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LASIK surgery- LASIK Plus in Kenwood vs. Cincinnati Eye Institute?
I am highly contemplating getting LASIK surgery next year. I have had friends who went to LASIK plus in Kenwood with good results but have also heard not-so-good stories too. I am also contemplating getting it done at the CEI with Dr. Varley.
Has anyone had good/poor services from either facilities? I like how LASIK plus has lifetime vision correction, and I do not believe CEI offers this. Also, are there other less invasive/more advanced versions of LASIK now?
Eta- CEI is about $4500 and I think LASIK plus is around $3000-$3500. Not sure why one is much higher than the other.
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Re: LASIK surgery- LASIK Plus in Kenwood vs. Cincinnati Eye Institute?
I just had LASIK at LasikPlus by Kenwood two months ago. I had consultations at LasikPlus, CEI (although not with Dr. Varley), and Lasik Vision Institute. After going to all three and asking lots of questions (and even calling them to ask more questions based on things that came up at the other consultations), LasikPlus was the clear choice for me. They do over 50% of all Lasik procedures in the Cincinnati area. It's truly their specialty. I just got the impression they absolutely knew what they were doing and had much more experience. I'm sure in the end all of them would have been a fine choice, but I felt so much more comfortable choosing LasikPlus. They also happened to be the cheapest, although that honestly didn't play into my decision at all. I mean, we're talking about our vision here!
I will say that the recovery wasn't as non-existent as people seem to say. Every doctor I saw made it very clear that there were risks involved and there would be a recovery period of three to six months. That's absolutely true. My prescription was very high and my eyes tend to be dry due to allergies, so I was higher risk than most. I have a friend who really did seem to have a super easy recovery. Although I wouldn't say my recovery was bad in the least, I didn't feel comfortable driving for a couple days and had to use the moisturizing eye drops pretty often for the first month. Now two months later I'm still using them a few times a day, especially in the late evening as my eyes are getting tired. I tried to limit my night driving for the first month. I could do it, but I didn't feel confident enough to do it all the time. It's pretty normal for your night vision to be distorted for a little while. Mine is fine now.
My vision is better than it has probably ever been in my entire life. I started wearing glasses when I was 11, but I probably should have had them before then. By high school my prescription was really high. You know your prescription is high when someone at every Lasik consultation makes a comment about it being high. I just "graduated" from my follow-up appointments with LasikPlus last week, and my vision is now 20/15--better than 20/20!
I'm sure you'd be fine with CEI or LasikPlus, but CEI kind of turned me off when they said I was a "borderline" candidate and there was an 8-10% chance I'd need a second procedure. (Again, I saw a different doctor there.) I called LasikPlus back after my consultation with CEI. They said I was a great candidate and there was only a 3% chance I'd need a second procedure. (Overall they say 1-2% need a second procedure, but my prescription was so high that my chances were 3%.) Maybe LasikPlus just wanted my money so they told me what I wanted to hear, but it all worked out and I'm still extremely glad I went with them.
Some Lasik providers will give you a discount based on your vision insurance plan even if your insurance doesn't cover any of the procedure. They all seem to run sales all the time, too.
Good luck with your decision! I hope it works out as well for you as it has for me!
I forgot to answer your question about the technology. They all seem to have the same technology and call it different things so they can brag they're the only place in town with that specific brand of technology. I'd run from any doctor who still uses a blade instead of a laser to create the flaps. As long as they're using a laser to create the flaps and using a "customized laser" for your specific prescription, you should be fine.
Oh, and mentally prepare yourself for the smell during the procedure itself. It was by far the worst part of the actual procedure.
Gimbal- Thank you so much for your honest feedback. I have only talked to CEI but plan on calling Lasik Plus as well. I completely agree with you- I am not concerned with the cost as I am the recovery process, success rate, rate for 2nd/corrective procedure, etc. Thanks so much!
Gimbal- I did have a question for you... Did you do initial consultations for all 3 locations and thus that's when you were told whaty kind of candidate you were?
Yep, I had free consultations at all three. They all showed me a video, gave me an eye exam, dilated my eyes, took some measurements to make sure my corneas(?) were thick enough to make the flaps, and gave me pricing information.
Super- thanks! I have made initial consultations at both CEI and LasikPlus... here's hoping I am a good candidate!
btw- do you know why the price at CEI is more expensive than Lasik? (That's one of my questions for them when I go but I thought I'd ask.)
If you don't mind, would you be able to let me know how much it cost at either places? Just trying to ballpark. If you feel more comfortable doing so via PM, that's fine too.