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Seven things Your Lasik Surgeon Won't Tell You
By William Goldstein Published: 01/29/2009
7 Things That Other LASIK Surgeons Won’t Tell You
By: William Goldstein
Thank you for reading my special report “The 7 Things That Other LASIK
Surgeons Won’t Tell You”. I think you will find these items interesting, and some of
them may even startle you!
You get what you pay for!
The price for LASIK seems to vary from $399 per eye to over $2000 per eye. Many
patients ask me why I charge $1800 per eye for surgery. Simply put, you get what
you pay for. “Cost cutting” LASIK centers have man methods for reducing costs,
most of which involve the use of inferior or older technology to perform the surgery,
and/or the use of non-physicians to perform the preop and postop care. Check out
the ‘Pricing’ page on my website, www.2020vision.com, and you can see everything
that I include in my global fee. There is a ‘head-to-head’ comparison chart on that
page, too.
Not all surgeons have great results!
Results can be measured several ways, but I think that accuracy is a good measure
of a surgeon’s ability and the statistics back this up. I recently reviewed my
results, and found that the percentage of patients who obtain 20/20 (or better!)
vision in my hands was far superior to the results in the FDA studies.
Why is there a difference? My staff and I have spent many years perfecting the care
of our LASIK patients. The extra time that we take with each patient helps us to
understand their goals for surgery. And (to borrow an old carpenter’s saying)
taking the time to ‘measure twice and cut once’ has always been my standard.
Watch out for the portable or ‘roll on’ laser!
Some surgeons are using a laser that is literally taken off of a truck and placed in
the surgery center once a week or once a month. Studies have shown that this
makes for less accurate surgery. I use a laser that is not mobile. It stays in place in
a room that has air filters and strict humidity controls. Every surgery is performed
under standardized conditions to increase our accuracy, and reduce the need for
reoperations.
All lasers are not created equal!
Even when a surgeon advertises that they are using a modern laser, they may not
have all of the available features installed. The newest generation of lasers, which I
use on all of my patients, combines CustomVue technology, pupil tracking and iris
registration for increased accuracy. This means that a fingerprint of the iris is used
and that the treatment is carried out in the most precise manner. Since the laser
that I use has all of the latest updates in hardware and software, you can be
assured of the best outcomes, with the smallest chance of any problems.
Patients over 40 years of age can reduce their need for reading glasses!
Many patients don’t realize that there is a way for LASIK surgery to improve reading
vision, even in patients who normally don’t wear glasses for distance correction!
This so-called ‘monovision’ approach can be used for most patients.
Only one surgery is needed to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses!
Surgeons often recommend that patients who want to improve both distance and
near vision first have surgery for distance correction. Then they charge extra for
another surgery to reduce the need for reading glasses! I recommend monovision
surgery, so that patients only need one surgery to accomplish their goals.
Not all surgeons have your best interests in mind!
My practice philosophy is simple; treat each patient as if they were a family
member. In this way, I always put my patients’ needs first, and will only perform
surgeries that best fit those individuals.
When I need surgery, I expect my surgeon to take care of me personally. I would
never go to a cost-cutting/cookie cutter surgeon for ANY of my medical care, and
certainly not where my eyes are involved.
I hope you found these “Seven Things” useful in your search for a LASIK surgeon.
And I hope you can understand why the vast majority of my patients are referred
by their family, friends, or their internist or family doctor! My straight-forward
approach to patient care is also the reason that I am known as “The Doctor that
Doctors Trust” in my community.
As always, if you have any questions, you can contact me directly via email at
wgoldstein@2020vision.com. You can email my LASIK coordinator, Michelle right
now at michelle@2020vision.com, or call my office at 586-323-2020 to arrange an
individual educational session with me. Let’s sit down and discuss the surgical
approach that best fits YOUR needs!
Thanks!
Dr. G
William GoldsteinWilliam Goldstein
