Just my two cents here as I recently went through LASIK at HSH in Pacific Place, and I kinda wish somebody would've explained everything to me:
Doctor: I would *highly* recommend you choose Dr. John Chang So-Min as he is the top doctor in town at arguably the top place to do LASIK in-town. From what I understand, Dr. John Chang So-Min has the highest caseload volume for LASIK. Other LASIK doctors also choose Dr. John for their own LASIK procedures, so that probably also tells you quite a lot. He speaks perfect English FYI.
Wavefront: Yes, I think it should be Wavfront. I had LASIK and took the Wavefront Aberrometry test ($410), so it's likely Wavefront.
SMILE vs. LASIK vs. PRK vs. LASEK: I asked Dr. John and he advised that I should undertake LASIK as my prescription was in the low-end. For SMILE, Dr. John seemd to hint that this was for patients who had higher prescriptions, but again, I would make sure you speak with him to get an initial consult. One more thing — SMILE is only about ten years old, and there's not a lot of published research out there regarding side effects, etc. so I'm not sure if SMILE's risk-reward is attractive enough for you to choose over LASIK for an arguably cosmetic procedure.
Operations: Dr. John does operations on Tuesdays / Thursdays. I would try to angle for Thursday since you need to check-up on Friday and you can take Saturday / Sunday off to recover.
Costing: If you select your doctor, it's an additional $7k, so the total should be around $30k. If you use the computer to randomly select your doctor it should be around $22k. I just felt that the premia of selecting the best doctor, in my opinion, was worth the extra $7k IMO.
Side Effects: I don't have dry eyes, but do have some minor halos when at night.
Global Disclosures:
The above is for educational purposes only. The opinion above does not constitute medical advice. For medical advice, please consult a medical professional.
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