Had LASIK surgery yesterday and am seeing ~20/16 today, but that's not the only reason Dr. Hyver and his staff deserve all of these 5 stars. Everything from the consultation to the post-op was done very professionally with the utmost care and meticulousness. All of my emails and phone calls were attended to promptly. Every person I interacted with was knowledgeable, comforting, and friendly (especially to a scaredy cat like me!).
I'll try not to repeat what everyone else has already said, so here are a few tips I have for others after going through the whole process:
* Mention Yelp to get a discount on the overall surgery, they are somewhat willing to work with you on the cost (hint, hint). Overall though, given the area, doctor, and procedure, the price is competitive to other doctors in the area with similar reputations. This is not to say the procedure is cheap, it's just priced well within its class, especially since Dr. Hyver gives a great warranty.
* Get ready for a couple expensive eye drop prescriptions: Vigamox is the antibiotic you have to take and Predisolone Acetate is the anti-inflammatory (use goodrx.com to find a coupon that you can use at the local drugstore, after comparing everywhere I found CVS to be the cheapest. The total for both should be around $150-$170 after coupons at this time of writing)
* Get the preservative free artificial tears from Costco (Allergan brand Refresh 100 vials ~$20)
* Approximate time spent at each visit: consultation ~1-1.5 hour, pre-op: ~45 mins-1 hour, surgery: 40 mins-1hour (actual surgery is ~15 mins), post op: ~20 mins. They are usually pretty prompt at taking you in at your scheduled time.
* If you get freaked out at people touching your eyes, it only happens during the consultation and the actual surgery. Both times your eyes are numb so you barely feel it.
* Not going to lie, the part of the procedure during the surgery where a device goes over your eye and pulls back the flap is pretty uncomfortable, thankfully it lasts no more than 30 seconds. This is the only painful part of the whole surgery, the rest is painless. Think of it this way, 30 seconds for each eye = 1 minute, so 1 minute of pain is worth a lifetime of good vision :-)
* At the time of surgery, ask for a pillow for under your legs if you are extra freaked out as this will prevent you from fainting. They also have stress relief squishy balls to squeeze during surgery if you need them.
* Don't skip taking your prescribed eyedrops, they make you take them for a reason (so you have a more comfortable recovery). I took the drops everyday at the exact times I was supposed to and I had barely any pain after surgery and very little dry eyes.
* You need someone to drive you home after the pre-op (light sensitivity) and after surgery.
* You can ask what your vision error is for each eye after the pre-op, they won't outright tell you, but they told me when I asked. You can also ask for what vision error the doctor treated you for after the surgery. For me one eye was -2 and it was treated for -2.25, the other eye was -1.75 and was treated for -2. He treated each eye for a bit more of an error to be safe for the future in case my vision changes slightly.
This is what I can think of at the moment in terms of general tips, I'll add more if I think of any.
When people say they feel like cattle being herded in and out of the surgery room in relation to Dr. Hyver's practice, I just don't get it. At the end of the day, this is a business, and LASIK is Hyver's Profession. He can't help it if he's a popular doctor with a lot of people wanting him to perform their surgery. I'm actually highly impressed with the way this business operates--so many things going on, yet so efficient and streamlined. The fact that so many people are choosing Hyver actually gave me more confidence in his practice and the fact that people are constantly going in and out of his surgery room tells me that they truly are top level experts in this field. Their business model belongs in a textbook for other businesses to learn from.
Overall, this place has the whole package when it comes to getting LASIK done--a highly qualified doctor, top notch staff, great locations, best technology, etc. You can't really go wrong. JUST GET IT DONE!
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