What to look for in a LASIK surgery center in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is known for its glitz and glamour. Appearance is important to not just the workers at the hotels and casinos however and LASIK is quite popular among residents of the Las Vegas suburbs as well. LASIK has become the most popular elective procedure in a city that values appearance and fashion. If you are living in Las Vegas, here is some valuable information in selecting a Las Vegas LASIK center.
Advertising - Don’t get too caught up in the advertising hype. Some Las Vegas doctors advertise low prices in order to bring in more customers. Remember that you get what you pay for. The best surgeons in Las Vegas shouldn’t need to compete on price. They consider there services to be valuable and have many patients that desire their skills. A Las Vegas 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. Reduced LASIK prices might be a sign for reduced service or lower quality.
Results - It is difficult to confirm the success of a particular surgeon. In the Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas 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.
Las Vegas can provide you with excellent LASIK surgeons. I would advise visiting more than one so that you can compare the facilities.
Experience - All LASIK surgeons are not equal. There are LASIK surgeons in Las Vegas who have over 8 years of experience in laser vision correction and LASIK and there are others who are new to the field of eye surgery. Don’t allow the new Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas, there are several LASIK surgeons who meet this qualification. There are also many who don’t. With so many LASIK surgeons in Las Vegas, some have exceptional results. Some are average. And some are below average.
In Nevada LASIK is among the most popular elective procedures performed and Las Vegas has hundreds and perhaps thousands of LASIK patients each month. In Las Vegas LASIK is available from a wide variety of facilities with varying levels of experience, skills, and LASIK results. The Cost of LASIK in Las Vegas can vary greatly as well. Here is some advice to follow in Las Vegas when selecting a LASIK Center.
Technology -First of all be certain that the Las Vegas, Nevada LASIK surgeon uses an FDA approved laser. While the best lasers are not FDA approved yet more than likely if a Las Vegas LASIK 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 Las Vegas market. Here are some upgrades that are available.
Wavefront LASIK (also called custom LASIK) - Every LASIK surgeon in Las Vegas 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. Wavefront LASIK is generally the best choice unless the Las Vegas LASIK surgeon can explain why you are not a candidate for Wavefront LASIK surgery. The best surgeons in Nevada use wavefront LASIK in at least 75% of their treatments if not more. If your doctor in Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas 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 Las Vegas LASIK surgeon if Intralase is available if needed.
Doctor Accolades - LASIK surgeons in Las Vegas, Nevada will claim a number of awards to demonstrate their success and quality. Many of these awards are purchased from magazines or newspapers or some organization and are therefore worth very little as any doctor willing to pay a fee can receive similar awards. Beware of awards from media organizations or organization that are supposedly rating the quality of doctors. There are no real organizations that rate the skill of a LASIK surgeon so don’t trust a doctor based on supposed awards they have received. That is not to say that a LASIK surgeon who receives a “best surgeon” aware isn’t skilled. It just means the award is relatively worthless since it was simply purchased from the media located in Las Vegas.
Even the medical school that the LASIK surgeon attended is of limited worth in determining the skill of a surgeon. It is more important to learn where the doctor received LASIK and corneal specialty training. It is also important to visit more than one LASIK surgeon. With so many LASIK surgeons in Las Vegas, this shouldn’t be much of a problem.
Cost - This should actually have little importance on your selection of LASIK surgeons in Las Vegas. Use this as the last measurement after all other considerations. Don’t go into selecting a LASIK surgeon looking for the Las Vegas surgeon with the lowest cost of LASIK. Low costs can indicate low quality. Some of the best LASIK surgeons are affordable. Some of the worst charge more than those with better results. Do not pick a Las Vegas LASIK surgeon because they are the most expensive or cheapest. Don’t allow money to enter into your selection. Pick the best or postpone LASIK until you can afford it.