser 15%

Mine would look like this:

• laser vision correction 100%

So, it’s up to you whom you go to for laser vision correction. But if I were you, I would go to someone who:

1. only does laser vision correction as that means he is a “super specialist” in that

2. go to a surgeon who is “high-volume” and owns his own laser (better for quality control)

3. did a fellowship in laser vision correction (I did and actually have my own fellow each year)

So, please visit my website to learn more about the better, safer, noncutting options you probably weren’t told about - then feel free to call my office with your questions or to come to our live laser seminar on June 20 or 27 at the end of the day. You can watch a live LASEK procedure and meet patients and have all your questions answered by me and my 3 MDs.

Hope this helps, and hope to see you here sometime soon.

Yours

Emil

P.S. Dr. R.C. actually interviewed me 10 yrs ago to work for him to “jump start his laser vision correction practice”.

–
Emil William Chynn, MD FACS MBA

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 2:37 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.