You know when you hear that a friend of yours has had the LASIK or PRK procedure and they tell you about their experience or you read an article, or visit a website that shares both positive and negative laser vision correction procedure experiences? It seems to me that in regard to most things in life including making the decision to have LASIK or PRK, we are naturally influenced by the experience of others who have actually had the procedure. This week Dr. Oz aired a show about having elective refractive surgery procedures such as LASIK or PRK. I think it is fair to say that it is human nature to look for evidence to prove what believe or hope to be true. Dr. Oz is obviously a very reputable doctor and many truly take into account what he says. I do myself. I am the first one to quickly right down the name of a a supplement that he advises on his show to benefit my health, however, as we all know the media looks for a good story…and unfortunately a good story can also come in the form of sharing a horrible experience.
The reality is that there will always be someone with a horrible medical experience to share. When a patient is unhappy he or she often want others to know. I have worked in the field of laser vision correction for 12 years now and I can tell you that there are benefits and risks with this procedure, just as with every decision we make in life. LASIK and PRK are elective procedures. You do not have to do them. As with any elective procedure, you have to do your research! It is important to understand that LASIK and PRK are wonderful procedures that have helped millions of people. If the procedure is done at the right place, with the right state of the art technology and performed by the right surgeon it is beyond a great and safe procedure. Dr. Holzman and his team will not tell you that you are a good candidate if you truly are not. Dr. Holzman turns away twenty percent of the patients he sees that want to have this procedure because they are non-candidates.
So how are you supposed to know who the best doctor is to perform your elective procedure? We encourage every patients to visit different laser centers, research websites and social media. Meet the surgeon and his team. Look at the evidence both the good and the bad. It is Dr. Holzman’s goal to educate every patient so that he or she will not schedule a LASIK or PRK procedure without researching both the risks and the benefits of LASIK and PRK and learn if this procedure is right for them. This procedure changes lives for good and unfortunately can be tarnished by disreputable surgeons and surgery centers. Do not trust your eyes to just anyone. Be a well informed and educated patient!!!
