What to expect during your LASIK consultation

Many patients ask me what is going to happen when they come in for a LASIK consultation and I wanted to take this blog to address those concerns in this blog.

Our LASIK consultation last about one hour. At Mann Eye Institute, we feel it is necessary to give our patients the best possible vision correction outcome. We perform multiple tests on our patients to ensure each person is a great candidate for LASIK.

The first test to be performed is mapping of the cornea. The cornea is the tissue at the front of the eye that is reshaped during LASIK. We must ensure that it has a normal shape and that it will not become too steep or too flat after surgery.

The next test is to determine the prescription of the eye. We also check the eye for any signs of diseases that could affect the outcome of LASIK such as dry eyes, cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Part of determining your prescription, is dilation as it is necessary to fully inspect every part of the eye. Dilating the eye also allows us to get a cycloplegic refraction. The cycloplegic refraction allows us to check the prescription of the eye once the lens is in its relaxed position. This is more important for patients who are getting in their forties. When patients reach their forties, glasses become needed for reading because the lens stays in that relaxed position more frequently. By checking the prescription in this way, we are able to predict how your vision needs will change through the years and account for that change when customizing your LASIK procedure.

Patients appreciate that we have one of the most thorough screening processes in town. Choosing a surgeon to trust with your eyes is a decision that is not to be taken lightly. We have the most advanced diagnostic equipment and lasers at Mann Eye Institute, and we strive to give every patient our complete attention and care. Call us today, 800-MY-VISION, to schedule your free consultation and experience Mann Eye Institute for yourself.

What does it take to be a candidate for LASIK?

You may be considering LASIK, but are curious as to weather or not you are a candidate. Most people are LASIK candidates, but even those who are not can often have their vision improved by another procedure.

The first criterion is that your vision must be correctable with glasses. Some people are not able to see well with glasses or contact lenses. When that is the case, there is a good chance that a different procedure may be more beneficial.

We will also want to make sure that your prescription hasn't changed much recently. If you wear glasses, be sure to bring them in so that we can measure them. If you wear contact lenses, write down the prescription or bring the contact lens package with you.

The thickness of your corneas will be measured as a part of your pre-op evaluation. Thickness is important because LASIK surgery reshapes and thins the corneas. We need to make sure that your corneas will have the thickness that they need to hold their shape after LASIK surgery.

Another important factor is the shape of the cornea. We will create a topographic map of your cornea to see if there are irregular peaks which are not treated well with LASIK.

Irregular areas of steepness may indicate that the cornea is not stable. In order for LASIK to have a lasting effect, the cornea needs to be thick, strong and stable.

Contact lenses will warp the cornea temporarily and distort the corneal topography mapping. It is important to take your contacts out prior to your screening evaluation to avoid making extra trips to the office. Normal soft contact lenses should be taken out one full week prior to your examination. Toric lenses should be out for two full weeks, and hard contact lenses should be out for at least one full month prior to the examination.

We use strict screening criteria because we want every patient to have a wonderful lasting result following LASIK surgery. Approximately 90% of the patients that we see are great LASIK candidates. Those who are not suited for LASIK surgery can still have lasting vision improvements with another procedure such as an Active Life Lens procedure, Intacs or collagen crosslinking depending on each persons individual needs.

If you're ready to schedule your free consultation and find out if you're a candidate for LASIK at Mann Eye Institute, give us a call today, 1-800-MY-VISION. I look forward to seeing many of you in the Austin office soon.

Can I use my insurance to pay for LASIK?

I hope everyone is having a great summer. I have been busy starting my training plan for a triathlon in Austin at the beginning of September. When the sweat is pouring down my face in this heat, I am so glad I had Lasik surgery to get rid of my glasses and contacts. Lasik is definitely the best thing to do for yourself if you are into sports.

Mann Eye Institute recently ran a Groupon special in Houston. It became apparent after talking with our team, based on the hundreds of calls we received that there is some confusion out there on the financial aspects of LASIK surgery. I am going to attempt to clear up some of the confusion below, but remember you can call any of our Lasik specialists if you have any additional questions.

LASIK surgery is am incredible life-changing event, BUT most medical insurance companies don’t see it as a medically necessary procedure. There are few to no insurance companies that will pay for the complete LASIK procedure. To them, LASIK is an elective procedure. For an insurance company to pay for any surgery, they require the patient to have a disease or limiting condition, one example would be a cataract. Surgery can indeed fix the cataract diseased eye in almost every case. Unfortunately, being nearsighted or farsighted is not considered a disease, rather it is looked at more as an inconvenience.

That being said, there are vision insurance companies that offer discounts through their policies. Again, there are few to none that will cover the full cost of the procedure. Mann Eye Institute has agreements with several traditional and vision insurance companies so be sure to ask if you have any special pricing for your lasik with your individual insurance provider when you call for your complimentary screening appointment to learn if you could be a candidate for LASIK.

One silver lining is that there are financing options to help those who want to spread the payments over time. For example, you can request two years with ZERO PERCENT interest financing and pay around $150 a month if you meet the financing company's criteria.

Hopefully, some of your questions have been answered as it pertains to the non-medical side of LASIK. Please call 1-800-MY-VISION if you have any other questions.

