WORKING WITH YOUR REGULAR EYE DOCTOR
Many eye doctors today offer vision correction surgery as an option for their patients who don’t want to wear glasses or contact lenses. Your regular eye doctor should review the risks and complications of vision correction surgery with you and provide written material to further your education. He or she will often do the comprehensive eye examination to ensure your eyes are healthy, and then refer you to a capable surgeon.
You may have a choice of having your postoperative care performed by the surgeon (or another doctor on his staff) or your regular eye doctor.
Often, your regular eye doctor will also provide routine postoperative care for you as well. This carefully coordinated sharing of care between the surgeon and your primary eye doctor is called comanagement. It offers you the advantage of a second expert who knows you well to oversee the process and ensure that you are satisfied with the results.
If you are traveling far to be treated by an expert surgeon, you will naturally want to have your eye doctor close to home take care of you. If the surgeon is located nearby, you may still wish to have your regular eye doctor provide your routine postoperative care.
After surgery, your regular eye doctor will check your vision and examine your eyes to ensure proper healing, and he or she can provide temporary eyeglasses or contact lenses if needed during the healing process. After you have healed, he or she can also help you make the decision about whether or not enhancement is appropriate if your vision is not perfect. Your regular eye doctor will stay in close contact with the surgeon in case any difficulties arise during your postoperative course.
Making The Decision
