Boston Laser

Reviews 3

FR

Fred Fred

I dont often write reviews for products or services, but I feel this event warrants a review as it deals with an elective surgery which may change your quality of life forever. I have considered Lasik surgery for a couple of years now, but I have been hesitant to go in for a consultation. I spend most of my days behind computer screen. I consider my eyesight my most valuable sense and for that reason I have been extremely careful in my evaluation of potential laser eye surgeons. I have informed myself quite a bit on the available technologies, the surgeries, the pros/cons, risks, side-effects. Also to select an eye surgeon, I looked at experience, number of surgeries performed, teaching and research experience, academic training, publications, and expertise beyond Lasik. Among the several laser eye surgeons I evaluated, Dr. Samir Melki and his practice (Boston Laser) ranked highly: Dr. Melki has several thousand surgeries under his belt, has trained under globally known eye surgeons, currently teaches at Harvard Medical School, wrote several books, and is also specialized in cataract and corneal surgery. Again, it is vital to stress that you are essentially making a conscious decision to put your eyesight in the hands of a surgeon: as with any surgery, Lasik/PRK/Lasek present risks to your eyes, no matter how small, risks that may adversely affect your eyesight forever! That is why you should be very wary of surgeons who will tell you that this is a zero-risk surgery, or who will use price discounts as the primary means of getting you into the door. Your eyesight is far too precious for that! I traveled all the way from NYC to Boston in order to meet with Dr.Melki for an initial consultation. Dr. Melkis manners were impeccable, his knowledge, honesty, and patience impressive. He took the time to answer all of my questions, and then some. He also presented the surgery options, as well as their benefits, risks and potential side-effects. He was able to put things in perspective in a way that made me feel comfortable making a decision. In the end, it is all about trust. And dr. Melki earned my trust. The Boston Laser clinic seems to have invested in the latest technologies for laser eye correction procedures, including wavefront lasik. Keep in mind, this was the only clinic I found that had their own outcomes independently reviewed every year. Once there, the clinic design made me feel comfortable, and the staff was not only friendly, but also knowledgeable. I came in the day of my surgery, and after a bit of prepping I was ready for the procedure. The whole thing took only a few minutes, and Dr. Melki described to me each step as he was operating (which made me feel comfortable). Dr. Melki peformed the Lasek (PRK) procedure on my eyes, which corrected for both myopia (short-sightedness) and astigmatism. In additional to using wavefront technology, he also performed the monovision procedure, to delay even more the need for wearing reading glasses in the future. You need to keep in mind that no matter how good your eyesight is today, one day in the future, when you grow older, you will need to wear glasses for reading up-close. Dr. Melkis technique pushes back by several years the date at which you may need reading glasses. Finally Dr. Melki and his team followed-up with me for several weeks after the procedure, to insure I was doing ok. I have today 20/20 eyesight, I can see distant objects (and actually read small characters better than when I was wearing glasses), and can read books up close with no prolem, and most importantly I can stare at my computer screen for hours on end without getting tired! If you are considering laser eye surgery, I can only highly recommend Dr. Samir Melki and the Boston Laser Clinic. His procedure significantly improved I evaluated, Dr. Melki & his team are IT. But dont take my quality of life forever, and I dont have to worry about glasses anymore. Among all the laser eye surgeons my word for it, do your homework, set up an initial consultation, and see for yourself !

L

L A

I got PRK on Friday. Today is Tuesday, so its been four days. My vision is still blurry as expected, but its getting better everyday. The assistants and doctor (Brenner) I interacted with were all great. The fellow has had a tired energy the two times Ive interacted with her, but I think shes doing a fine job. Its easy to reach out to them if you have a question (they give you your doctors cell as well as Dr. Melkis, though I didnt use them). Theres an online patient portal that you can use to e-mail your questions; I used this once after my evaluation to ask Dr. Brenner a question, and he responded the next day. Its not like they provide a very personal service; it feels like a place where they try to do as many procedures as they can since it brings in money, but not to the point that they will be careless with your care. I think they did a good job with my eyes; Im not fully healed, but Im healing more and progressing everyday. My PRK procedure ended up costing $4900 ($1000-off promotion for the start of the year) with an optional $495 lifetime insurance, which I was told that 70% of people opt to get. Only 3% of people need touch-ups, which is included in the initial cost. Their website has a good Q&A section where Dr. Melki has answered lots of questions. They also give you some reading material at your free evaluation. I appreciate that they try to educate their patients. On the day of my procedure, they gave me written instructions for my eye drops (which I couldnt read too well for two days afterward - just a heads-up to plan ahead), some ill-fitting sunglasses, and a Boston Laser t-shirt. During the procedure, I was given a choice of holding an elephant or a sloth stuffed animal (I chose both!). The procedure lasted about 12 minutes. Its not cheap, but paying a lot of money makes me feel like Im using a quality service?? Theyre also affiliated with MEEI and have fellows working there, so its in their interest to provide good service and protect their reputation. Ive had a good (albeit short) experience with them so far! Disclosure: I have an extra incentive to leave a review because when you write a review, you get entered into a drawing to win $150 toward a pair of sunglasses (which I dont have because Ive always worn eyeglasses, so I didnt really wear sunglasses over them). But that didnt affect the kind of rating/review I gave.

IN

Ingrid Rosa Ramirez

AMAZING! Almost a year has gone by since my surgery with Dr. Melki and I couldnt be more pleased. Let me start by saying that I am very happy to have found Boston Laser as I had already been evaluated at another Lasik center in NY. I knew that I should get a second opinion and I followed my "gut". As it turns out, I made the right choice. It is always important to find out what your options are and Lasik may be just one of them, this was my case. I had a significant prescription and after being evaluated by Dr.Melki I was told that Lasik was not the best option and that in fact, he would not perform it as my results would not be as successful as someone with a lower prescription. There is no use in getting your vision corrected if the results arent going to be 100%. I respect that Dr. Melki was honest and also surprised that I still had the option to get another procedure; I was a good candidate for Visian ICL; an implantable contact lens. Dr. Melki explained the procedure and risks. (At the other Lasik center in NY I was never given any other option to correct my eyesight) I had my surgery April 2012 (right eye) and May 2012 (left eye) and its been great. I was able to see immediately after the procedure. Dr. Melki, Dr.Felix and the rest of the team were amazing. Everyones experience is different and there are always side effects that should be taken into consideration, however, I always felt I was in safe hands and I am extremely happy with the results! :-)