Enjoy outdoor activities again

The weather is changing, and it is time to get out and enjoy the sun.  Along with the sun comes the active lifestyle we all enjoy.  At Mann Eye Institute, I get the pleasure of hearing my happy patients talk about all the activities they get to enjoy glasses-free after surgery.

For those out there who are on the fence about LASIK you should talk to someone who has already had surgery and ask them how happy they are (even if they were nervous about doing it beforehand!)

We all know we should be running, walking, biking, swimming, and more to stay healthy, look good, and live longer.  Think of how much easier is to do all these activities without glasses.

And even for those activities that require eyewear, my patients get excited when they no longer have to buy expensive prescription eyewear.  To be able to buy swim goggles, designer sunglasses, motorcycle goggles, and such without the restrictions of a prescription opens up a whole new world of designs and brands at a fraction of the cost.

We hope we can add you to the large contingent of happy patients at Mann Eye Institute. Call, email, or chat with us to set up a free appointment to see if you would benefit from Blade-free LASIK or if an Active Life Lens is right for you.

Brian Wright, MD
Mann Eye Institute
(713) 580-2500
www.MannEye.com

Don’t Let Itchy Eyes Hinder your Spring Activities

Spring is the season that many people start experiencing “Itchy Eyes,” usually caused by pollens and grasses that are most prevalent at this time of year. This problem can be exacerbated by contact lens use as the contacts often collect allergens and cause constant exposure to these irritating plant particles.

There are multiple ways to deal with the “Itchy Eye” problem, including artificial tears and switching from contact lenses to prescription glasses. Additionally, many of our patients report significant relief following their Blade-Free LASIK procedures at Mann Eye Institute. When a patient is able to eliminate the need for contacts, he or she is also eliminating the constant exposure to allergens caused by those contacts.

This a great time of year to be outside, and we want to help you enjoy your outdoor activities and the many beautiful aspects of nature with clear vision and without discomfort or itching. I invite you to visit us at Mann Eye Institute to learn more about Blade-Free LASIK and our other vision correction solutions.

Brian Wright, MD

Mann Eye Institute

(713) 580-2500

www.MannEye.com

Why should I choose Mann Eye for my surgery?

With my second blog I thought I would address a question I commonly receive when a patient comes in for a LASIK screening.  And if they don’t ask, I am sure they are thinking it. “Why should I choose Mann Eye for my surgery?”  I believe several points should be considered when choosing a surgeon, and I will address the first today as it pertains to Mann Eye.

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects when choosing your surgeon / practice to get rid of glasses and contacts is to check if they are proficient in all the different refractive options available to surgically change your vision for the better.  Your vision is as unique as your fingerprint, and the appropriate vision correction option can vary from patient to patient. But as the saying goes, “When all you have is a hammer, all the world looks like a nail.”  For patients, this means you should want a practice that offers all possible options.  For instance, if a practice only offers LASIK, that practice cannot and should not adequately serve a patient with certain vision conditions that make the patient a poor LASIK candidate.

At Mann Eye we are able to fix, improve, or stabilize a range of vision issues with the latest technology and surgeries.  For the majority of the public that is 60 or below, LASIK is a great option to improve your vision. The following four examples demonstrate various patient needs in which a different surgery may be better than LASIK for the best results.

For patients above 60 years old and /or those with cataract changes in their lens, LASIK is sometimes the correct course of treatment, but many times a lens exchange or cataract surgery is needed in order to get the best results.  Our surgeons at Mann Eye Institute specialize in both types of surgery, and we will be able to decide which option is best for you.

Additionally, LASIK may not be the best surgery for those with significant corneal scarring or recurrent erosions of their cornea.  Not only can the results from LASIK not be optimal, but complications are more likely to occur with these conditions.  Again, this is not an issue at Mann Eye because we are able to offer Advanced Surface Ablation (ASA), which can remove superficial scarring WHILE removing a prescription. In some cases, ASA can actually treat the erosions themselves, possibly ridding the patient of glasses AND their disease.  This is one reason why our screening process is so extensive so that any issues that are present are found and addressed properly either surgically or medically.

A third example would be a patient who is extremely nearsightedness.  Once a prescription gets around -10.00 diopters, it is possible that the cornea is not thick enough to allow for a LASIK laser treatment. Performing LASIK in these instances could put a patient at risk for complications due to the thinness of the cornea.  Therefore, an Implantable Collamer Lens (or ICL) may be the best option.  We are blessed at Mann Eye to have our own surgery centers where these lens implantations (along with other surgeries) can be done. You can always feel safe in knowing that we do extensive screening to look for these risk factors and that we will only recommend the procedure that, in our opinion, is safest and will provide optimal results. Make sure any practice you consider for your vision correction procedure can say the same thing.

One last example (though there are many more) would be someone with irregular astigmatism who wishes to have surgery as his or her vision is deteriorating.  At Mann Eye we are able to offer a solution with INTACS corneal implants.  INTACS are medical grade plastic implants that are placed in the cornea to give it a more natural spherical shape, which is sometimes lost from diseases like keratoconus.

As new procedures become available, our surgical team here at Mann Eye evaluates the new technologies to determine which will be beneficial to our patients. We strive to constantly offer a wide variety of safe, effective, proven procedures for the unique vision conditions of each of our patients.

This is just my first blog on why Mann Eye is the right choice for your eye care needs.  Stay tuned next month more information and updates.

--Dr. Wright