f86sabre

Ok, this may be a bit of a stretch for a (mostly) car based forum, but has anyone here in the Atlanta area had LASIK vision correction? If so where, about how much did you spend (I know it is based on the procedure done, I just want an idea) and would you recommend them to someone else? I figure getting the car’s guidance and collision avoidance system worked on has to be at least as important as a clutch job.

Thanks and best wishes,
f86sabre

smanders

iTrader: (4)

Actually, I had my LASIK at Emory University in ATL. They were great. I had mine done 4.5 years ago. My perscription was a -7.00 in both eyes...now I'm still 20/15 in both eyes. The reason I went to Emory was that they were the first place approved in the US to perform LASIK. Its all about experience and you can't get more than the first place allowed. Plus my local doctor in Raleigh was certified from them to do all the follow up visits. The cost $4800, but that was 4.5 years ago. I also used a tax deferred program from my company to pay for it. I also took advantange of some of the loopholes in the program that benefit the employee. In the end, it costed me about $800.

smanders

f86sabre

Thanks for the info. I was planning on giving Emory a call tomorrow. I didn't know they were the first with FDA approval. They have an office in the north part of town now. I'm also looking at the Blue Laser Group in Athens.

Best wishes,
f86sabre

discopimps

iTrader: (1)

I got mine done at Emory Vision ( i think they've changed names now) This was back in jan 2001. I love it. I paid $1800 an eye, which was a discounted price from their normal $2400 an eye back then. I'm sure they are cheaper than that now. my Dr was George Warring(sp?)

hunterkiller

My dad got his done at an invision.

f86sabre

So I posted on here a while back asking for recommendations on LASIK providers in the Atlanta area. I checked out four places and ended up getting the procedure done yesterday morning (12-2). This post details my experience.

The consultation procedure at each place I visited was basically the same. You go in, fill out some paper work and get your eyes examined. The examination process is pretty thorough. Most started with taking measurements with a couple of machines that map the shape, thickness and any imperfections in you cornea. These basically give the doctor an idea if your lenses will support material removal that is required for LASIK. They also have machines that can figure your basic prescription. After that you are moved to a normal eye exam room where you get to have your prescription taken by traditional methods (“Ok, what’s better? One or two?). Typically after that you then get you eyes dilated and numbed and then you get your prescription checked again. The numbing is so you can’t cheat while reading the charts and the dilation is so they can measure the maximum size of your pupil and make sure that their lasers will provide adequate coverage. You want the laser to adjust the focus of your eye at the maximum your iris can be opened. If this doesn’t happen then you can get haloing when out at night. Think of it as wearing a small contact lens and you being able to see the edges. Kind of annoying.

Here is a rundown of the places I visited and my thoughts on them.

LASIK Plus (www.lasikplus.com)
I visited LASIK Plus, the folks who have all the ads on the radio, about 3 weeks ago. The office was large and clean and there were a bunch of people there. They had the operating room in the middle of everything and it had floor to ceiling glass walls. People in the waiting area were able to watch the procedure as it was being done on others. They also had TV monitors that were attached to cameras mounted to the laser system. You were able to have an up-close and personal view of the whole thing. You were able to see them use the microkerotome to make the flap and your were able to watch the eye while it was being zapped. If you have a faint stomach then this may not be the best thing to watch. It’s not gruesome or anything, but some people may not enjoy the show.

I went through the normal procedure I described above. They were running behind and I ended up being there for about four hours. I was amazed and a little troubled by the number of people I saw them run through. There were a bunch. I was able to talk to the actual doctor who would do the procedure for about 2 minutes and he was off to talk to the next patient. When all the checks were done I then went and talked to the business manager. He discussed prices and finance options. He was even willing to schedule me for the procedure THAT day. I told him no as I wanted to shop around. Really, I was not overly comfortable with the pace that they were working. I wanted someone who was not rushed and would take the time to do the best job on my eyes. I was suppressed to find out that LASIK Plus has one doctor who does all the procedures in Atlanta. The commercials say they have office all over town, but the fact is it is the same people who move from office to office depending on the day of the week. I’m not saying that they would not do a good job, but I didn’t feel the most comfortable with them.

They had several deals going on. They offered me a wave front procedure with free enhancements for life for both eyes at $2718.30. The prices very from month to month, so you have to check with them to get pricing. There was a $25 consultation fee and there would have been a $100 fee for scheduling the procedure. Both are applied to the cost of the procedure.

