Alright, how does the pre-surgery process work? I wear RGP contacts, will they make me go without those for 2 or 3 weeks before the eye exam or the surgery itself? Are the consultation eye exams free or do they charge separately for those? Does the cost of LASIK generally include follow-up visits and corrections (if needed)? Is the wavefront LASIK or "bladeless" LASIK or "custom" LASIK a lot more expensive than the generic kind? Please give examples of how much you paid, what it covered, and what type of LASIK it was.
I worked for a lasik surgeon for 10 months and then had the procedure done after I quit. We always recommended two weeks out of RGPs before the comprehensive exam. That way the cornea has time to adjust back to its natural shaping. The consultation part of the exam is free. Most places will bring you in, take a quick look, get a general idea of your correction, and then quote you a price. The complex exam/getting looked at by a doctor will run $150 in your average surgeons office. Intralasik (blade-free) has come down in cost quite a bit. That, and its much safer/much more predictable. I paid $3493 total, was near-sighted and had astigmatism in both eyes. Now I see 20/20. I had intralasik at Kleiman-Evangelista in Arlington.
Oh and to the question about follow-up, at least one year of after care will be covered in the price of the procedure. Some will give you two, and even lifetime if you come to them yearly for an eye exam. Be prepared to pay extra for prescription eye drops that are necessary before/after surgery.
I paid $4000 in October 2007 for custom wavefront Intralase LASIK. That included the initial consultation, all follow-up visits (a year of care), and corrections if needed for up to a year. The drops were like $45 full-price. I now see 20/15 in both eyes, no weird night vision starbursts or anything, don't even have to use drops (lots of people have dry eyes for a long time afterward). I highly recommend the Intralase (custom) LASIK, as well as the doctor I used. For the sake of full disclosure, he is a Sooner (I found this out only after my surgery, I might have had reservations had I known before). The Link
Has anyone had it done at the Mann Eye Institute? How did it go? From what I've read, they're one of the top places in Houston.
I had mine done about 7 years ago by Tom Walters at Texan Eye Clinic. I had quit wearing contacts several years before due to dry eyes, but had no trouble with that after the surgery. I did have to have it done 3 times on one eye, but that wasn't a big deal. The hardest part of the whole thing was not being able to wear mascara for 10 days after surgery.
