I have had laser work done on my eyes before but never on the retina and, let me tell you, RETINA LASER SURGERY IS PAINFUL AS HELL! The front office staff may be long used to doing their jobs and it's all very routine to them by now, however, they need to remember, that, for many of the patients coming through their door, that many of them have NO idea what they're in for and it should be the front office staff's responsibility to PREPARE the patient for what will be involved in terms of the pain and what can be done to mitigate that, even if that would be in the form of a pre-written sheet detailing the procedure and the pain involved for some. I WAS GIVEN NOTHING. It was only DURING or AFTER my appointments that I was told: 1) the procedure could be done with anesthesia in an outpatient hospital clinic as well as 2) that I could have a "blocK' to dull the pain whenever a retinal nerve was hit with the laser, (which is often), but then no one told that 3) the "block" would involve injecting a needle into my eye, (which I chose not to do, thank you all the same!)
My first appt. was so painful at times and I felt so uncomfortable during it that a 2nd one needed to be scheduled. I was told the scheduling person would contact me. SeveraI MONTHS went by until I finally had to call THEM. When I did, I was told that, because I had previously asked for my next appt. to be in the outpatient hospital setting, that that clinic was not scheduling new appts. presently BUT NO ONE CALLED ME TO TELL ME THAT?! I HAD TO CALL THEM TO FIND THAT OUT?!
Then we have the doctors, brothers Amador and Eric Subong. They know their stuff alright, (and my regular eye clinic told me they are the "premier" place to refer people for retinal laser work in Bellingham), but their "bedside manner" could be MUCH better, especially that of the older brother, Amador. I could have done without his attempts at trying to "lighten" the situation with his idea of "humor", (some at my expense!), as I was going through what felt like a medieval torture session for the 2nd time and I have a 3rd appt. still with them in September that, you can imagine, I am not looking forward to! I'm ready to contact my ophthalmologist to ask him, "Is this trip necessary?"
This is hardly a run-of-the-mill eye procedure and this clinic needs to be a little more compassionate in preparing their patients for PRECISELY what is involved, the pain potential, and options BEFORE one is already sitting in the chair and having a blinding light shined in your eye while a laser scalpel hits highly sensitive retinal nerves! Perhaps their alleged reputation as the "premier" place in Bellingham for this sort of procedure has gone to their heads and they've forgotten, (or don't care?), what a painful thing this can be for many people. read more
