What To Look For When Considering Refractive Surgery

There are many factors to consider when searching for a doctor to perform your refractive surgery. The choice may be one of the most important decisions of your lifetime. We are fortunate to have one of the world's best refractive surgeons right here in Rochester—Dr. Scott MacRae.

• A fellowship-trained corneal specialist with years of experience performing refractive surgery. Look for a surgeon who is involved in developing tomorrow's technologies, who lectures internationally, teaches other surgeons and who is called upon to see other surgeon's complex cases.
• Doctors who will give you honest opinions and recommend the safest treatment options for you and your individual needs. Along with asking how many surgeries your doctor has performed, ask how many potential patients are turned away.
• A practice dedicated to both the advancement of refractive surgery and your personal well being. Your doctors should not hesitate to say "no" if refractive surgery is not safe for you.
• A practice that is a clinical trials center, one on which industry leaders call upon to perform research and development. Only the best surgeons with the most outstanding results are chosen to carry out studies that are to be presented to the Food and Drug Administration.
• Doctors who will be available when you need them, where you need them, in your home town, regardless of the day of the week, or time of day.
• A highly trained and experienced team that is actively involved in developing new technologies, and will work with your surgeon to help provide your care from start to finish.
• A complete evaluation of your ocular health from the front of the eye to the back, looking for any pre-existing conditions such as dry eye, glaucoma or cataracts that could possibly make treatment inadvisable.
• A complete and thorough eye exam and general health history, including a discussion of your personal visual needs and desires.
• A complete analysis of your cornea, including corneal mapping and Orbscan II corneal analysis to look for any abnormalities.
• Exact measurements of the thickness of your cornea using an instrument known as an ultrasonic pachymeter to determine if you have enough corneal tissue to be safely treated.
• The latest generation excimer laser technology, such as the Technolas 217z100 HZ Laser, that uses eye tracking technology to adjust for subtle eye movements during treatment. More accurate alignment of the treatment results in better vision. The laser should be calibrated prior to every patient treatment.
• Femtosecond laser technology such as the Ziemer Femto LDV for "All-Laser LASIK".
• Be wary of sliding scale professional fees for your surgery. It takes the same amount of time to properly care for a patient with a light prescription as it does for one with a complex prescription. Know exactly what is included in your surgical fee and if there are any hidden fees or "add-on" charges.

You only have one pair of eyes and your vision is a precious sense. Carefully consider your options when it comes to refractive surgery: the surgeon, the philosophy of the practice, and the quality of the support staff. All of these are very important decisions for what is truly the visual event of a lifetime.