Making the decision to have LASIK Surgery to improve your eye sight is a big decision. Whether you currently wear contacts or glasses, LASIK Surgery should improve your vision, so you no longer have to depend 100% on corrective eye wear.
Finding a Qualified Ophthalmologist to Perform LASIK
Just as you would want to ask for referrals and check credentials on a repair person who you will hire to work on your home or your car, you would be well advised to check the reputation and verify the credentials and quality of work performed by the ophthalmologist you are considering for your LASIK surgery.
Ophthalmologists are eye surgeons who have completed an accredited residency training program approved by the American Board of Ophthalmology. This is done after completing medical school and usually a 1 or 2 year residency in internal medicine or general surgery. After completion of their ophthalmology residency training program they can be in practice or become Board Certified. Board Certification by the American Board of Ophthalmology requires passing a rigorous exam and is not an easy task. It may take some ophthalmologists many years to get this coveted accreditation. The next level of qualification is even more difficult and this is to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. This takes years of medical practice and additionally one needs to develop a reputation in the community of being a competent and expert surgeon. For LASIK surgery one should look for an eye surgeon who has had adequate training in LASIK surgery and extensive experience in actual practice.
To search for an ophthalmologist with refractive surgery experience (which is the type of surgery LASIK falls under), go to the web site www.aao.org and put in your zip code. Choose whether you would like to find a surgeon within 1, 5, 10 or 20 miles and choose subspecialty, refractive surgery. Look for a surgeon who is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons like Dr Kurwa is.
While there are numerous ophthalmologists who perform LASIK surgery in a given area, only a small fraction of them have the requisite experience in refractive surgery specialty to be considered a LASIK specialist.
When choosing an ophthalmologist to perform LASIK surgery, be sure and ask:
What are the risks?
What are the likely complications?
How successful is LASIK surgery?
What costs will I be responsible for?
Have you ever had a serious outbreak of eye infections in your center?
What kind of follow up care is provided with the cost of the surgery?
How many procedures have you performed?
Doctors who Advertise
Doctors who advertise might be a good choice. There’s nothing wrong with advertising per se. Certainly they are likely to have performed more procedures than other eye doctors who do not advertise. This does not mean they are necessarily the most qualified eye doctor in the area. Be sure and follow through your screening procedure to make sure they are the right doctor for you.
Get Referrals
It is usually easy to find a previous patient of a potential eye doctor among your circle of friends and colleagues if you have been in the area for several years. Be sure to get opinions from patients of the eye doctor, your regular eye doctor and other doctors, such as your family doctor.
Trust Yourself
Talk to the eye doctor, his nurse, front office staff and billing department before making a firm decision. Make sure all your questions have been answered thoroughly and you are comfortable before entrusting your eyes to his or her care.