San Jose LASIK
San Jose is one of the most competitive areas of the world for LASIK surgeons. Silicon Valley has brought with it a high supply of patients seeking LASIK eye surgery. With the most modern LASIK equipment, residents of the San Jose can expect high quality LASIK treatment. San Jose is also known for its tech savvy residents so they should have high expectations of receiving the best equipment that is available in the world. There is still a difference in LASIK surgeons and LASIK centers so residents of San Jose should consider there choices carefully. 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.
What to look for in a LASIK surgery center in San Jose
Experience - All LASIK surgeons are not equal. There are LASIK surgeons in San Jose who have over 8 years of experience in laser vision correction and there are others who are new to the field. Don’t allow the San Jose 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 San Jose, there are several LASIK surgeons who meet this qualification. There are also many who don’t.
Technology - LASIK technology advances almost as rapidly as computer technology and software technology in the San Jose area, including Santa Clara and the Silicon Valley. First of all be certain that the surgeon uses an FDA approved laser. While the best lasers are not FDA approved yet more than likely if a San Jose surgeon owns an excimer laser that is not FDA approved, that LASIK clinic is behind the curve and not in front of it. Upgrades come almost every year and should be taken advantage of by a technology savvy LASIK surgeon. Make certain that your LASIK surgeon has the newest upgrades available in the San Jose market. Here are some upgrades that are available.
Wavefront LASIK (also called custom LASIK) - Every LASIK surgeon in San Jose should have upgraded to wavefront LASIK. There is really 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 in San Jose use wavefront LASIK in at least 75% of their treatments if not more. If your doctor in San Jose 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.
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 a few San Jose 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 San Jose LASIK surgeon if Intralase is available if needed.
Results - It is difficult to confirm the success of a particular surgeon. In the San Jose there are several very successful surgeons. There are also surgeons that inflate their success rate. No LASIK surgeon is 100% successful. If you go to a San Jose surgeon that tells you this they are clearly lying to you. While some doctors might achieve success in the 90% range. It is rare to achieve much higher than this.
Also ask about enhancements. Enhancements should be included in the price of the surgery. A LASIK surgeon should have an enhancement rate below 5%. Every surgeon performs enhancements. If your LASIK surgeon states that enhancements are never needed that surgeon is lying. It is simply not possible to never need enhancements.
San Jose can provide you with excellent LASIK surgeons. I would advise visiting more than one so that you can compare the facilities.
Advertising - Don’t get too caught up in the advertising hype. Some San Jose doctors advertise low prices in order to bring in more customers. Remember that you get what you pay for. The best surgeons in San Jose do not need to compete on price. They consider there services to be valuable and have many patients that desire their skills. A San Jose LASIK center advertising $499 an eye is simply too cheap to be possible. The newest technology costs are far too high to be able to offer this to a patient at this price.