Don't Let These Common Misconceptions Keep You from Enjoying Clear Vision
Fact: LASIK will probably save you money over the years. An insurance industry study conducted in 2007 found that lens wearers will spend up to $12,000 over a 10 year period by the time you account for exams, new prescriptions, new frames, new contacts, solutions and replacements. The costs keep mounting, and yet you are still burdened with the enormous inconvenience of it all.
With affordable payment plans, why not use the money you are already spending on lenses in LASIK and free up the savings for something more fun?
Fact: If you schedule your surgery on Friday afternoon, you’ll only be out of work for a half day. Enjoy your first weekend free of lenses and show off the new you Monday at work!
Fact: Dr. Ioannis Pallikaris of Greece performed the first LASIK procedure in 1990, so we’re now over 25 years into the LASIK era and over 35 million people have had the procedure. The long-term results are now well known and excellent.
Fact: Maybe in the early years of LASIK, night time vision disturbances such as glare and halos were a common side effect. However, today's Custom Wavefront technology all but eliminate these side effects. Yes, a few people still notice glare or halos, even with Custom Wavefront, but the instances are dramatically lower and the level of concern almost never rises beyond a casual observation.
Fact: LASIK can easily treated astigmatism and has since the late 90’s. It is not uncommon for astigmatism patients who have LASIK to see even better than they did with glasses or contacts, especially when Custom Wavefront technology is utilized.
Some eye centers, especially the big LASIK mills, use astigmatism as an excuse so they can charge you a much higher fee (the “$299” corporate chain centers are common culprits), while the reality is that treating astigmatism simply requires a few extra seconds to enter the amount into the laser’s computer. That’s why our prices are the same with or without astigmatism. We’re confident you will get a great result either way!
Fact: If your eyes are otherwise healthy, there is no upper age limit for LASIK, and we perform LASIK (or more commonly PRK) on patients well into their 70’s and 80’s.
Fact: LASIK is safer than contact lenses. In 2006, researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University published an article in the American Medical Association's peer-reviewed journal, Archives of Ophthalmology, that estimated the number of LASIK patients who lose more than 2 lines of vision on the eye chart at 1 in 10,000. However, they also found that the lifetime risk of vision loss from contact lens wear is 5x higher at 1 in 2000, due to the frequent occurrence of contact lens related infections, so there is indeed a very sound argument that LASIK is safer than long-term contact lens wear.
Fact: All of the major advances, including eye trackers, Custom Wavefront laser treatments and thinner, safer flap makers, have already been realized and no significant improvements are currently planned. There has truly never been a better time to have LASIK.
Fact: LASIK surgeons undergo laser vision correction at three times the rate of the general population.
Fact: This may be the biggest myth of all. There are a tremendous number of tests to interpret, measurements to fine-tune and laser treatment design decisions to make in order to achieve stellar results - and the laser machine doesn’t do any of it. Your surgeon does.
Ultimately, all medical care is dependent upon the individuals who deliver it, so even if you don’t choose Eye Center of La Jolla, make it you find a reputable surgeon that you trust and feel comfortable in their care.
