Linda asks…
Will insurance pay for LASIK or PRK?
My insurance will not cover cosmetic prosedures like LASIC and PRK. However it states that if a cosmetic procedure is refferred by your doctor as being necessary in maintaining good health, it will be covered.
Now, if I make the arguement that I cannot wear contacts because my allergies are too bad and I have dry eyes, and that glasses actually make it more difficult for me to see at night because of my astigmatism and glare from the glass, what are the chances that a doctor would make the recommendation for LASIK/PRK??
AND what are the chances that the insurance company would accept it?
Please understand that I am NOT trying to beat the system. Everything I said above is true and my eyesight is terrible. I have been living like this all of my life and LASIK or PRK is the ONLY acceptable solution to my problem.
Any other advice as to how to get this accomplished if it is even possible?
admin answers:
Most insurances won't pay for it in fact i havent heard of any that do.
Thats why there is financing on the lasik surgeries.
Cause no one can just dish out that kind of money lol
unless they were bill gats or donald trump. Hope this helps.
Honey*
Sandy asks…
I had eye surgery for astigmatism with IOL....should LASIK touch-ups be included?
One eye is fine and one is only 20/60 after 9 months. Do most doctors charge for the LASIK (PRK in my case) to get the eye to 20/20? A possible touch-up was discussed, but not an additional fee. Now for the LASIK I need to sign new documents and I'm wondering if they say the "fix" is a different procedure so it is an additional charge as I'm unfortunately disabled and this was a chunk of my savings for the cataract removal to upgrade to InterOcularLenses.
*** Not sure how to post a reply as I don't see an option ***
What the surgeon said to me was that with my level of astigmatism he'd be surprised if both eyes got to 20/20 as the right eye had a larger amount and that we could touch it up when it stabilized. But he thought the left eye had a very good shot at it. This is a neuro-ophthalmologist and he has been doing this for some time. Leaving out that there would be a fee if we had to go that route seems to be almost misleading. A month after the 2nd eye was done he thought it had a shot at getting there and again said we'd just do a touch-up if needed. I didn't think to ask if that would cost anything as someone I know had LASIK with him (that I went in for but found I had mild cataracts as my brothers have had) and they had two touch-ups done at no charge in the first year. I also thought that I wanted his medical opinion and not to have it possibly biased by introducing money to the equation and that it will be what it will be. Lo
Looking at my documentation, no reference is made of the issue. They are essentially that I was informed of the risk of cataract surgery. But I had 4 office exams until we got two readings the same for him to ask if I wanted to improve the eye, and no money was mentioned. I had a PVD in both eyes and one needed a laser that was the most painful thing I had ever felt. The retina specialist is known to be one of the best in the country. But he thought it would take 20 seconds and it took close to 5 minutes of him shooting on and off and my teeth rattling as I declined the shot in the eye. So the office has made some money off me. If there is a charge I am going to explain I did not know it as that was never mentioned when it was brought up and also discuss them discounting the price to some degree.
Thanks for the replies
P.S. I cannot see up-close with this eye. It is, at best in the morning, a guess at 20/40 (got a Snelling Chart) and even the 20/60 is not sharp. The other eye is alm
UPDATE 8/22/11
I had the consultation today and the fee is $500 and he expects me to achieve 20/20 after the mild PRK after the lens insert, but of course, there is always a risk.
Thank you for the replies
admin answers:
This is going to depend on what your arrangement was before the surgery. I don't think the surgeon I work with would do LASIK for no additional charge if you had cataract surgery with a toric IOL. My guess is that you will have to pay extra. Can you see up close with your "bad" eye? If you can, you may not want it changed.
James asks…
can i get lasik if i have corneal neovascularization?
at my last eye exam, i was told to stop wearing contacts because they were depriving my eyes of oxygen, and therefore causing blood vessels to form on my eyes. i have really bad astigmatism and do not want to wear glasses. could i be a candidate for lasik or prk?
admin answers:
This will not be a problem at all. In fact, the presence of neovascularization secondary to contact lens wear indicates to me that you should think seriously about having LASIK done. I have had patients with neovascularization have LASIK and even have the microkeratome cut directly through the neovascular vessels. They just bled a little and quickly resolved.
