LASEK - LOTS of Questions
For your Lasek procedure, what exactly is the epi-lasek procedure? Does the epithelial layer is discarded or put back in after the surgery?
epi-LASEK is using an advanced, blunt, plastic separator to separate the epithelium from the cornea, instead of cutting a flap as with a LASIK, so it’s 10x safer
What is the worst refractive surgery outcome experienced by your own patient and how was it handled?
the worst was a patient who didn’t follow our instructions, who went swimming 2 days after surgery, got an infection, and needed a corneal transplant
LASEK and epiLASEK are 10x safer than the older cutting LASIK that i got myself, so there is virtually no intra-operative risk, only the regular postop risk of infection and scarring that only YOU THE PATIENT can prevent by BEING COMPLIANT AND TAKING ALL YOUR MEDICATIONS PROPERLY
What possible complications arise from this procedure and what remedies you provide to solve these complications?
again, it is not a complication of “this procedure” it is only the complications that cannot be removed totally, ie infection or scarring risk postop
What percentage of your patients report unresolved complications six months? This includes objective and subjective complications such as halos, starburst, dry eye, etc?
you need to understand that halos, starburst, and dry eye are all from not getting the noncutting procedure, or not getting the hi-def option
with the noncutting and hi-def option, the incidence of these things 6 months postop is almost 0
with the older cutting LASIK procedure, the incidence is about 40% (i have some of all of them, because i got LASIK 10 years ago, before hi-def came out)
What percentage of your patients needed an enhancement surgery?
1% per diopter of Rx, so if your Rx is -3.00, you chance of needing an enhancement would be 3%
do NOT trust any practice that gives you a GLOBAL ENHANCEMENT RATE, as this is really not very accurate, and is not what you want to know, anyway (you don’t want to know the chance of enhancement for the average patient, you want to know your individual chance, which is based on your Rx)
What percentage of your patients get 20/40? 20/20?
What percentage of refractive surgery candidates do you decline?
it depends on if their corrected vision now is 20/20, and what their Rx is
i don’t know your age or rx, but for someone who is less than a -6.00, if they are correctable now to 20/20, they would have a 99% chance of 20/20, and a 51% of better than 20/20 if they chose our hi-def option
20/40 is pretty much 100%, i used to give your money back if you didn’t hit 20/40, but my lawyer advised me not to do this as it sounded too much like a guarantee, but i never gave anyone’s $ back:)
Thanks for your time in answering the questions.
you seem like you’re trying to qualify centers/surgeons, and doing a pretty good job doing so as a non-MD, but i can also tell from your ?s that there’s a lot you’re not understanding (or else you would be asking better qualifying ?s, like calculating the ratio of cases/lawsuits for each surgeon
i really can’t answer more ?s by email or will start to establish a physician-patient relationship remotely, which is not really advisable, so pls just call my office and make an appt for a free consultation to come in, get your eyes tested, and discuss your other ?s
you can also rsvp for our upcoming live laser seminar next week!
we can also buddy you up with 1 of the dozens of people we have lasered at UBS so you can chat w them about their own experience w us!:)
see you soon!
