Colorado LASIK
LASIK eye surgery is very popular in Colorado and there are a variety of LASIK practices that offer the procedure. With the most modern LASIK equipment, residents of the Colorado should expect high quality LASIK treatment. Despite the recent advancements in LASIK eye surgery, LASIK must still be approached with caution. Although complications are rare in LASIK eye surgery, they can occur and it is important that you select the best LASIK surgeon so that the equipment and skill of the LASIK surgeon give you the highest chance of a successful procedure. In Colorado there are several excellent LASIK doctors that can offer you the eye care that you desire.
What to look for in a LASIK surgery center in Colorado
Technology – LASIK technology advances rapidly. Upgrades come nearly every year. Make certain that your LASIK surgeon has the newest upgrades available in the San Francisco market. Here are some upgrades that are available.
Excimer Laser – There are a variety of excimer laser available today. There is no one brand that is the best but the quality of the surgery can depend on the type of laser used. First and foremost be certain that the excimer laser used is FDA approved. Some doctor might use non-FDA approved laser. Also make sure that they have all the latest upgrades available. Some excimer lasers are not capable of wavefront surgery. These lasers are considered outdated by many of the best LASIK surgeons and should be avoided. There is not a good reason for not having the newest upgrades, especially eye tracking and custom wavefront LASIK.
Wavefront LASIK (also called custom LASIK) – Every LASIK surgeon should have upgraded to wavefront LASIK. There is no excuse not to. While wavefront LASIK cannot be applied to every single case, it is certainly beneficial in the majority of cases. The best surgeons use wavefront LASIK in at least 75% of their treatments if not more. If your doctor in San Francisco does not have wavefront LASIK, that doctor is certainly behind the times. If the surgeon does not offer you wavefront LASIK ask why? Ask for them to perform a wavefront analysis on you even if you do not undergo wavefront LASIK. At least you will know they have the machine. Some eye doctors will suggest that it is not beneficial because they don’t have that machine available to them.
Experience – All LASIK surgeons are not equal. There are LASIK surgeons in Colorado who have over 8 years of experience in laser vision correction and there are others who are newer to the field. Don’t allow a surgeon to practice on your eyes. Make certain that the LASIK surgeon has performed over 10,000 procedures and is very experienced with the technology that is being used. In Colorado, there are several LASIK surgeons who meet this qualification and there are even doctors who were among the first in the country.
Iris Registration – This improvement in LASIK is nearly as valuable as wavefront custom LASIK. While it is not usable in every case, it is important. A patient’s eye can rotate 3-5 degrees or more when lying down. Iris registration accounts for this torsion and recalculates the treatment to adjust for the rotation. This can be extremely important in cases of high astigmatism and is important to correct application of any wavefront LASIK treatment. There are Colorado LASIK centers that use Iris Registration.
Intralase (also called bladeless or bladefree LASIK) – One of the most complicated parts of LASIK is the making of a flap. Intralase can decrease this risk in many patients. It does not need to be used for every patients but a LASIK surgeon should have this available in case it will provide added safety for that patients. Ask your Colorado LASIK surgeon if Intralase is available if needed.
Patient Care – Colorado residents should expect a high quality of patient care. Make certain that the staff is competent and provides you with ample time to address all your questions. You should not have to stress that some of your questions were not answered. The best Colorado LASIK centers will make certain there patients are relaxed and ready for surgery.
Results – It is difficult to confirm the success of a particular surgeon. In the Colorado area there are several successful surgeons. Ask about your particular doctor’s rate of enhancement and chance of achieving 20/20 vision. No doctor is 100% successful. If a doctor tells you that they don’t ever perform enhancements are that they have 100% of patients seeing 20/20 then they are lying.
Colorado can provide you with excellent LASIK surgeons. I would advise visiting more than one so that you can compare the facilities and find one you are comfortable with.
Advertising – Some Colorado doctors advertise low prices in order to bring in more customers. Remember that you get what you pay for. The best surgeons in Colorado will not be competing on price. They have a high volume of return patients and don’t need extremely high levels of advertising or very low prices to compete. Excessive advertising is a sign that a LASIK practice is getting a low return on patient referrals. This is a bad sign.
In Colorado LASIK can provide you the freedom of vision that you want. Search carefully so that you can have the best chances of good LASIK surgery results.