Some days it feels like a miracle, I can see perfectly and I’m not wearing contacts or glasses. Lasik eye surgery is wonderful, and everything turned out wonderfully in the end with LasikPlus. I have my fair share of complaints though. The short review – the good doctors and machines at LasikPlus make up for its many problems, but the problems are a headache you should be ready for.
LasikPlus Hides its True Prices
It all starts with a phone call to schedule LasikPlus’s free consultation (it looks like you can now schedule a consultation on LasikPlus.com too). I am a comparison shopper, so I made a point of comparing prices before even bothering to schedule a consultation. LasikPlus quoted me a very reasonable price, which wasn’t technically lying, but it was awfully close. They told me the procedure would cost something under $2,000, but I could tell they were holding back information from me and weren’t giving clear answers. They said that everybody’s eyes are different and that can affect the price, which is true, but they didn’t tell me that the prices fit nicely into 6 boxes on a little sheet of paper, which they could easily have shared with me. In reality, you’re going to pay closer to $3,000 or more for your LasikPlus laser eye surgery.
My consultation went well and LasikPlus approved me for laser eye surgery. The only problem was that I have big pupils, so I had to get Custom Lasik. That bumped the price closer to $3,500. I opted to go with the traditional eye cutter, as opposed to the bladeless IntraLase. LasikPlus’s IntraLase adds $300 per eye to the cost so you can have a laser cut your eye flap instead of a blade, but IntraLase didn’t look any better to me. Either way your eye is getting cut and it’s not pretty. It sounded like a $600 “I’m being a baby” tax, so I passed.
Scheduling is Difficult with LasikPlus
Scheduling my surgery with LasikPlus was a huge pain. I tried to plan ahead, but they didn’t plan their schedule until very late. They couldn’t tell me when they would begin scheduling, so I had to keep calling to make sure I got the date I wanted.
One plus though, LasikPlus has offices all over the country, so you can get your consultation, your surgery, or any follow ups no matter where you are.
LasikPlus Doctors Made Surgery Day Great
I was nervous for surgery day, but the LasikPlus employees seemed as if they did tons of surgeries each day and it was no big deal. While the LasikPlus administrative staff was horrible, the doctors were phenomenal. Make sure you take down your doctor’s number so you can contact him or her if you have any questions. The main numbers won’t be helpful, but the LasikPlus doctors will be. The doctor answered all of my questions and allayed all of my concerns. He were also very calming, which was helpful.
LasikPlus offers valium or some similar drug for people who are overly anxious, but most people shouldn’t need that. They just gave me a Night Time Tylenol so I could fall asleep after the surgery. The doctor gave me two blue stress balls to hold onto and I slipped under the machine. They put a numbing eye drop into my eye and then clamped some ridiculous contraption onto my eye. Turns out it held my eyelids in place so you can’t blink and included the blade that cuts my eye. It was weird to see this thing literally in my eye (they place it under your lids), but I couldn’t really feel it. Then I felt an odd pressure on my eye, a lot of pressure actually, and then everything goes black. The machine is cutting the flap on top of your eye so the laser can go in and reshape it. Not much later (although it felt like a few seconds because I was afraid my vision wouldn’t come back), a blurry red light appears. All you have to do is stare at it – don’t look away – as it reshapes your eye. It only takes a few seconds, which is nice, but you can sort of smell the burn. From there, the doctor flips your eye flap back on, smoothes it, and then magically you can see perfectly. It’s an amazing feeling! Repeat with the second eye and that’s it. You’re only in the surgery room for 5 to 10 minutes.
This is rare, but the machine actually popped a blood vessel when they were doing my second eye, which spewed a lot of blood. I thought the second eye took a bit longer, but that’s all I noticed. My poor girlfriend watched the surgery on the TV screens that LasikPlus has for friends, family members, and gawkers and was mortified. The surgery looks much worse on the screen though, so I would advise that you don’t even look at it until after your surgery. For brave souls, click on the image which shows the bruise from my popped blood vessel.
Overall Review
Despite the mishap, my LasikPlus laser eye surgery turned out well in the end. I had my surgery on Monday and took the week off from work, but there’s really nothing stopping you from going back to work on Thursday. The first 48 hours are a little tough, your eyes burn and you should keep them closed most of the time, but after that you’re pretty much good to go.
LasikPlus gives you unlimited review checkups for one year after your surgery, which is nice. They also offer free enhancements for life, but you have to get yearly checkups with your own eye doctor to be eligible for free enhancements.
