| SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series:
Lasik Eye Surgery Questions & Answers
( 50 articles
in this series )
Wavefront
Technology:
Why Does it Increase the Cost of Lasik?
Custom Lasik surgery, using wavefront technology, is a relatively
new procedure that offers distinct advantages over traditional
Lasik surgery. This advance in Lasik technology uses
equipment that is capable of making many more measurements
of the eye,
with more precision than traditional Lasik. The benefit of
more measurements is a Lasik procedure that will be individualized
(customized) to your eye, more than was ever possible with
the traditional Lasik procedure. The laser used for the measurements
is also much faster than the one used for the traditional
Lasik procedure, this allows the laser to keep up with the
uncontrollable eye movements that your eye normally makes
(saccadic eye movements), resulting in more accurate measurement
that greatly reduce the possibilities of side-effects.
The advanced capabilities of Custom Lasik, as valuable as
they are to the patient, only account for a small part of the
patients additional cost when Custom Lasik is chosen over traditional
Lasik. The primary reasons that Custom Lasik is more expensive
are more practical:
- Custom Lasik requires the doctor and his staff to spend additional
time for preoperative testing and analysis as well as in the
performance of the more complex procedure.
- The wavefront equipment is much more expensive than the equipment
used for the traditional Lasik procedure so expenses relating
to the purchase or lease and maintenance of the wavefront equipment
are higher; additional supplies are also required.
- A royalty fee must be paid to the equipment manufacturer every
time the equipment is used, the royalty for the wavefront equipment
may be up to $150.00 more than the clinic has to pay for the
traditional Lasik equipment.
Time
factors. Wavefront is based on NASA research; it measures
the unique ability of each patient's eye to absorb and reflect
light. The wavefront equipment is capable of making 200 unique
measurements that create what might be called a three-dimensional
topographic map of your cornea; compare this to only three
measurements made using traditional Lasik equipment. Time is
money and the Lasik surgeon and his staff will need to spend
up to one-hour more with each Custom Lasik patient than they
would with a traditional Lasik patient. This extra time is
spent evaluating your condition to see if you are a good candidate
for Custom Lasik, performing the pre-op analysis if it is determined
that Custom Lasik is right for you, and operating and monitoring
the equipment during the wavefront mapping procedure and during
the actual surgical procedure all take longer because of the
added complexity.
Equipment
costs. The additional investment required by a Laser
clinic to enable them to perform the Custom Lasik procedure
is over $100,000.00. Added to that, the clinic must provide
supplies for each patient that are specifically required for
the Custom Lasik procedure; these can add up to several hundred
dollars for each patient.
Royalties. A royalty payment to the manufacturer of each piece
of Lasik equipment, each time that equipment is used, is standard
procedure; this royalty payment for the wavefront equipment
is typically between $140.00 and $250 per use (where use is
defined as a procedure on only one eye), depending on the clinic's
arrangement with the equipment manufacturer. This royalty fee
arrangement allows the manufacturer to recoup the cost of research
and development.
These costs are in addition to the Lasik clinic's other costs
of operation which include:
- gowns, masks, gloves and other items for keeping the operation
sterile.
- microkeratome blades, surgical solutions and medications used
during the surgery.
- overhead costs for the surgery center, which includes office
and surgical staff salaries and benefits, rent, office equipment,
and office administration.
- patient acquisition costs, which include advertising, seminars,
and fees paid to other eye care practitioners for comanagement.
- insurance to cover the facility, equipment and malpractice
law suits.
- equipment leasing or purchase costs for other pieces of equipment
used for associated procedures or other procedures.
- royalty fees to equipment manufacturers for other Lasik equipment.
After gaining a good understanding of the complexity and cost
of the wavefront technology and equipment it is somewhat easier
to understand why the Lasik surgeon has increased the cost
of Custom Lasik in relation to traditional Lasik.
Click here and learn how to get near 20/20 vision naturally. It's my SolveYourProblem recommendation.
# # # # #
by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
> Home > Lasik
Eye Surgery Articles: Main Page
|
