10 Questions to Ask Your Eye Surgeon

Whenever you see a low price advertised for LASIK you should read the fine print. Most discounters use a system called bait and switch. They get you to come and by promising a low price but then they tack on additional charges. Before you're finished, you end up paying thousands of dollars more than you expected to pay for a surgery that may be average at best.

Our charge for LASIK is all-inclusive. It includes all preoperative and postoperative care for one year. In addition, if you are one of those rare people who requires a touchup or enhancement within one year of surgery, that treatment is included as well. For more information on our charges and what they include please contact our office.

We use only the state-of-the-art VISX S-4 laser system. We also use a software driven Amadeus microkeratome. By using the state-of-the-art systems we can completely customize your LASIK surgery and meet your needs. Click the highlighted link for more information on the VISX laser system.

Some discounters have older, less reliable lasers. These lasers are cheaper to operate and so the laser centers charge less for procedures which utilize them. The treatments from these lasers, however, are less accurate and often result in disabling night vision.

We have been performing laser vision correction at the Center for Eye care since 1996. Dr. Thurber performed the second laser vision correction procedure in the state of Mississippi. He also performed the very first customvue LASIK procedure in the state. For more information on customvue laser procedures please click the highlighted link.

I was born with excellent vision and have no need for laser vision correction. I performed LASIK on my wife in 1999. I also performed LASIK on one of my sons in 2006. Over the years I have treated in-laws, nieces, and hundreds of close friends. Needless to say I believe in the technology enough to use it to treat the people I love.

The average LASIK procedure takes between 60 and 90 seconds per eye. Typically the patient spends eight to 10 minutes in the laser suite but only two to three minutes of that time is actual surgery.

Our laser surgery Center performs 10 to 20 laser vision correction procedures per week. At this point that is how many procedures we feel we can do precisely and safely without rushing our procedures and sacrificing quality.

Our center produces excellent results. Most of our patients (92%) attain 20/20 vision or better without enhancement and claim they see better than they ever have in their entire lives. Each patient's treatment is completely customized and is based on multiple measurements of the patient's eyes as well as on their visual needs.

Patients with extreme myopia or hyperopia may require an enhancement to fine tune their best vision. Our doctors are committed to working with you until your vision needs are met or exceeded.

Every step in your laser vision correction has it's own safety check list. The laser and keratome both have a backup power supply that functions automatically in the event of a power outage. All of our surgeries are done under sterile conditions in those assisting with the surgery have been trained in sterile technique and in the operating room. The only chart in the laser surgery suite during your surgery will be your chart. Every step we take is double checked or triple checked to ensure maximum safety and precision for your procedure.

As a result of our extensive precautions the center for eye care has never had an infection following laser vision correction surgery. In 10 years of practice we have never accidentally performed the wrong correction on any patient.

Laser vision correction patients are followed up on day one, day eight, day 21, day 90, day 180, and at one year. Each of these follow-up appointments is with the doctor who performed your surgery and there is no charge for these post-op appointments.

In our experience roughly one patient in seven is not a candidate for laser vision correction. Some simply don't fall into the range for LASIK surgery. There are, however, other procedures that we can offer these patients. Other patients have unrealistic expectations for the surgery or have other eye diseases that make them poor candidates. Our doctors refuse to perform surgery on any patient unless we are certain that it is in the patient's best interest to have it done.