Blue Laser Group (http://www.bluelasergroup.com)
The next week I visited the Blue Laser Group in Athens. It was a bit of a haul from my house (about 1hr and 20 minutes) but they were able to get me in for a consolation on short notice. My first trip to Athens had me finding the office located in a nice old house close to the UGA campus. The difference in atmosphere between them and LASIK Plus was startling. They were very laid back and no one seemed rushed. I waited for about 15 minutes before they brought me for my examination. All the equipment looked very up to date based on the research I had done. The technician who did the initial mapping showed me the maps and spent some time explaining them. She was the only one who pointed out that I had a couple of imperfections in my lens that may result in some haloing later, but I would probably not notice since they had been there forever. Everything went smooth and everyone was very positive. They explained the procedure in detail, were able to fully answer my questions and made me feel comfortable. Dr. Blue spent about 20 minutes looking at my eyes and answering questions. He was very personable, knowledgeable and seemed to have a great interest in what he was doing.

The Blue Laser Group was also a little different from the others in that they used an Intralase procedure. Most procedures use a microkerotome blade to make the flap on your eye that allows the correction laser to work. Basically, the doctor places an apparatus on your eye that has a pivoting blade on it and manually makes the cut. This is a tried and true method. Intralase is a new procedure that uses a laser to make the flap. Supposedly it allows for more consistency on flap size and depth. Also, Intralase also purportedly has quicker healing time than traditional cuts.

After I spoke to the doctor I went and talked to the Cathy, the laser coordinator, about price and dates. They do the procedure on Wednesdays in Franklin, TN and on Thursday in Gainesville GA. Why they don’t have the lasers in Athens I don’t really know. The price was $4900 for both eyes, but I got a 25% discount due to my vision provider at work. Enhancements are $250 per eye after one year. They are free for the first year.

Emory Laser Vision (http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/departments/laser_vision)
Emory is one of the innovators in LASIK technology. They have been doing it from the beginning. They had four doctors who do the procedures and they are all (I think) professors or assistant professors at the university. My visit with them went smoothly. They were very professional and knowledgeable. The doctor I spoke with was able to answer all my questions very well. They were maybe a little cold in their approach, but they were a close number 2 on my list.

The price was $4800 for both eyes, or $3528 with my 25% discount. There was a $100 consultation deposit what would have been applied to the procedure if I had had it done with them. I forgot to ask them about enhancements. They do the procedures on Wednesdays.

TLC Laser Eye Centers (http://www.tlcvision.com)
My last consultation was at TLC Laser Eye Centers. They were pretty good, too. I went through all the normal steps and they were good about answering my questions. The ophthalmologist was very friendly and seemed to know what he was talking about. I was probably not in the best shape for this visit. I was getting off of midnight shift (I work rotating shifts) so I was tired. It was also the third time in a nine day period that I had gotten my eyes dilated. I was getting a bit tired of that. TLC was able to answer all my questions and they seemed competent. They also have centers all over the country, like LASIK Plus, so they would be nearby if I moved from Atlanta and needed enhancements. They must have done Tiger Woods’ eyes as they had advertisements all over the place with his picture on it.

Their cost was $4887 for both eyes, or $3910 with the 25% discount, and that included lifetime enhancements.

My Choice
I ended up going with Dr. Blue and the Blue Laser Group. I think it came down to my comfort level with the staff, the enthusiasm and knowledge of the doctor and the technology they use. They were not the cheapest by any stretch, but they were not that much more than Emory and cheaper than TLC. Anyway, these are my eyes and I was willing to spend a little more to ensure things get done right.

The Procedure
I called the office Monday morning (once again after midnight shift) and asked if they had any openings this week. I was told that they had one opening on Thursday morning at their brand new Gainesville laser location. They signed me up and told me that I needed to start using anti-biotic and steroid eye drops that day and they had them at the office. So after work I had to drive from Hartsfield airport to Athens, grab the drops and then drive home to Lithonia. Yipiee!

Thursday came and my friend Chris and I drove up to Gainesville to have the procedure done. You have to have someone there to drive you home and Chris was nice enough to lend a hand. When they said the office was new they were not joking. Thursday was to be the first day they had used it. They were still setting up the piped in music system and they didn’t have garbage cans in the bathrooms. Don’t get me wrong. The place was really nice. They had restored a big old house and set up shop there. You could still smell the fresh cut wood and drying paint. I was to be the fourth person done using the brand new equipment. That beats being the first!

Anyway, I got to the office, they signed me in and I talked to the money lady. They were having a little trouble with the billing computers, but they got it sorted out. After a bit of a wait, maybe an hour, they called my name and it was time to go.

I was a little nervous at that point, but I was doing ok. Think of it as the same level of nerves that you have when you are waiting in line for a cool roller coaster that you’ve never been on. I went into an examination room and the first thing they gave me was a valium. I probably would have been fine without it, but I took it anyway. They doubled checked my prescription and compared it to the numbers they had got during my consultation. For obvious reasons these need to be very close as you can’t have your eyes changing and expect LASIK to do any good. They then moved me to the next room where a lady put in the first round of numbing drops and sterilized my eye lids. She then explained all the stuff in the pouch they had given me when I got my drops. There was a spiffy set of goggles for me to wear home and to sleep in for the first five days. There were the anti-biotics and the steroid drops and well as a bunch of moistening drops. She then explained how often I was to take each drop in the coming days. I was then shuffled off to another waiting room to await my turn with the laser.

