How getting laser eye surgery in Vancouver changed my life

I’ve been wearing corrective glasses all my life and though I’m used to the feel of them I do sometimes look at people with 20-20 vision and wish I was born with a better pair of eyes. As a solution I tried contact lenses for a year, but found it a pain to constantly have to clean them; plus you’re always having to carry a storage case and cleaning solution just in case you don’t make it home. Now after 28 years I’m finally considering having laser eye surgery; though a little nervous about my eyes being tampered with, I did some quick research online in order to separate the facts from the scare stories and learnt that the latest methods are quick, painless and have a very high success rate. This type of operation has been around long enough now that the surgeons performing these minor surgeries are fully aware of any complications that may arise. Though having said that whether you’re on a limited budget or not, it is advised that you seek out a professional doctor that knows what they are doing and have access to the best equipment. I live in Canada and comparing between the different laser eye surgery Vancouver has to offer was simple, because there are so many around these days.

What is Laser eye surgery and how does it work?

Problems with sight occur because the curve of the cornea (front of our eyeball) is out of shape; this causes light to enter our eyes at an uneven angle causing short or long sight and sometimes a mixture of both. There are 2 types of laser eye surgery currently available; LASIK and PRK, the difference lies in the way the middle layer of the cornea is exposed before being cut and reshaped. LASIK is the most recent and popular choice for both surgeons and patients, it has a faster healing time than PRK and most patients are able to see perfectly the following day after surgery. LASIK involves taking a thin slice off the top layer and folding this flap back to reveal the middle layer; on the other hand the PRK method requires the surgeon to scrap away the top layer, this is recommended for people with bigger pupils and thin corneas. If you’re looking for laser eye surgery Vancouver medical centers usually offer the LASIK method unless the situation calls for the PRK surgery.

Though both LASIK and PRK involve different methods, they aim to give the same results; your doctor will know exactly which one is suitable to your eye type. In terms of operation times PRK takes the least amount of time to complete; it is usually preformed as an outpatient treatment and if done correctly everything could be over in just 5 minutes. The LASIK surgery takes a little longer lasting about 1 hour per patient and even though you regain your sight almost instantly you’re still asked to bring someone with you to drive you home. The entire process is so painless and straight forward that patients undergo the procedure while awake; anesthetic drops are added to your eyes and wetting solution is constantly added to keep the cornea surface from drying out.

What are the risks of laser eye surgery?

As with all surgeries, whether they are major or minor there is a small margin for error, which your doctors will tell you more about during your pre-surgery consultation. The chances of problems arising during or after this particular type of eye surgery is very low and this is proven by the large number of satisfied healthy patients who have fully healed and regained excellent eye sight. Some of the side affects that your doctor may mention are; under-correction, over-correction, astigmatism, bad night vision or glares and halos around objects. The good news is that all of these are easily resolved with extra surgery. The most common side affects that patients will experience is dry eyes for several months following the operation, though keeping a bottle of eye drops with you will help to deal with the discomfort.

Cost of laser eye surgery Vancouver?

If you live in Vancouver and are serious about getting either LASIK or PRK laser eye surgery then there are plenty of centers in and around the city, you’ll be spoilt for choice of both quality of service and cost. When comparing between the different clinics for laser eye surgery Vancouver has to offer you’ll find a number of different price ranges, at the high end of the market some places will ask for a total of $3000, this includes the full treatment, medication and follow up consultations. Though as the number of laser eye surgery Vancouver has to offer increases, so the prices drop; in fact if you want to have this specific type of eye surgery done you have picked an ideal time. The price of similar surgery in the U.S. is almost double or even three times the cost of having it done in Vancouver; it is believed that 40% of all eye treatment patients to the top medical centers in Canada’s main cities come from abroad. To give you a better idea of the types of cost currently on offer here are 3 laser eye surgery businesses quoting various price ranges for similar operations.

(a) LASIK Centers – This is a group of franchised medical offices which deal in specifically laser eye surgery, they have centers based all over Canada and internationally as well. They are well funded and offer the latest equipment and surgeons hence their price is a little steep, the full surgery including follow ups will set you back just under $3000 for both eyes.

(b) Boyd Vision – This center is growing in popularity mainly due to its high quality service combined with a low surgery cost. They realize that many people don’t have thousands of dollars to spare, so they have set their price at $995 per eye.

(c) Clearly LASIK – This particular centre offers a sliding scale mid range price coupled with a good quality service. They also know that money is an issue for most people these days and offer a 0 down payment, 0% financing option for all those that need it.