Guide to Getting LASIK in NYC
How to Find Your Best Option for Corrective Eye Surgery in New York City
By Craig Moskowitz, MD | Published March 2021, Updated April 2024
Learn if you are a good candidate
Determine if LASIK is right for you
Choosing a surgeon in NYC
What to expect
Learn more about LASIK
Introduction
If you wear prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses, then you’re familiar with one of these common vision problems:
Nearsightedness (myopia), which is the inability to see distant objects clearly
Farsightedness (hyperopia), which is the inability to see close objects clearly
Astigmatism, which is an irregular eye shape that causes blurry vision
These vision problems are often corrected with glasses or contacts. But glasses and contact lenses obviously have their drawbacks. With contacts: discomfort, inflammation, waste, and cost (years of buying lenses and solution adds up!). With glasses: Smudges. Fogging. Broken frames and scratched or shattered lenses. Above all for both – the constant hassle and inconvenience and the need to wear them in order to see clearly and get around without issue. I think there are even more drawbacks unique for New Yorkers, who are always on the move in a city with highly variable weather and plenty of dusty air and tight spaces.
What is LASIK?
LASIK stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, and the term is used by many people to describe any type of laser eye surgery. These surgeries are another option for correcting nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. According to research, LASIK results in 20/40 vision or better for 99 percent of patients, and 20/20 or better for 90 percent of patients. There are other long-term considerations, however, that may complicate this picture for you – more on this below.
If you’ve experienced the hassles and inconvenience of glasses or contacts, you’ve likely thought about LASIK. The first question to ask is if it’s an option for you.
During LASIK eye surgery, an eye surgeon creates a flap in the cornea (A) — the transparent, dome-shaped surface of the eye that accounts for a large part of the eye’s bending or refracting power. Then the surgeon uses a laser (B) to reshape the cornea, which corrects the refraction problems in the eye (C).
Can you get LASIK?
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) lists the following requirements for LASIK patients:
You should be at least 18 years old
Your eye prescription should not have changed much in the last year
Your refractive error must be one that can be treated with LASIK
Your corneas need to be healthy and thick enough
Your overall eye health must be generally good
You need to have realistic expectations about what LASIK can and cannot do for you
At the same time, the AAO says you may not be good candidates for LASIK if you have one of the following circumstances or conditions:
An autoimmune disorder, such as rheumatoid arthritis
A weakened immune system caused by immunosuppressive medications or HIV
Persistent dry eyes
Recent changes in vision due to medications, hormonal changes, pregnancy, or breast-feeding
Inflammation of the cornea, lid disorders, eye injuries, or eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, uveitis, or herpes simplex affecting the eye area
An eye disease that causes the cornea to thin and bulge, or a family history of it
Severe nearsightedness
Very large pupils or thin corneas
Age-related eye changes that cause vision to be less clear
Participation in contact sports that may result in blows to the face
However, if you have one of those conditions, you may be a good candidate for a laser eye surgery other than LASIK. For example, MedicineNet says “there is a lifelong risk of LASIK flap dislocation if there is significant trauma to the eye, so people who participate in contact sports such as boxing, martial arts, or wrestling are not likely not be a good LASIK candidate. In these instances, other refractive procedures, especially surface ablation, may be more appropriate choices.”
Finances are an equally important requirement. Most insurance plans do not cover laser correction surgery, which usually costs between $2,000 and $3,000 per eye in NYC. Read up on our pricing by clicking here.
If you have the savings and you meet all the other requirements, you’ve cleared the first hurdle and are ready to consider the next question.
Should you get LASIK?
By now, you may know that you look like a good candidate for some type of laser eye surgery. But just because you can get LASIK doesn’t mean you should get LASIK.
This section provides information to help you determine if corrective laser surgery is right for you. Although many people are told that 96% of LASIK patients are satisfied with their results, many ophthalmologists like myself cast doubt on this figure. Unfortunately, there’s a reason the FDA is likely to require that LASIK surgeons caution prospective patients about certain long-term complications with LASIK in particular.
We’ll explain the known complications of LASIK. You should consider what you hope to gain from the surgery, then decide if the risks are acceptable when considering the likely benefits.
What are your goals?
If you’re like 96 percent of LASIK patients, you’ll be thrilled with your new life without glasses or contacts. No more worrying about glasses falling off and getting stepped on. No more fog-ups. No more morning and evening routines with contact lenses. No more blurry vision when you swim from Staten Island to Brooklyn (…wear PPE!). No more shaky glasses when you’re playing soccer or softball … or chasing your kids. That’s liberating.
It’s difficult to picture all the ways your life will change when your vision is corrected through laser eye surgery. But give it a try. Picture these possibilities as vividly as you can because they are your goals for the surgery.
What are the risks?
