Before You Have Laser Eye Surgery

"Do not choose a clinic or surgeon solely on cost. Find out:
1. Who will be doing your surgery and ask to have a consultation with this surgeon both in advance of and after the treatment.
2. Whether the clinic or hospital adheres to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists' guidelines for surgery. If not, stay away.
3. How many Lasik operations the surgeon has performed, how long he has been doing this work and what his qualifications are.
4. About the surgeon's re-treatment rate. Three per cent is low; 10 per cent high.
5. About infection rates.
6. What kind of vision you can expect after surgery. Some surgeons have higher overall success rates: at least 85 per cent of patients should have 'perfect' unaided vision after Lasik.
7. What proportion of patients end up with poorer vision - even when wearing glasses - than they started with.
8. How common serious complications such as ectasia are."