WHY
HAVE LASIK AT QUALITY EYE CARE?
Below
are seven reasons why we think Quality Eye Care
is the best place for you to have LASIK.
Experience
Individualized Patient
Care
Free Screening
Knowledge of all Procedures
and Lasers
Our Doctors have had
LASIK
Accessibility and Excellent
Service
Our Ultimate Goal is
Your Satisfaction
Dr. Yu has extensive experience
in eye microsurgery. He has over 10 years experience
in refractive surgery, 7 years in Lasik alone. He has
performed thousands of refractive procedures. He counts
as patients, many physicians who could have gone to
anyone, but chose him as their surgeon. His experience
is such, he has earned the distinction of being the
only Lasik surgeon in the metro Detroit area to be invited
as a Guest Medical Expert on the MDTV Medical News Now
show currently airing on cable. In fact, Dr. Yu is the
only Lasik surgeon in the metro Detroit area to be endorsed
by MDTV.
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Dr. Yu is personally involved
in every step of your Lasik experience. Dr.
Yu is with you through the initial screening, the preoperative
exam, the surgery, and the post-operative visits. This
degree of hands-on involvement assures you of the best
possible care and quality results. Dr. Yu does not delegate
the responsibility of determining who is a good candidate
for Lasik. Remember, there is no easy formula that applies
to all patients. Even if a candidate meets the basic
physical requirements, there are medical history issues
that need to be addressed. There are occupational and
non-work related factors (such as hobbies, sports interests,
etc.) that must be considered in deciding whether someone
would be happy with Lasik surgery; these same factors
also direct the choice of the end result (the desired
end result may not always be clear distance vision in
both eyes; some patients over 40 years of age may want
some reading vision in one eye, without the aid of reading
glasses).
Only
a trained physician is capable of analyzing the data
and asking the appropriate questions to arrive at the
answer to the question: Am I a candidate for Lasik?
Lasik is a safe and effective procedure, but part of
its safety and effectiveness lie in the fact that only
those people who meet certain criteria have the surgery.
Only a trained and experienced physician like Dr. Yu
can make that determination, not a counselor.
Dr.
Yu personally measures the eye prescription that will
be the basis of the numbers that will be programmed
into the computer of the laser. The results of surgery
depend, in large part, on the accuracy of these measurements.
The measurements are not like blood tests, in that they
depend on the subjective or verbal responses of the
patient to the question "Which is better, 1 or
2?", as the patient views the eyechart. The responses
of a patient cannot be second-guessed and analyzed real-time,
after the numbers have been measured and recorded by
someone else. Put yourself in the surgeon's shoes: Would
you perform surgery based on numbers measured by someone
else, especially if the patient's vision depended on
it? This situation is quite different from getting measured
for a pair of glasses, where the lenses can be changed
if the measurement is found not to be correct.
Dr.
Yu performs the surgery himself. Dr. Yu personally examines
all of his Lasik patients after their surgeries. Despite
what some might imagine, the care after surgery is very
important. Potential problems, if identified early,
can help avert a less-than-optimal result. While problems
after Lasik are uncommon, they are not rare. Most of
the problems that occur can be treated, with excellent
results, but they require prompt diagnosis and treatment.
Patients should insist on being examined post-operatively
by the operating surgeon. Only the surgeon will know
of the specifics of a patient's surgery, and so-informed,
can be on the lookout for potential problems; patients
and their surgeries are not all the same. Most medical
societies consider postoperative care to be an ethical
issue. With some exceptions, the operating surgeon has
a responsibility to see his or her patients after surgery.
Dr. Yu adheres to these ethical guidelines, and does
not co-manage or share the care of his Lasik patients.
This stems from a sense of obligation to his patients.
Many
high-volume Lasik centers, whether they be "discount"
or not, break up the care of their Lasik patients so
that the surgeon is only involved in one aspect of a
patient's total care, usually the surgery. The screening
exam, the preoperative exam, and the postoperative care
may very well be performed by others. While this may
be efficient, there is considerable debate as to whether
this "assembly-line" care delivers the best
results and patient satisfaction. The quality of care
should never be sacrificed for the efficiencies of mass
production, and the only "bottom-line" that
Dr. Yu cares about, is making sure his patients do well.
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The screening exam or consultation
at Quality Eye Care is completely free, without strings
attached. Some Lasik centers, especially the
"discount" ones, insist on a credit card down-payment
even before you walk through the door. If you are deemed
a candidate, you are obliged to follow through with
the surgery at their center, or you risk losing your
deposit. At Quality Eye Care, we feel you should be
able to learn about Lasik surgery, but not feel pressured
into having surgery.
