If you are having a laser eye surgery consultation, there are some key questions to ask. The questions are important, and will help you to determine whether or not to proceed with the surgery at the clinic. All elective surgery decisions have gravitas, eye surgery is no exception.
About Your Surgeon
You should meet the surgeon prior to surgery. This will give you the opportunity to ask the following;
- What is your success rate for this procedure for my eye prescription?
- Are you a member of the Royal College of Surgeons/Ophthalmologists or equivalent?
- Are you on the General Medical Council’s Register?
- How long have you been performing the procedure?
- Do you have a Fellowship in speciality training in corneal surgery?
- Do you have a Fellowship sub-speciality training in refractive (laser eye) surgery? Or Royal College accreditation in laser surgery?
- Will you be involved in my aftercare?
Your surgeon should be able to answer yes to these questions and be there for you after your surgery to answer your questions, and to address any issues that may arise. It is important to remember that not all surgeons and all lasers can treat all prescriptions, so if you are studying stats pay attention to the prescriptions the surgeon is familiar at treating. If you are 40+ ensure you check near vision results. You want a surgeon that has a high success rate for your prescription.
About Your Procedure
After establishing your surgeon is the real deal, it is time to ask some questions about the procedure. Here are some suggestions;
- Will you conduct all preoperative tests?
- How long will the procedure take?
- How long has the procedure and particular technique been established? Is it a new technique?
- Realistically, what is my prescription likely to be after surgery?
- What are the chances of a complication?
- If a complication does arise what are the long term implications for me?
- How long will it take to recover from surgery?
- Do you use state of the art technology in the procedure?
- How will you address complications?
- When can I start driving again?
- When can I return to work?
Good clinics will give you full and honest answers to your questions. Beware of clinics who charge you based on your prescription in a stepladder pattern or dramatically double the price for higher prescriptions as the cost of the treatment does not depend on your prescription. The same amount of work is needed regardless of the prescription. By the end of your consultation, you should be left with a clear view of the chances of complications, how the complications will be addressed, and long term implications should something go wrong. You should also know factual details such as recovery times.
About Aftercare
The key aspect of aftercare is how much aftercare the clinic is prepared to give. As a guide ask them how much care they give after:
- One day of surgery
- 1-3 weeks after surgery
- 6 weeks after surgery
- 3 months after surgery
- 1 year after surgery
Also, ask how much access you will have to the surgeon. If you feel your questions have gone unanswered at the clinic where you have your consultation, or you are considering laser eye surgery, contact us today. We are sure you will be pleased with our answers to the above questions.