As to your other answerer who told you not to go to an optometrist, I would differ with his opinion. Optometrists are highly qualified to provide pre and post operative care (some are even qualified to perform laser vision correction PRK) and are in a much better position to give you a non biased assessment of your risks and benefits than the opthalmologist who is highly financially vested in the procedure. Patient selection is the number one predictor of success and when a surgeon's selection process is based upon whether you are breathing or not --- well that's just not a real good method of patient selection. Not saying at all that all surgeons are like this. In fact most aren't. But I know personally of one who scares me completely to death!!!!!
George asks…
Doesn't Myopia (far-sightedness) stop getting worse when you're grown-up?
I heard most Myopia stops once you're grown up but it was the other way around in my case. I first got far-sightedness prescription when I was 14 or so and I only wore my glasses when I was in class. My prescription didn't change any until I was 19. I studied computer science in college and got a job as a programmer. My eye sights got worse since I was in college.
I started to wear glasses all the time a few years ago and I'm now 28. Last year my prescription was -2.25 left eye -2.25 right eye and the right eye had -0.50 cyl 110 axis astigmatism which I never had before. I got my eye checked again a few days ago and it got worse. -2.75 left eye, -3.00 right eye -0.75 cyl 110 axis.
What can I do to stop my eye sights from getting worse? I was planning to get a PRK or LASIK next year but I think I'll wait until my eye sights are stabilized. I'm just wondering why my myopia is getting worse when I'm not growing up anymore.
BTW, I work 8 hr on computers so my eyes feel like * after work.
Sorry, I meant nearsightedness. I never had far-sightedness.
admin answers:
I dont think so. I noticed that when i wore my glasses mroe often it made my prescription worse. Since you only wore yours in class when you were younger thats probably why it stabilized for a bit. Talk to your optometrist about what you can do to stabilize your prescription. I dont think it matters if whether or not you wait to get lasik tho. You could try RPC contact lenses-you'll need to wear them everyday tho. They're supposed to help stabilize your prescription
Chris asks…
Should I Get LASEK or PRK laser eye surgery with astigmatism?
Hello All:
I have been to two board-certified doctors in order to be evaluated for lasik/lasek/prk. My current prescription is:
R SP -4.5 CYL -3.5
L SP -3.0 CYL -3.25
cornea thickness and pupil diameter allow me to be eligible for either prk or lasek.
My questions are:
Can the VISX CustomVue Laser using Custom Wavefront Technology be used to treat my prescription?
What amount of nearsightedness and astigmatism can this laser correct?
Can any other custom wavefront procedures work for me based on my astigmatism? I believe my astigmatism is myopic.
Based on my prescription, what procedure (Lasek or PRK) will likely produce the best result?
If, because of my astigmatism, a custom wavef
admin answers:
If your cornea thickness allows both, then I don't think there is any issue with either. PRK can be used on thinner corneas and if there needs to be a further correction, having PRK makes it more likely to be correctable if you have thinner corneas. But these don't sound like issues to you, since your corneas are fine.
I would suggest PRK. The reasons to do lasik over PRK is that it heals faster, is less painful, and you get instant results. PRK takes a few weeks to get full results (though it will continue to improve for up to a year). And it can be painful for the next couple of days. Also, you will not be able to see well enough to drive or even work for a several days. But, PRK has fewer risks (they can't over cut the flap) and in the long run there are fewer risks since there is no flap to cause problems. (LASIK flaps can come un-seated years afterward if you get hit in the eye, since it never really heals.) Also, PRK tends to improve over the long run, to give you better results. I had PRK and the pain was not significant and I had could take a week off from work. I would say the pain and the time off was totally worth the reduced risk. In my mind, LASIK is for people who are afraid of the pain and want instant results. But PRK is a better procedure with less risk and better results. If it were me, I would go for better results and less risk. And that's what I did. I am happy with my decision.
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