While
the initial consultation at Quality Eye Care is free,
the testing is very thorough. Our screening exam does
not stop with measuring your old glasses prescription,
as it does with some offices. Corneal thickness measurements
(pachymetry), corneal mapping (topography), pupil size
measurements, eye dominance, and intraocular pressure
measurements are standard. When you leave our office,
you will truly know whether you are a so-so, good, or
excellent candidate for Lasik surgery (or maybe not
a candidate). Without the above measurements, it may
be difficult to make a truly informed decision about
whether Lasik surgery is right for you.
Your
decision to have Lasik surgery with a specific doctor
should at least be partially influenced by how much
quality time the staff and doctor spend with you at
the screening exam. It should tell you the level of
commitment the practice is willing to make to you.
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Dr. Yu has extensive knowledge
of the lasers used and the different types of procedures.
In addition, he does not have a financial interest in
the laser he uses.There are many reasons for his decision
not to have an ownership interest in a laser. An excimer
laser is very expensive to acquire and maintain. Maintenance
alone costs tens of thousands of dollars a year. When
there is a software upgrade for a laser, the costs can
soar. There is a strong incentive to use a laser as
much as possible to cover the costs of acquisition and
maintenance.
While
it is a safe assumption that most physicians would not
let this influence their recommendations, Dr. Yu does
not want to even have the appearance of a conflict of
interest. If he feels that a patient is a borderline
candidate, he will so inform that patient. If a patient
is best served by a procedure other than Lasik, that
recommendation will be made. "Lasik centers"
oftentimes are only set up to do Lasik; non-Lasik surgery
means lost business.
Not
being tied to a particular laser has its advantages.
It means that Dr. Yu can offer individualized care to
his patients. Some patients may be better treated using
a different brand of laser. Again, patients are not
all cast from the same mold, and therefore, may require
different kinds of treatments. Beyond his expertise
in laser vision correction, Dr. Yu is also skilled in
other types of refractive surgery.
As
discussed before, laser maintenance requires trained
and experienced personnel. It requires a meticulously-controlled
environment. Dr. Yu performs his surgery at a facility
completely dedicated to laser vision correction and
nothing else. The facility he uses was the only site
in the state where some of the original FDA studies
of the excimer laser were performed. It boasts a PhD
in optics as its director, something very few centers
can claim. By selecting a facility with such a track
record, Dr. Yu can fully devote his energy and full
attention to the actual surgery. Don't forget, the laser,
a very sophisticated high tech instrument, is only a
tool. Its safety and effectiveness depend on the skilled
hands of a surgeon. However, in the hands of an expert,
a meticulously maintained laser is more likely to result
in an excellent outcome.
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Dr. Yu knows first-hand what
this feels like; he had LASIK 4 years ago. While
a great deal of a person's energy is directed at the
"nuts-and-bolts" of the surgery and making
the decision to go ahead with surgery, it is not always
easy to follow through. Oftentimes, what holds patients
back from taking the next step is anxiety. Only by first-hand
experience can someone truly understand what someone
else is going through.
Dr.
Yu and his staff are experts at "hand-holding".
While we at Quality Eye Care take great pains to educate
our patients so that they can make an informed decision
about the surgery, we then take the anxiety out of the
procedure.
Dr.
Yu wants patients walking into surgery not having second
thoughts about their decision. Reducing the level of
anxiety for a patient is no small matter; the patient
is involved in the surgery, and being calm and focused
contributes to a good outcome. What we hear from patients
over-and-over again at Quality Eye Care, after surgery,
is that the only regret they have is that they wish
they would have had the surgery sooner.
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Accessibility and Excellent Service:
All of Dr. Yu's Lasik patients are given his home and
pager numbers before surgery, so they can contact him
for any reason, at any time. There is ultimately one
person responsible and accountable to the patients.
Our service and commitment to your satisfaction does
not end with the surgery. You are just as important
to us after surgery, as you were before surgery. Your
needs are given the same priority as those patients
who have not yet had surgery.
We
want to be more than a "pit-stop" to you;
you will get to know our office staff by name and ask
for them when you call. Unlike some faceless Lasik chain
outlet (some of which have gone out of business, despite
their "lifetime" warranties), Quality Eye
Care and Dr. Yu will always be available to take care
of their patients.
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While
all of the above are important, they all contribute
to the ultimate goal: a happy patient. Quality
Eye Care is committed to the best possible results for
its patients. Dr. Yu is an experienced Lasik surgeon
who is forever refining his technique as new information
and technology unfold. Medicine is not a static, unchanging
field of endeavor, so it is important to change to give
patients the best. We invite you to talk to our Lasik
graduates to find out first-hand about the kind of results
our patients enjoy.
For
more information about Dr. Yu, his staff and Quality
Eye Care, P.C. or to make an appointment, please visit
www.qualityicare.com.
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