Questions to Ask a LASIK Doctor
Questions for a LASIK consultation, covering whether you are a candidate, the risks specific to your eyes, alternatives to laser surgery, what recovery involves, and what the quoted price includes.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Based on today's exam, am I a candidate, and which measurements led you to that answer?
Why ask it
Candidacy rests on specific numbers: corneal thickness, corneal shape, pupil size, prescription, tear film. A surgeon who answers with those measurements is reading your chart. One who answers only that you look fine has not.
What is my corneal thickness, and how much tissue would the treatment remove?
Why ask it
Thinner corneas and stronger corrections both use up more of the available tissue, and what remains matters for long-term corneal stability. Ask for the numbers so you can take them to a second opinion if you want one.
Is my prescription stable, and what records are you comparing it against?
Why ask it
Surgery locks in your current correction, so a prescription still drifting will drift again afterward. If they have only today's reading, they are assuming stability rather than confirming it.
Would PRK, SMILE, or a lens-based procedure suit my eyes better than LASIK?
Why ask it
Thin corneas, dry eye, or an active contact sport can each make a different procedure the better fit. A clinic that offers only one procedure will tend to find you suited to it, so ask what would rule LASIK out.
What vision should I expect afterward, and will I still need glasses for reading?
Why ask it
Distance correction does not prevent the near-focus loss that arrives in middle age, and many patients are surprised to need reading glasses later anyway. Ask for the realistic result, not the best case.
How likely is it that I will need a second treatment later, and is that included in the price?
Why ask it
Enhancements are a normal part of the procedure, not a sign something went wrong. What varies is whether the clinic covers them, for how long, and whether your corneas would have enough tissue left to allow one.
Do my eyes show signs of dry eye now, and what would surgery do to that?
Why ask it
Dry eye is the most common lasting complaint after LASIK, and existing dryness tends to get worse before it improves. If they did not test your tear film during the workup, that is worth raising directly.
How long do dry eye symptoms usually last, and what do you do if they do not settle?
Why ask it
The answer tells you whether the clinic has a plan beyond artificial tears: punctal plugs, prescription drops, referral. Vagueness here often means dryness is treated as the patient's problem after the surgical fee is paid.
What are the chances of glare, halos, or starbursts at night, and could they be permanent?
Why ask it
Night vision changes matter most if you drive after dark for work. Pupil size and the size of the treatment zone both affect this, so ask whether your measurements put you at higher risk.
How many of these procedures have you performed, and how many in the past year?
Why ask it
A career total can hide a surgeon who has largely stopped doing them. Recent volume is the more useful figure, and it is fair to ask for both.
Will you perform the surgery yourself, and who sees me at follow-up visits?
Why ask it
In some clinics the surgeon operates and an optometrist handles all aftercare, sometimes at a different location. Knowing this before you commit prevents the surprise of never seeing the surgeon again.
Which laser and which flap method would you use on me, and why that one?
Why ask it
The reason matters more than the brand name. A useful answer connects the choice to something about your eyes; an answer that is only about the equipment being the newest tells you little.
What complications have you seen in your own patients, and how did you handle them?
Why ask it
Every surgeon with real volume has managed flap problems, infections, or under-corrections. A surgeon who claims to have had none is either new to the procedure or not being straight with you.
If something goes wrong during the procedure, what happens next?
Why ask it
Ask about the specific case where the laser stops mid-treatment or the flap does not lift cleanly. You want to hear that the plan is to stop and reschedule rather than to press on.
What does the day of surgery involve, and how much will I see that evening?
Why ask it
This sets up practical arrangements: someone to drive you, time off, sleep with shields, drops on a schedule. Vision is often hazy for the first day, and knowing that ahead of time makes it less alarming.
What are the restrictions afterward, and for how long: driving, work, exercise, swimming, eye makeup?
Why ask it
The limits with real consequences are the ones on rubbing your eyes and on water, since both risk disturbing a healing flap. Get the timeline in writing rather than from memory.
What symptoms after surgery should make me call you the same day?
Why ask it
Increasing pain, sudden vision loss, or discharge are different from ordinary scratchiness, and the difference is time-sensitive. Ask who answers the phone at night and on weekends.
What does the quoted price cover, and what would be billed separately?
Why ask it
Compare quotes on the same basis: pre-operative testing, both eyes, the drops, follow-up visits for a defined period, and any later enhancement. A low headline price often excludes several of these.
How would this affect cataract surgery later in life?
Why ask it
Reshaping the cornea makes the lens calculations for future cataract surgery harder, which is why you should keep copies of your pre-operative measurements permanently. Ask them to give you those records.
If I decide against surgery, what would you expect my vision to do either way?
Why ask it
This asks the surgeon to describe the no-surgery path honestly, which is the one comparison consultations tend to skip. Reluctance to discuss it is itself informative.
Preparing for a LASIK consultation
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you go
- 1Leave your contact lenses out for the period the clinic specifies. Measurements taken on a cornea still reshaped by lenses are not reliable, and this is a common reason to be retested.
- 2Bring your prescription history, going back several years if you can get it from previous optometrists.
- 3Write down your job and hobbies, particularly night driving, contact sport, swimming, or long hours on screens. These change which procedure fits.
- 4List your medications and any autoimmune or eye conditions, including past herpes eye infections and untreated dry eye.
- 5Arrange for someone to drive you home from the consultation itself, since your pupils will likely be dilated.
Judging the answers
- Answers that cite your own measurements are worth more than answers about the clinic's technology.
- A surgeon willing to say you are a poor candidate, or that a different procedure suits you better, is giving you information rather than a sale.
- Ask for the risk figures for patients like you, not the overall averages, and note whether they can produce them.
- Take the written quote home. Nothing about this decision needs to be made in the room.
- If you want a second opinion, book it at a clinic that does not share ownership with the first.
Reasons to slow down
- A discount that expires if you do not book that day.
- No dry eye or tear film testing during the workup.
- The surgeon is not named, or is not identified until the day of surgery.
- Complications described as impossible rather than uncommon.
- Consent forms handed over on the morning of the procedure rather than in advance.
- Follow-up care that is not scheduled, or is left to a clinic you have not met.