Often one of the biggest reasons lens wearers hesitate to
have their vision corrected is the cost. They aren’t sure how much it may cost
them, if they will need to pay for multiple surgeries, if they will be able to
really stop wearing lenses, and if continuing the on-going cost of lenses would
just be easier.
We’d like to take a moment to educate you on a few of these
points, but first, the most important decision you must make is to visit a
reputable surgeon. In order to get the care and results you are expecting, you
shouldn’t just trust your eyes to
ANY LASIK surgeon. There are thorough
surgeons and there are “other” surgeons. A thorough surgeon is an
ophthalmologist that is reputable in the community, trusted by multiple
patients and staff, will ensure you are an excellent candidate for LASIK (and
offers other procedures if you are not), has performed at least 5,000 surgeries
AND has a low enhancement rate (the rate at which a doctor needs to enhance the
original results in order to get the patient to their visual
expectations). An excellent enhancement
rate is less than 10%.
Multiple Surgeries
Often patients have the misconception that to have excellent
eyesight, they will need multiple LASIK surgeries. This is not true.
Some surgeons perform multiple surgeries on one patient
because they were not accurate the first time, they are new to performing eye
surgery, or they didn’t take accurate measurements prior to performing surgery.
As we said before, an expert surgeon will have a less than
10% enhancement rate. There are very few cases where they may need to enhance
the original results, but it is mostly due to patient error in after-care or an
agreed-upon course of treatment prior to surgery. These enhancements should be
covered in the original cost of surgery and should NOT be a whole new surgery
charge.
Stop Paying For and
Wearing Lenses
This is a concern for almost every patient. After all, why
would anyone in their right mind agree to eye surgery if they have to continue
wearing lenses?
If you are a good candidate for the procedure and you have
chosen a reputable surgeon, then you should be able to have many, many years of
lens-free vision. How many years depends on how old you are at the time of
surgery. Our eyes age along with us and there will be age-related issues, like
Presbyopia, that require glasses for reading. Presbyopia occurs in the lens of
your eye and not in the cornea (where vision issues like nearsightedness,
farsightedness, and astigmatism occur). LASIK or other vision correction
procedures correct the cornea and the younger you are when you have the
procedure, the longer you have to enjoy lens-free vision.
Lenses or LASIK –
Which is Easier?
Ultimately, this decision is going to be up to you. LASIK
and other vision correction procedures are a one-time cost. We offer payment
plans that will help you break down the cost of the surgery to an affordable
range, and we may even be able to offer you no-interest or 0% for up to 24
months. If you chose that option, after 24 months (or two years), you will be
free of the cost of lenses, contacts, or vision correction payments!
If you have a flexible spending account, it's even easier
than that! Give us a call and we'll explain the details.
Or you can continue to make payments for lenses, replacement
lenses, contacts, replacement contacts, cleaning solution, travel cases, travel
solutions, etc. for the next 10, 15, 20, 25+ years.
The choice is yours.
We are here to answer any questions you may have about
payment plans and how to fit LASIK into your budget. Please feel free to give
us a call at 843.856.5275 – there is
no need to set up an appointment. We’ll answer any questions you may have and
you can come in whenever you are ready.
