If you’re considering having LASIK, you need to make sure you choose the right surgeon to perform the procedure. LASIK has only become more popular in the last few years.
Because of that, there are a lot of choices available when it comes to surgeons and practices that offer LASIK. There are also a lot of ads online, companies advertising on local radio stations and on billboards. Where do you even start?
The first step is to do your research. But you need to know what to look for. Keep reading to learn a few of the essential qualities you should be looking for in a LASIK surgeon!
Experience
When you have any kind of surgical procedure, elective or otherwise, you want a surgeon with experience. In the case of LASIK, that means you need a LASIK surgeon who has performed the procedure thousands of times.
You don’t want to choose someone who has only done it a handful of times. It’s not too hard to find a LASIK surgeon who is well established and has done thousands of procedures on satisfied patients. But it’s also important that your surgeon has high-quality experience.
Most people make good candidates for LASIK, but not everyone will qualify for the vision correction procedure. Between 10-15% of patients who have a LASIK consultation will not qualify for having LASIK.
For people that are not LASIK candidates, it may be due to corneal thickness, the strength of their prescription, or other factors. You want to make sure that your surgeon is screening out any patients that should not be getting LASIK.
It’s as important to know how many people they’ve done surgery on as it is to know how many people they turn away. If the rate of screening out candidates is less than 10%, that’s a red flag.
If a LASIK surgeon performs LASIK on everyone that has a consultation, they may not be as discerning. You want a LASIK surgeon that cares about their patients and will make sure that only qualified candidates can undergo the procedure.
You can also ask your potential surgeon what their complication rate is. LASIK is a very low-risk procedure, so its complication rate should be under 1%.
If their rate is higher than that (or they won’t tell you what it is), that’s also a red flag. If anything about a potential LASIK surgeon seems off, listen to your instincts and keep looking.
Board Certification
To perform eye surgery, you need a medical license. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who are qualified to treat eye diseases and perform surgery.
But you should make sure your surgeon has more than a medical degree. LASIK surgery is a specialty, so any surgeon performing it must also be certified by the American Board of Specialities.
You should also make sure they’re a member of the American College of Surgeons. This is an organization that holds its members to certain ethical standards.
If they’re a member, they will have FACS listed after their name, which stands for Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Making sure your surgeon is board certified and a FACS is the best way to ensure your surgeon has the proper training. It also shows that they follow national standards and regulations.
Highly Rated with Patients and Other Eye Specialists
When looking for a LASIK surgeon online, you’ll mostly be looking at patient reviews. You want a surgeon who has good reviews.
You should take online reviews with a grain of salt. They can help you get a better understanding of how a practice works and if previous patients had a good experience. Online reviews should only be a piece of the puzzle when you’re choosing a LASIK surgeon.
You may also want to consider getting a referral from your regular eye doctor. Approval from other eye specialists is a good sign when it comes to getting LASIK.
Your eye doctor will likely be familiar with most practices and surgeons in your area and can tell you who they recommend and who to avoid. At the very least, talking to your eye doctor can be a good starting place when considering LASIK and searching for a surgeon.
Open, Honest, and Attentive
Even if your surgeon is experienced, certified, and well-reviewed, they need to make you feel comfortable. At every part of your journey to having LASIK, you should feel well-informed.
You want to make sure your surgeon is able to answer any of your questions or concerns thoroughly and honestly. If you find it hard to ask them questions because they give confusing answers or are dismissive, it may be best to go with another surgeon.
At the end of the day, you’re entrusting them with your vision. You need to be confident in both their technical abilities and their ability to relate to your emotional needs.
After you get LASIK, you’ll need to see your surgeon for a series of follow-up appointments. But while rare, complications can happen.
You want to be able to trust that your surgeon has your best interests in mind and that can be difficult to do if you don’t have a good rapport. Chances are, any discomfort or concerns you have after LASIK will be easily explained and treated by an attentive surgeon. You need to feel comfortable enough asking for what you need without fear of being dismissed.
Take the time to do your research to make sure whatever surgeon you find will be a good fit for you. You may end up talking to more than one surgeon before you find that fit.
It’ll be worth it when you have a successful LASIK procedure. Visual freedom is well worth the time and effort of finding the best person for the job.
Ready to find out if LASIK could be right for you? Schedule your LASIK consultation at Herschel LASIK and Cataract Institute in Orlando, FL, today! If you’re tired of glasses and contacts holding you back from living your best life, do something about it!
