Referral or Recommendations for Laser Eye Surgery clinics - in the GTA

[kittyc]

$5,000?! My first quote was $3000 per eye, so $6,000 total.

OMG I saw those ad that only costs a few hundreds dollars and thats why I asked the doctor...he said those are "no good"

[roseofblack25]

I want it done but am terrified of having it done...I always think about the worst thing that could possibly happen and it scares me off from getting it done

[Sunraven]

I totally hear what you're saying roseofblack, I'm pretty scared but trying to be brave.

I always thought that if I sneezed or coughed or had any other involuntary movements during the procedures, that the laser could cut my neck off. Turns out it shuts off right away as soon as it detects movement.

Yonge and Eglinton also said they have never had a case of infection to arise so that's a bit comforting... as that's even scarier to me than the actual procedure.

Woofy, K's going to be able to watch the surgery just like you had a chance to... only difference is, he's looking forward to it and thinks it'll be pretty cool.

[FallenPixels]

I could not do that, I would puke right there

[Andit]

I've had the intensive laser surgery done for major issues, not what you're having, but I can tell you it's not that bad. Pain is tolerable & you might have a bit of a headache after for a couple of hours (really not a big deal).

Oh & that burnt smell is likely just the hotness of the machine - think drill when it's being used for a bit & you get that smell.

Good luck! We'll all be thinking of you!

Maybe we should move the meet to Friday & be your entourage? We'll call out the coupons we're looking for & you can tell us whether you have them. That should distract you long enough for the surgery to be over.

[ChristieJ]

My brother and sister-in-law both had it done by Dr. Wallerstein. They're both very happy with the result and the price. Other people I've spoken to that had it done by Dr. Wallerstein have also given positive feedback. Google him, I have yet to come across a negative review for him.

My bf's father had his done at the Bochner institute by Dr. Stein. He's pleased with the results, and he found it totally worth the cash he doled out. It seems that the larger places are much better and people are happier with the results. But if you're happy with the Yonge/Eglinton place, definitely try them out. Let us know how it goes!

[awongtse]

I want to get this done also, but am a little scared and a little too poor (at the moment)! Good luck! Please let us know what you decide and how it goes.

[MyaLynn]

Is it possible to get one eye done at a time?

[Sunraven]

I don't think it's recommended to just get one eye done at a time because your vision, focus and sense of depth would really be messed up.

[stimpsonjcat]

I had mine done at the Bochner Eye Institute.
It cost me $5000. I found out after that my eye doctor got a cut of about $1000 from the money that Bochner was paid.
It was totally worth it and I walked out after the operation and came back for an eye exam the next day and had better than 20/20 vision.
I've never had any problems since except for the odd time having slight vision change when I overwork my eyes (I work at computers).
As soon as i get good sleep and rest my eyes properly I'm back to normal.
I had no other problems.
In my research I found out that the $5000. included any visits after if I needed touch ups. Basically if I had had any problems it was covered by the $5000. All the other places added $$$ for anything extra, thick glasses, other eye problems, everything added cost you more money. So you get what you pay for. Also the Blue Jays and Rapters and alot of News Anchors get the laser surgery done there. Would you trust your surgery to a surgeon that does Ball Players or the surgeon an average person would go to. Hey it's up to you.
I hope your laser surgery goes well. For me it was well worth the cost.

[dharm.ram]

I am just amazed to see all these details. Well, not something I was looking for, but couldn't stop myself to comment here.
$5000 - 6000 for laser eye surgery? that's too much. But can you get cheaper in north america? I have no idea.
I have undergone this treatment in 1994 - yes, 16 years ago and it was done in India. Doctors here are shocked when I tell them I got laser treatment for my eyes in 94. But its true. It was done in few minutes and I left the hospital in half hour. Its very quick and reliable, at least it has proven for me and my other friend who did it. My eyesight is not perfect, but 95% better and sure I don't wear any glasses until now.
It won't make any sense to mention the price I paid in 94, but still with all kinds of inflation and other conversions, it won't be even $2000 now.
Would it be cheaper if you fly to India and get your eyes operated? to me it seems possible and yes, you can save a lot. according to my math:
$1200 - 1400 - cost for flight
$30-50 - cost per day for accommodation and food
$$$$$ - no idea what they charge now for laser treatment. lets consdier $2000

just don't go with my evaluation, though I would suggest you do your research on it. Treatment as well as vacation / tourisim - all in one shot. Not a bad idea.

I guess, I won't be visiting this site again very soon but if anyone needs more information I will more than happy to help. contact me at dharm dot ram at gmail dot com

[Sunraven]

Someone asked me to update this thread with how my experience went with my laser eye surgery.

I think I can summarize it here using a pro and con list:


Pros:
1. Zero pain or discomfort was felt during the procedure up to this point.
2. No complications other than a slight wave in the flap - this was remedied by a water procedure after that helped smooth it out a bit more.
3. No infection of any kind, this was my biggest worry and thankfully nothing went wrong in the days after the surgery

Cons:
My left eye never got to 20/20. There's a small prescription still in that eye at -0.5, the right eye is -0.25. So while others have come out of the procedure with 20/20 or better, they kinda "screwed" up on both of my eyes, neither are perfect. That said I don't need glasses, I have the same vision as most normal people walking around.

