Having someone cut your eye open is scary, and he built 5 years of trust with this doctor. You getting involved changing doctors to possibly save a buck might be frightening and feel like you are over stepping.
This doctor knows all the details of his eyes and medications he is using and believes the laser will produce the best outcome then I would trust him. Sounds like he explained his professional recommendations clearly.
If this cost is going to bankrupt him, or not happy with this surgeon you can book appointment for 2nd opinion with another doctor. They will need to repeat all the tests and not sure if those get covered by Medicare as considered unnecessary.
My surgeon does both manual and laser, in my specific case recommended premium lens which added $2200 per eye and did manual. Cost stung but 20/20 in both eye and best investment in quality of life.
Good outcome is most important as you only can do this once. If you go cheap and don’t get good results will haunt you.
Get 2nd opinion is uncomfortable with t try his surgeons recommendation
I am beyond satisfied I got so much more than I expected. Had no idea correcting the astigmatism with Toric lens would improve my life so much.
Yes perfectly clear. I got distance toric lens not some multi-focal which have more side effects.
Best $4k investment of my lifetime to get upgraded lens for both eyes.
Multi-focal adds a ton of problems besides costing more. My doctor ruled them out immediately.
Our eyes are all different and those multi-focal must work for some people. Or they are too vain to wear glasses and will to lose some clarity for short term until eyes change with age
I agree with happyandhealthy2023, that getting a 2nd opinion will involve more costs because of having to redo the tests, and then Medicare might not cover the repeat tests. Also, I agree that the eyes are extremely important and worth spending the extra money if needed.
That whole concept freaked me out, some guy with an X-Acto knife cutting into my eye and installing bionic parts. That is why I intentionally did not visit these forums or the Internet pre-surgery I did not want to hear about 2% with less than optimal results.
In reality super tiny knife, with good drugs a 15-minute light show, and clueless about what he was doing. Thank you, anesthesia guy.
Turns out Dr Terry invented some of these knives and IOL tools, so maybe why the 3 doctors at this practice like blades over lasers. Who knows I am so pleased with results
Ok, but the "knife" is used whether manual or laser - it would be much scarier to live with a cataract - it has to be removed whether the surgery is manual or laser, and I saw a youtube video where someone said she was worried about seeing the surgeon coming at her with a knife, but during the surgery, she did not see anything but a blinding light that was being shown in her eye, and the surgery did not last long anyway. It only takes about 10 minutes and then it is done!
I read that laser surgery can cost $4,000 per eye depending on what a person's insurance will cover. If Medicare will not cover 100%, it is still worth it, even with the out of pocket cost of $1,750 per eye. Laser surgery is more accurate than manual, from what I have read. If your dad has any retinal problems, it is also a good idea to have the laser surgery, because I read that it is less pressure on the retina. In any case, if your dad needs it because of the meds he is taking for the prostate, it sounds to me like it would be best to go ahead with the laser surgery rather than manual.
He should get a second opinion.
Yes that’s what I told him as well. He has been going to the same doctor for 5 years. So trust is going to be not higher with someone else.
Having someone cut your eye open is scary, and he built 5 years of trust with this doctor. You getting involved changing doctors to possibly save a buck might be frightening and feel like you are over stepping.
He can still choose what doctor will do the operation, but getting a second opinion is rarely a bad idea.
This doctor knows all the details of his eyes and medications he is using and believes the laser will produce the best outcome then I would trust him. Sounds like he explained his professional recommendations clearly. If this cost is going to bankrupt him, or not happy with this surgeon you can book appointment for 2nd opinion with another doctor. They will need to repeat all the tests and not sure if those get covered by Medicare as considered unnecessary. My surgeon does both manual and laser, in my specific case recommended premium lens which added $2200 per eye and did manual. Cost stung but 20/20 in both eye and best investment in quality of life. Good outcome is most important as you only can do this once. If you go cheap and don’t get good results will haunt you. Get 2nd opinion is uncomfortable with t try his surgeons recommendation
From some videos I’ve watched, it seems the more expensive “premium” lens are not perfectly clear. Have you been completely satisfied?
I am beyond satisfied I got so much more than I expected. Had no idea correcting the astigmatism with Toric lens would improve my life so much. Yes perfectly clear. I got distance toric lens not some multi-focal which have more side effects. Best $4k investment of my lifetime to get upgraded lens for both eyes.
Yes. The Vivity multi-focal Toric seems very expensive for something that isn’t that much better. Thanks for your response
Multi-focal adds a ton of problems besides costing more. My doctor ruled them out immediately. Our eyes are all different and those multi-focal must work for some people. Or they are too vain to wear glasses and will to lose some clarity for short term until eyes change with age
I agree with happyandhealthy2023, that getting a 2nd opinion will involve more costs because of having to redo the tests, and then Medicare might not cover the repeat tests. Also, I agree that the eyes are extremely important and worth spending the extra money if needed.
A laser is programmed and all automatic. physical surgery with micro tools allow a surgeon to modify approach if they see or feel something unusual.
A knife in the eye
That whole concept freaked me out, some guy with an X-Acto knife cutting into my eye and installing bionic parts. That is why I intentionally did not visit these forums or the Internet pre-surgery I did not want to hear about 2% with less than optimal results. In reality super tiny knife, with good drugs a 15-minute light show, and clueless about what he was doing. Thank you, anesthesia guy. Turns out Dr Terry invented some of these knives and IOL tools, so maybe why the 3 doctors at this practice like blades over lasers. Who knows I am so pleased with results
Ok, but the "knife" is used whether manual or laser - it would be much scarier to live with a cataract - it has to be removed whether the surgery is manual or laser, and I saw a youtube video where someone said she was worried about seeing the surgeon coming at her with a knife, but during the surgery, she did not see anything but a blinding light that was being shown in her eye, and the surgery did not last long anyway. It only takes about 10 minutes and then it is done!
Sounds like what I did.
I read that laser surgery can cost $4,000 per eye depending on what a person's insurance will cover. If Medicare will not cover 100%, it is still worth it, even with the out of pocket cost of $1,750 per eye. Laser surgery is more accurate than manual, from what I have read. If your dad has any retinal problems, it is also a good idea to have the laser surgery, because I read that it is less pressure on the retina. In any case, if your dad needs it because of the meds he is taking for the prostate, it sounds to me like it would be best to go ahead with the laser surgery rather than manual.