I was called into a nice clean room with spiffy hardwood floors. I sat down on the laser table to the strains of “You Sexy Thing” from the “Full Monty” Soundtrack. Since they had been messing with the music system it was the third time that I had heard it that day. The lasers looked pretty cool and had some nifty safety stickers on them. They had me lay on the bed and get into position with my head under the machines and a pillow under my knees. They doctor and staff were in full surgical getup. I did notice that there were a few other people in the room and it turns out they were reps for the companies who build the lasers. They were there to make sure everything was working correctly.

Now for the details. They placed my head in a form fitting pillow that was a bit too small. The doctor explained what was to be done and continued to tell me what he was doing each step of the way. He was always clam and encouraging. They added another round of numbing drops. He then taped my eyelids open and installed the thing that keeps your eye from moving on my left eye. Have you seen “A Clockwork Orange”? That is about what they used to position my eye.

Now it was time to make the flap. They placed my eye under the Intralase cutting laser and lowered the laser down to what felt like the point where it was resting on the eye positioner. I could see down the tube and it looked like something out of the Incredible Hulk. The base of the laser tube was tapered down from about 4” in diameter to a 2” diameter base. Looking up the tube I could see it was gray metal (maybe titanium judging by the color) and it seemed to have a few rows of green lights running its length. I thought it looked pretty cool. The technician who ran the lasers computers gave a countdown and then they made the cut. I felt nothing. It did get pretty bright, but there was no pain or smell. They then repeated the process on the other eye.

They then rotated me over to the laser that actually makes the correction. The doctor covered the eye that was not being worked, opened the flap on the eye that was to be done and aimed the machine. I was able to see some while the flap was in place, but it went to a big blur when he moved it. I was able to tell that they were using three very bright lights to help aim the laser. This was a bit annoying since they were so bright and I was unable to do anything about it. I was hoping I would not sneeze as I have a tendency to do that when I get really bright light shined in my eyes. The view when the laser was in place was pretty freaky. A red circle covered most of my field of view. It kind of looked like one of those circles eye doctors use to check if you are color blind. It was kind of splotchy looking. There was a smaller green circle that seemed to move within the red circle. I imagine this was the laser doing its thing. Each eye took a few short bursts until the doctor was happy. This laser made a bit of a snapping noise, kind of like a spark and there was a bit of burnt plastic odor. I still didn’t feel anything. After the laser was done the doctor replaced the flap, smoothed the edges and repeated the procedure on the other eye. After about 15 minutes on the table I was told to sit up. The doctor told me that everything went perfectly and told the tech reps for the lasers that they seemed to be running very well. They asked me if I felt comfortable moving around and moved me to the examining room next door. They then looked at my eyes again and one of the techs did some additional smoothing on one of the flaps. They then taped on my goggles and sent me down stairs.

The Results
I am typing this about 24 hours after the procedure. Due to my work schedule I have the day off. I obviously can see well enough to comfortably sit at the computer and type this. Immediately on the way home I could notice some improvement in my vision, but things were still pretty foggy. I didn’t have any undue pain, but I could tell that my eyes had been through a bit. They felt about has bad as eyes do after wearing contacts for about 18 hours in tough conditions. I was functional and spent the rest of the day laying on the couch watching / listening to a bunch of “Dinner for Five” episodes I had recorded on Thanksgiving. I may have napped for an hour when the “Blade” commentary I was listening to put me to sleep.

The reason I was listening to the “Blade” commentary was that I had gotten passes to a sneak preview of “Blade Trinity” from Chud.com (Thanks Nick! Good movie). I felt well enough to go sit in a theater and watch a movie the same day that my eyes had been cut open. I had little discomfort and was surprised that I could tell that my vision was getting better even as I watched the movie. I did put my sunglasses on for the drive home, with my wife driving of course, because the shine from head lights was a bit annoying.

I got up today and my eyes still feel a little rough. My right eye has a little more discomfort than the left. It is also bloody looking from the edge of the iris to my nose. Not pretty. Right now I can see as sharply as I could with my glasses, but there is still a little bit of fog and haloing around lights. I’m pretty surprised that it is this good this fast. I think my left eye is not quite as sharp as my right eye, but they had to do more work on the left one so that makes some sense.

I’m not at the “…this is the greatest thing I’ve ever done…” stage, but we will see how things go in the coming weeks. I figured I would post my experience to help out any of you who are thinking of having it done. If you have any questions feel free to PM me and I will do my best to answer any question.

Best wishes,
f86sabre