Santa Rosa Wavefront LASIK, Laser Eye Surgery and Vision Correction

If you're a prospective Santa Rosa Wavefront LASIK patient, you have a wide choice of surgeons in the Northern California LASIK market, including Harvard MD and surgeon, Dr. Scott Hyver of ScottHyver Visioncare. But finding a surgeon you can trust in the Santa Rosa laser vision correction community can be a challenge. To make this process easier, here's our guide to selecting your Santa Rosa LASIK surgeon.

The Santa Rosa LASIK Value Equation: Price, Location and Visual Results

If you're evaluating Santa Rosa laser eye surgery providers, there are probably three factors prominent in your mind: price, location, and results. These three variables define the Santa Rosa LASIK surgery value equation. And because LASIK is an extremely complex procedure, with an array of possible visual outcomes, patients often try to simplify their choice of surgeons by focusing on price and location, giving little attention to what matters most, the prospects for a safe and superb visual result.

Let's try an exercise: how do you respond when you see a Santa Rosa LASIK vision correction advertisement promoting LASIK for a few hundred dollars per eye? If you've been down the road of life, you're apt to view this offer with skepticism. How can the provider stay in business at this price? Most patients understand that in any market, including the Santa Rosa LASIK market, there's a low-end discounter reaching out to the ultra price sensitive segment.

Going the Extra Mile for Superior Vision

If you dismiss the transparency of the low-ball price offer, and since you're specifically searching for a Santa Rosa laser vision correction practice, it's only natural to consider the importance of location as the next step in the evaluation process. Keeping all other factors constant, you'll want to choose a surgeon who is close to your home or work.

But let's say that the other factors, especially post-surgical visual outcomes, are not constant across the dozens of Santa Rosa LASIK and other SF Bay Area LASIK surgeons. How far would you be willing to drive to get superior visual results, rather than just average, run-of-the-mile LASIK outcomes? After all, LASIK is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Once the laser treats your eyes, that's it: your corneas are now permanently changed, for better or worse. There's no going back.

The Myth of Surgeon Equality

It's a myth that the performance of LASIK surgeons, including Santa Rosa laser eye surgery providers, varies within a narrow range. In any profession, whether law, finance, music or software engineering, there are a few individuals who consistently perform at a higher level than their peers. They're either smarter, more dedicated, apply a superior methodology, or all of the above. Whatever the case, the performance of members within a profession such as laser vision correction varies considerably. That means that one Santa Rosa LASIK surgeon may regularly produce 20/20 LASIK outcomes, while another may routinely achieve 20/15, which is far better than 20/20.

The Predictive Role of the Pre-Operative Process

There is probably no element that bears more dramatically on the LASIK patient's visual outcome than the thoroughness of the pre-op approach. If you're in agreement so far that price and location don't trump visual results, then you need to understand that variations in the pre-op approach across surgeons, including Santa Rosa vision correction docs, are likely to be predictive of the quality of your ultimate visual results.

Why is the pre-op stage so critical? Because it's during this stage of your care that your vision error and corneal features are mathematically characterized. These mathematical data are employed by sophisticated software to generate the "ablation profile" that tells the laser where to move, and for how long to fire, on your cornea. The more accurate the data, the more likely you are to enjoy a superb visual result, rather than an average, run-of-the-mill LASIK outcome.

Where on this Pre-Op Spectrum Does your Santa Rosa LASIK Surgeon Fall?

Here are the three general pre-op approaches in the LASIK business, from the least to the most surgeon intensive. See how your Santa Rosa LASIK surgery doctor rates, then determine if you're willing to potentially compromise your visual outcome by accepting anything less than superior pre-operative care:

Is your surgeon present? Believe it or not, in some Santa Rosa LASIK and other Bay Area practices, you don't see your surgeon until you enter the operating room on the day or your procedure. What does your surgeon's absence during this critical stage of your care, say about the accuracy of the pre-op data that ultimately guides the laser across your cornea?

Is your surgeon present and dedicated? If you actually meet your Santa Rosa laser vision correction surgeon during your initial exam, does he take his time to understand your vision problem and needs, or does he conduct a quick and cursory analysis, and then rush off to his next appointment? The extra time he spends with you could mean the difference between a lifetime of average, run-of-the-mill LASIK vision, or superb 20/15 sight.

Is your surgeon present, dedicated, and does he test your vision on more than one day? Find out if your surgeon plans to analyze your vision error (i.e., prescription) on at least two separate days. Why? Because your measured vision error may change slightly from day to day, so it's essential if you want a superb LASIK outcome, that your surgeon tests your prescription on more than one day.

Dr. Hyver's "Test Twice, Treat Once" Philosophy

Most Santa Rosa laser eye surgery doctors don't want to make the extra effort to recheck your prescription on a second day. The extra time involved reduces the overall number of patients they can see, eating into their earnings potential. That's not our philosophy here at ScottHyver Visioncare. Dr. Hyver is virtually unique among his peers in his devotion to the "test twice, treat once" approach. Not only is he personally and extensively involved throughout your pre-op care, he analyzes your vision error both on your consultation day, and on the day of your surgery prior to your procedure. Dr. Hyver's commitment to this pre-op analytic rigor is aimed at one thing: to optimize your visual outcomes. Compare this high-end pre-op approach to that of other Santa Rosa vision correction providers.

Free Hotel Stay for our Santa Rosa LASIK Patients

Dr. Hyver has three Bay Area offices, including one in Daly City, less than 50 miles south of Santa Rosa, across the Golden Gate and down 19th avenue, with plenty of parking. Dr. Hyver sees new patients in Daly City on Wednesday and Saturdays, so if you wanted to combine a weekend San Francisco visit with your initial exam, we'll find a time that works for you.

A great LASIK outcome is worth going the extra miles. If you do choose Dr. Hyver for your LASIK treatment, and if you prefer, we'll lodge you at the Hampton Inn at our expense after your procedure in Daly City (performed on Fridays). That way, you can come in the very next morning, Saturday, for your first post-op exam, and then be on your way to enjoy your new vision.