For most people, the biggest fear of LASIK is blindness. And that seems reasonable. After all, somebody is blasting a laser beam right into your eyeball, right? Well, not really. The American Refractive Surgery Council reports that “LASIK has never been the primary, exclusive cause of blindness.” That’s after 800,000+ LASIK surgeries each year in the United States alone.
So what are the risks? They vary, depending on the type of eye surgery you have. That means it’s time to explore your corrective laser surgery options.
Risks with LASIK
You will likely return to your regular activities one or two days after surgery. You may experience some initial discomfort, but if you have side effects, they are more likely to be long-term effects due to the flap cut into your cornea. Your cornea remains in two parts instead of one, and because the two parts never fuse completely, you may experience chronic dry eyes or night vision problems like starbursts and halo effects.
Starbursts that some LASIK patients experience after surgery.
And when the flap is cut, nerves are also cut. One Reddit user shared this observation:
“The nerves in your corneas are gone. It’s just a fact of the surgery. The doctors may tell you it’s no big deal, but it really does change things a bit. For example, I don’t know if my eyes are dry until I have visual symptoms now, where corneas are likely shriveled up like prunes, which I imagine would be excruciating if I still had nerves there. It’s scary to think you have to actively keep track of your eyes because your nerves don’t speak to you anymore.”
In general, LASIK carries higher risk than PRK or ASA, two procedures that accomplish the same thing.
LASIK patients tend to have a higher risk for complications because the LASIK surgeon cuts a flap of the cornea that is usually about 20% of the entire corneal thickness.
Click here to read more about potential complications from LASIK.
Risks with PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)
PRK is the oldest laser eye surgery, first performed in 1988. There is no cut into the cornea. Instead, the top layer of the cornea is removed, and then a laser reshapes the layers underneath. The outer layer grows back over time.
The risks of PRK include:
Discomfort or pain for up to three days after surgery, due to the bandage (more like a contact lens) that’s temporarily placed over your eye(s) while the outer layer regenerates
Scarring (rare)
Watery or irritated eyes
Halos or bursts of light, especially at night; this side effect typically ends after a few weeks, but in some cases is permanent
Double vision
Dry eyes
Risks with Advance Surface Ablation (ASA)
ASA is like PRK in that the surgeon does not make any cut into your cornea. ASA is often performed on patients who are not good LASIK candidates because they have a thin cornea or because they participate in high-contact sports. Because there’s no cut, and because 90% of LASIK complications involve the flap, ASA is considered to be 10 times safer than LASIK. There’s no risk of the flap-related complications of dry eyes, halos, starbursts, and ghosting.
With ASA, you may experience blurry vision during the first two days. It’s caused by the contact-like bandage that’s temporarily placed over your eye(s) for protection. Also, you’re likely to experience mild discomfort and pain for 24-48 hours following surgery. Prescription pain relief and medicated eye drops help to reduce pain and inflammation. ASA is a more refined version of PRK with less haze, scarring, post-op pain, and a quicker recovery.
In short, LASIK brings great benefits with some very real risks, while ASA brings those same benefits with none of LASIK’s risks.
You may run across the term LASEK, which stands for LASer-assisted Epithelial Keratomileusis. LASEK is a type of ASA surgery and shares the characteristics of ASA stated here.
Is corrective laser surgery for you?
Now that you’re aware of the different types of laser surgery, and you’ve thought through your goals for the surgery, you can confidently know if LASIK or one of the other laser eye surgeries is right for you.
If you’re ready to go for it, the next step is to find the right care provider!
Where should you get Laser Eye Surgery?
One of the double-edged swords of being a New Yorker is the infinite number of options you have to find a healthcare specialist or provider of almost any professional service. This can make the search for a LASIK surgeon overwhelming.
It goes without saying that you should have a board-certified ophthalmologist perform your surgery.
But before you begin your search for a LASIK surgeon in the New York City / Tri-State Area, you should decide which type of corrective laser surgery you want to ensure your surgeon performs the type of laser eye surgery you want.
The following grid compares the important factors of each type of surgery. You’ll notice trade-offs between short-term and long-term results. If you know which factors are most important to you, this table should help you decide which surgery is right for you.
Considerations for Each Type of Laser Eye Surgery:
* Time after surgery when the patient can expect to resume normal activities with no discomfort or vision problems.
After you’ve decided which type of corrective laser surgery is best for you, it’s time to find your surgeon.
If you have friends or family members who have had they type of laser surgery you want, ask if they recommend their surgeon. Otherwise, start your online search with Zocdoc, or just use Google to search for lasik surgeons downtown, prk surgery manhattan, or asa specialists nyc.
When you review an opthalmologist’s website, make sure you’re picking up a sense of personality that resonates with you. If you’re a no-nonsense person and their website is full of hype, you may not be happy working with this doctor.
When you’ve selected your top surgeon, it’s very important to verify that they’re board certified and licensed to practice in New York.
You can verify board certification at the American Board of Ophthalmology website.
