Lasik Tag Team by Corey Senn What role does the optometrist play in your laser vision correction? print article      send to a friend

Susan's case is not unusual and begs the question, how do you go about finding the right ophthalmologist to tackle your refractive surgery?  One place you may want to start  is with  your optometrist. Optometrists and ophthalmologists often co-manage refractive surgery patients, sharing in the required steps and services. And although co-management sounds like jargon from an HMO pamphlet--the real winner in all this is the patient.

Follow-up From a Familiar Face

Laser vision correction has changed optometrists' practices across the nation. "Nearly every patient who comes in for an eye exam now asks about LASIK," says Dr. Michael Goldsmid, OD, a San Diego based optometrist. Quality primary eye care providers have taken painstaking steps to meet the new challenges posed by the LASIK boom. Dr. Goldsmid and his staff regularly attend LASIK seminars and meetings, stay current with the latest literature, and continually interact with refractive surgeons. If you already have anoptometrist and you're considering refractive surgery, make sure they are up-to-date on the latest techniques in vision correction. If not, consider taking your business elsewhere.

Your primary eye care provider should be thought of as, well, a primary eye care provider--someone who can handle your eye care needs before, during, and after your eye surgery. As Dr. Tyrie Lee Jenkins, MD, a refractive surgeon from the Laser Eye Institute of Hawaii explains, "many optometrists here actually accompany the patients to the surgery center. After the surgery, they sit down and go over the post-operative instructions." And while not every optometrist shares in this hands-on island spirit, you should make sure yours is up to speed on refractive procedures if you plan to continue to see him or her in the year following your surgery.

Once your laser vision correction is completed, the patient pays a one-time, global fee that usually covers your follow-up visits after 24 hours, one week, one month, three months, six months, and every year thereafter. This includes checking for corneal integrity and haze, making sure the corneal flap is well positioned, and verifying that your prescription remains stable. Most importantly, patients are provided a comfortable setting where questions and concerns can be answered by a familiar face

Choosing the Right Team

The first step in finding the right team is to select a quality primary eye care provider. According to Dr. Goldsmid, you should "select an optometrist who is actively engaged in refractive surgery management-- one who deals with the pre and post surgery, as well as one who keeps up with the latest techniques and works with the best surgeons and facilities."  These are the optometrists who are going to have the best inside information on the most qualified and talented ophthalmologists in your area.

In order to insure your satisfaction in the procedure, you should also take the time to do your own research on the opthalmologist who will perform your LASIK procedure.  First off, make sure they are accessible. Although many refractive surgeons are very busy, the quality ones will still return your calls. Remember, it's important to feel comfortable with the physician who is using a laser to reshape your eyes. "We try and provide a venue where I can sit and talk to the patient," notes Dr. Jenkins. "It gets the patient comfortable with me and lets me know that they are a good LASIK candidate."  Also, make it a point to find out what the ophthalmologist's track record is with patients whose vision is similar to yours. Your ophthalmologist should be able to tell you how many cases like yours they've treated, as well as what kind of results they've seen.

If all this sounds like a lot of work, don't sweat it because it really isn't. With the help of your primary eye care provider and a little research, you'll be following in the footsteps of Susan Bianco, who claims her LASIK procedure was "the best thing I've ever done."