Interviewing your Lasik Physician

Interviewing your Lasik Physician

The most important thing when deciding to go with the Lasik vision correction method of surgery is choosing the right and apt doctor. It is also of great significance that they be caring and experienced in the Lasik field, with a track-record that speaks for itself in terms of how happy their patients were with the results and the overall treatment.

What we have done here, is try to point out the most important qualities you should look for in a doctor and the Lasik center. How comfortable you are during the entire Lasik process and what results you achieve, may all be influenced by how well this questionnaire is answered. One thing that should be mentioned is, you are likely to get varying responses to the same questions from different doctors.

The first question on the list is “How long have you been practicing Lasik surgery?” There are many different types of Lasik procedures. A good doctor should have at least three years experience with the one you are considering. This time span also gives you a chance to view the doctor’s success with postoperative care and hopefully a database of content patients.

“How many operations have you performed in the last couple of years?” would be the next question on your list. The answer should be that enough are being performed for the doctor to remain on top of the current Lasik techniques. It should also be noted that the patients coming in should not feel nervous about it. 500 surgeries in the past couple of years should be enough.

“How many patients come out of your operating room with 20/40 vision?”. We ask about 20/40 because you should know, not everyone who has the operation achieves 20/20 vision, that is not only acceptable, it is a fact. It is however, essential that at least 90 percent of all patients achieve 20/40 vision correction after one Lasik procedure. If he claims that way over 90 percent get that kind of vision improvement, it may mean he is good, but ask for proof anyway. Like any other field, you will find great experts but also those who profess they are. If you ask “How many achieve 20/20?” and the answer is over 50 percent, then that is a good sign. Anything much greater than that, again, requires proof.

Last but not least, ask your doctor “How many patients develop postoperative complications?”. Here, the percentage of patients suffering from any side effects after a six months period should be less than 3 percent. Again an underestimate here is like an overestimate about success rates and ask for proof. Also, less than 10 percent of the patients should have gone back for a follow-up procedure to further improve their vision.

Finish off the interview with a few questions about the type of Lasik procedures he practices and provides and in what cases he did not accept to perform a Lasik operation and why. The doctor should have a few examples of patients he had to turn down because in the end, there are certain health requirements that should be taken into consideration before performing the surgery on anyone.

Now that you have an idea about your doctor, ask about how much it will cost and if there is some kind of financial plan available at the Lasik center. A physician apt enough to answer all these questions is one that you can probably count on to respond to any medical problems that might arise and so keep him as a good available option.