But because I wore glasses prior to the surgery, I am fully aware of how crisp my vision isn't (now) compared to when I wore glasses and that bugs me. It especially bugs me that if I compare the vision between my eyes by closing one and looking through the other the difference is remarkable, even for being 0.25 off from each other. And the one eye that is better, still isn't as sharp as it could be. So yes, they got neither right.

To be honest, they are trying to convince me to leave it alone and be happy with the not perfect vision, they think I am just being picky. So I've agreed to wait for 3-4 mths and see how the eye behaves.

Then we're going to have a nice chat of how they are going to get me to 20/20 or they are going to refund me the cost of the surgery if they don't want to try. Simple as that.

They gave a 20/20 or it's free guarantee to me, so they can decide which one they want to go with. I had the procedure at the end of June so at the end of September, I'm going in to have a nice little chat with them.

So that's about it, all this aside, I do 100% still recommend having the surgery done, it's changed my life (imagine being able to shave your legs in the shower without fogging up your glasses! LOL). And even if my slight prescription never gets fixed, I won't ever need to go back to glasses. Well not until I get old and need reading glasses.

[kittyc]

Someone asked me to update this thread with how my experience went with my laser eye surgery.

I think I can summarize it here using a pro and con list:


Pros:
1. Zero pain or discomfort was felt during the procedure up to this point.
2. No complications other than a slight wave in the flap - this was remedied by a water procedure after that helped smooth it out a bit more.
3. No infection of any kind, this was my biggest worry and thankfully nothing went wrong in the days after the surgery

Cons:
My left eye never got to 20/20. There's a small prescription still in that eye at -0.5, the right eye is -0.25. So while others have come out of the procedure with 20/20 or better, they kinda "screwed" up on both of my eyes, neither are perfect. That said I don't need glasses, I have the same vision as most normal people walking around.

But because I wore glasses prior to the surgery, I am fully aware of how crisp my vision isn't (now) compared to when I wore glasses and that bugs me. It especially bugs me that if I compare the vision between my eyes by closing one and looking through the other the difference is remarkable, even for being 0.25 off from each other. And the one eye that is better, still isn't as sharp as it could be. So yes, they got neither right.

To be honest, they are trying to convince me to leave it alone and be happy with the not perfect vision, they think I am just being picky. So I've agreed to wait for 3-4 mths and see how the eye behaves.

Then we're going to have a nice chat of how they are going to get me to 20/20 or they are going to refund me the cost of the surgery if they don't want to try. Simple as that.

They gave a 20/20 or it's free guarantee to me, so they can decide which one they want to go with. I had the procedure at the end of June so at the end of September, I'm going in to have a nice little chat with them.

So that's about it, all this aside, I do 100% still recommend having the surgery done, it's changed my life (imagine being able to shave your legs in the shower without fogging up your glasses! LOL). And even if my slight prescription never gets fixed, I won't ever need to go back to glasses. Well not until I get old and need reading glasses.

Refund

My 2 eyes used to be very different, its fun playing with them when I was young But with hard contact lens now both of them are pretty much the same

[awongtse]

Thanks for the update! Who did you end up going with? How did you decide? And, if you don't mind, how much did you pay? I second "refund"!!!

[Sunraven]

I ended up going with Lasik MD. Some people shy away from them because they are really like a laser eye surgery factory, but I actually embraced that - I wanted a place with surgeons doing lots of these procedures every year. I was counting on experience as I was really freaking out about potential complications after the fact, infections, flap movement etc.

Your eyes aren't like your hand where if it gets infected you can clean it out, polysporin and just slap a bandaid on, know what I mean? Whatever you do, DO NOT GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH eye infections.

*screamy especially, do NOT do this*

Another reason I ruled out Yonge/Eglinton was because I got pink eye one day after going to their clinic for a consultation, freaked me the hell out, they always wipe down their machines to keep this from happening... so I don't know what happened, but having pink eye was the pits - imagine creamy oozing mucus like stuff building up in your eye and having to wipe it every two seconds.

Fun times in my household, K was ready to go set the building on fire.

That and they had different prices for their different surgeons (are you kidding me? Who is picking the heavily discounted surgeon and WHY is he discounted? ), and if you wanted the most expensive guy it was $3K per eye, so $6 total. And he only did surgeries on Fridays... just everything about what happened said not to use this place.

Lasik was $4,500 altogether including the cost of medication.

Lots of people have great things to say about both places though, it's just a matter of which one you feel comfortable with. And what I like about Lasik MD is that if you don't mind being on a waiting list you can actually get one of the founders to work on your eyes Cohen or Wallerstein still do surgeries.

Some people swear by Herzig and Bochner as well so look into those two places as well.

And the refund bit, I'd rather have my eyes fixed but if they insist on trying to piss me off they are in for an interesting conversation.