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Tough Questions For Your LASIK Surgeon
If you are one of the thousands of people considering laser correction surgery like LASIK, you'd better prepare yourself for some tough questions. Finding a good and experienced surgeon is difficult, but not when you are armed with knowledge, information and power.
The questions provided below will give you the power you need to find a good doctor. You'll learn how to evaluate a physician's credentials and recognize a competent refractive surgeon from an incompetent one.
Here are some of the more common questions you should ask when interviewing a refractive surgeon. To help you make the best choice possible, you should plan to interview at least two surgeons. This will give you a better feel for one doctor vs. another. You can also compare your answers to see which doctor offers the best answers. If you find you like both equally well, go with the doctor offering the greatest convenience to you.
Questions For Your Doctor
Here is a list of questions to ask your doctor. Bring this list with you during your consultation so you don't forget any questions, and so you can take notes. You can easily print it out, or pick a few that suit you best.
- How many years have you performed refractive surgery? (look for a doctor that has done the surgery for 3 or more years)
- What is the total number of surgeries you performed on patients? (should be 500 or more).
- What is the total number of refractive surgeries you performed during the last 6 months? (not less than 100).
- How many refractive surgery patients receive a UCVA score of 20/40 or better (should be 89-90% or more).
- What percent of patients receive a score of 20/20 or better after surgery? (Most studies suggest the rate is 50%, so look for an answer around there. If your doctor claims a higher percentage, ask why).
- How many patients coming in for refractive surgery do you refuse to operate on? (Any answer is good except for none, because some patients simply are not suited for refractive surgery).
- Have you had any malpractice claims filed against you? (If yes, find out how often. It's ok to have one claim for roughly every 500 surgeries. Typically surgery comes with a 99% success rate, so that 1% sometimes leads to trouble).
- Will you evaluate me for higher order aberrations using wavefront diagnostic technology before surgery? (The answer should be yes, to help ensure you get the best results possible and are a good candidate for surgery, one that will realize minimal complications).
- Tell me what the worst outcome was you had with a refractive surgery patient. How did you handle it? (The answer will help you recognize whether your doctor can handle stress and reveal how honest your doctor is. Every doctor has some bad experience. Hopefully, the doctor will be willing to talk to you honestly and tell you what steps were taken to alleviate the problem. Remember, surgery is not without risk).
- Have you ever been denied malpractice insurance? (If the answer is yes, run away).
- Are you able to participate as a provider in most health plans? Have you been denied acceptance by any? (Hopefully your provider has not been denied coverage from any insurance agency. If they have been, ask why).
- Has your license been suspended for any reason? (The answer should be no).
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