Testimonial: Keaton Kustler

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Posted on Feb 23 in Patient Testimonials

went for 2 consults and decided to have Dr. Bala @ Dougherty Vision Center do my LASIK, which I had done yesterday.
I was debating between SMILE & Lasik. First consult I went to was at CCRS which I’d seen referrals for Dr Lee & his clinic were fine- but they heavily promote being able to do surgery the same day as your consult…which ok, sure. but then they couldn’t really give me a a straight answer on if they recommend Lasik over SMILE. SMILE seems like a better choice- no flap, faster recovery, same price.
When I went to see Dr Bala- she did a more in depth consult actually measuring the thickness of my cornea w a little pokey stick thing. I spent more time w the dr in the consult. When I asked about SMILE vs Lasik, and shared my current thoughts based on research & my other consult, she told me their practice had seen more complications including worse halos and dry eye w SMILE, DESPITE the fact that it’s promoted as being less dry eye inducing, and that their practice had fallen out of favor w SMILE and she would suggest LASIK. She went deep into all my questions about what kind of impact it would take for my cornea to shatter post Lasik (something that’s scared me from Lasik in the past) and went in depth in quelling my fear about head impact eye injury post LASIK. She also explained in depth what would happen if an earthquake occurred during the procedure (if there is an earthquake during a Lasik procedure the machine will stop the procedure and save its spot where it left off so that when it is deemed safe it can complete the procedure. Dr Bala explained the safety of the machines and the importance of patients safety which was very reassuring and important to me.), and in terms of scheduling, they separate pre-op and surgery by a week, very much not pushing any sort of one-stop shop ness. Also on Dr Balas IG which I looked at before going in for my consult, she had a video of another doctor who went to her for his Lasik….which sealed the deal for me. Additionally they accept VSP and offer a VSP discount!

Had the 2 laser Z-Lasik procedure in Feb, and it was completely painless, and I immediately could see clearly, and the next day now that my eyes have rested and the haziness has gone away I am literally a CHANGED PERSON.