LASIK is a surgeon dependant procedure. The surgeon you choose does make a difference. If you needed a plastic surgeon, would you just go to any board certified doctor or would you choose your surgeon very carefully? It is exactly the same with laser vision correction. These are your only pair of eyes, so choose wisely. Although laser vision correction is a technology-driven procedure, it is still dependant on the surgeon. Like a master carpenter with master tools, both a highly skilled surgeon and the best equipment are required for an optimal result. At Mandel Vision® we offer only one level of care, the best.
With that in mind, below are some important questions to consider when choosing your LASIK surgeon in New York.
• Is your LASIK surgeon a corneal specialist?
LASIK is a corneal procedure and surgeons who are fellowship trained are best equipped to perform LASIK. Dr. Mandel is a Harvard trained corneal specialist and is the author of the ophthalmic textbook ‘Atlas of Corneal Disease’.
• Does your LASIK surgeon personally examine you during your evaluation, educate and answer your questions and personally perform the procedure as well as your post operative care?
Many practices screen their patients with technicians or doctors who will not be performing your LASIK surgery. At Mandel Vision®, Dr. Mandel will examine you and will personally answer all of your questions.
• Is your LASIK surgeon recognized by his peers?
Dr. Mandel is the only laser vision correction surgeon whose surgical practice is devoted to laser vision correction and is in Top Doctors America and NY Magazine’s best doctors for 6 consecutive years now. These awards are compiled by Castle Connelly, an independent organization which utilizes doctor recommendations to compile its distinguished doctor lists.
• Is your LASIK surgeon using the most advanced technology?
Dr. Mandel utilizes the most advanced; all laser technology to optimize your treatment. This includes the most precise Wavefront technology (Fourier analysis), the only excimer laser with 3 dimensional eye tracking, and advanced alignment utilizing the contour of your own iris.
• Is your LASIK surgeon the specialist that patients seek out to correct their vision problems?
Patients from around the world seek out Dr. Mandel’s expertise to correct their vision problems. From Hong Kong to London patients travel to New York to consult with Dr. Mandel.
• Is your LASIK surgeon a teacher for other eye doctors?
Dr. Mandel is regularly consulted by ophthalmic surgeons for his opinion. Mandel Vision® is also an approved center for continuing medical education for optometrists.
• Is your LASIK surgeon on the cutting edge of laser advancements?
Dr. Mandel has been an FDA investigator for the world’s leading laser company.
• Does your LASIK surgeon give you his cell phone number?
Dr. Mandel gives you his personal cell phone number to answer your post op questions.
• Is your LASIK doctor sought out for his or her expertise?
When Johnson and Johnson needed one laser vision correction surgeon for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, they chose New York LASIK Surgeon, Dr. Eric Mandel.
• Did the laser practice have the most advanced screening analysis (Pentacam) to evaluate your candidacy for the procedure?
Pentacam analysis is the most sophisticated screening technology available. It is not necessary to perform on everyone but a significant number of patients on a daily basis at Mandel Vision® are analyzed with this technology. Quite a few are turned away as less than optimal candidates because of findings that only this machine was able to uncover.
• Were you asked to keep out your contact lenses for 2 weeks before your procedure?
Some practices want to perform the surgery quickly so you do not have a chance to change your mind or go elsewhere. That is fine as a business model, but not as a laser vision correction model. At Mandel Vision®, we use the most advanced Wavefront analysis to treat your eyes. Contact lenses, even soft contact lenses, can distort the Wavefront reading of your cornea for a week or two after the contact lenses are removed. Because the treatment is so precise and contacts can distort that reading, we recommend all our contact lens wearers remove their soft contact lenses for 2 weeks and gas permeable and hard contact wearers to remove their contacts at least 3 weeks before their procedure.
• Were you told in under 15 minutes that you were a candidate?
Many laser centers are based upon volume and to be efficient they need to run many patients through the center every day. At Mandel Vision®, our evaluations sometimes run over an hour, but the confidence in knowing you are a good candidate is worth the time.
• Did the practice offer you different prices depending upon the type of surgery or surgeon that you choose?
Some practices bait and switch prices and tell you of multiple surgical pricing tiers. At Mandel Vision®, the price you receive is the price that offers the best care, period.
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Dr. Eric Mandel is a New York LASIK surgeon who has been named in both America's Top Doctors by Castle Connolly and New York Magazine's Best Doctor's. Mandel Vision® offers LASIK to patients in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