You can verify licensure on the NYSED website. In the “Search by name within a profession” area, select “Physician” as the profession, type your surgeon’s name in the format of last name first name (example: “Doe Jane”), then click the Search button.
Once a surgeon has gotten this far in your search, it’s time to call their office.
These are some important questions to ask:
How many years have you been performing laser eye surgery?
Only you will know how many years of experience makes you comfortable with this surgeon.
Which type of laser eye surgeries do you perform, and why?
Make sure this surgeon performs the surgery you want.
Listen to the surgeon’s reasons for doing the surgeries they do. Does the surgeon’s explanation make you glad you chose the surgery you chose?
What is your availability before and after my procedure?
It may not seem important now, but you are likely to want a surgeon who is available to answer your questions as you get closer to the day of surgery. And after your surgery, you’ll have a different set of questions with different urgency.
Who will perform my surgery?
Will you be comfortable if your surgeon intends to let an understudy perform your surgery?
When can I schedule my consultation?
If the surgeon doesn’t offer an initial consultation or preoperative appointment, you may want to start over with your search. The consultation is a crucial step for you.
Come to your in-person consultation with all your questions written down. Ask them all, and don’t move on to your next question until you’re satisfied with the answer to your last question. Be sure to ask:
What are possible risks and side effects?
When can I resume normal activities?
How will you manage my pain?
What kind of assistance will I need at home?
What medication will I need before and after the surgery?
How should I contact you before and after the surgery?
If you have any concerns after your conversation(s), consider starting over with your search. These are your eyes, and you want to be certain they’re as important to your surgeon as they are to you.
But if you’re confident you’ve got the right surgeon, then you can start planning for your surgery … and your life with excellent vision without glasses or contact lenses!
When you get LASIK
Your surgeon will provide all the details of what you need to do as your surgery date approaches, as well as what you need to do after your surgery.
Still, it’s not too early to get some sense of what to expect when you have corrective laser surgery in NYC.
The days before your surgery:
You’ll need to arrange for a ride home. You won’t want to be on the subway right after eye surgery. And sure, you could hail a cab or get an Uber ride back home... but most people prefer to be driven home by someone they know so they can relax in the passenger seat. Take care of this detail weeks before your surgery if possible.
On the day of your surgery:
Skip the makeup routine if you have one. You’ll may receive medicine to help you relax. You’ll get anesthetic eye drops to numb your eyes.
Laser eye surgery typically takes less than half an hour. You’ll be awake during the procedure. Plan for about an hour at the facility where you’re having your surgery.
If you have LASIK surgery, the Mayo Clinic offers these expectations:
Immediately after surgery, your eye might itch, feel gritty, burn and be watery. You'll probably have blurred vision. You generally will experience little pain, and you'll usually recover your vision quickly.
You might be given pain medication or eyedrops to keep you comfortable for several hours after the procedure. Your eye doctor might also ask you to wear a shield over your eye at night until your eye heals.
You'll be able to see after surgery, but your vision won't be clear right away. It takes about two to three months after your surgery before your eye heals and your vision stabilizes. Your chances for improved vision are based, in part, on how good your vision was before surgery.
The days after your surgery:
You will likely need to hold off on cosmetics for a few weeks. Depending on the type of surgery you have, you may have a new medication regimen for a few days to protect against infection and to help you avoid unnecessary discomfort. And depending on the type of surgery you have, you’ll be back to your normal routine as soon as the next day, enjoying great vision and NOT missing smudgy or foggy glasses, daily contact lens routines, or any of the other hassles and inconveniences of wearing glasses and contact lenses in our great city!
Click here or below to download a checklist to help you prepare for getting LASIK or another laser eye surgery procedure:
Other Resources for Researching LASIK
If there’s one lesson to bring away from this piece, it’s that it’s absolutely critical for you to do your research. The “secret” to every A+ Laser Vision Correction outcome is – you guessed it – homework. Don’t rush your decision. Don’t allow a LASIK center to pressure you with aggressive salesmanship or a limited-time offer. Don’t compromise. Saving a few hundred dollars does not justify the risk. This research – coupled with discussing your lifestyle and expectations in detail with your surgeon – will help ensure that your procedure will transform your life for the better.
To help New Yorkers choose the corrective surgery that is most likely to succeed for them personally, we maintain a Laser Eye Surgery blog. In terms of third-party resources, we think the r/LASIK subreddit can be an excellent resource, and even AI (ChatGPT) can be useful. Check out both of those blog posts to learn more about how you can do third-party research.
About this Guide
This Guide to Corrective Eye Surgery in NYC is provided for free by Dr. Moskowitz of Moskowitz Eye Care.
Its intent is to minimize friction for people in and around New York City who are trying to find their way to vision restoration through surgery. You have a lot of options. Perhaps too many options. We hope you find this Guide helpful, and wish you all the best in your pursuit of excellent vision.
