FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Dr. Richard Witlin MD, FACS has been performing refractive surgery since 1983.
Before starting to do LASIK surgery in 1997, Dr. Witlin had personally done hundreds of radial keratotomy surgeries and laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) surgeries. He has personally performed over 7,000 LASIK procedures and over 98% of his patients have achieved 20/40 or better vision. Even more significantly, none of his patients have ever suffered a major loss of vision related to LASIK surgery. He is currently the Co-Medical Director of the N.J. Laser Eye Center in Somerset, N.J.

All of the equipment is FDA-approved. He uses only the most technologically advanced lasers available. These include the Autonomous LANDARVision® 4000 and the Visx Star 4 lasers. Both of these lasers have eye-tracking devices and have been approved for a wide range of refractive errors including myopia, far-sightedness and astigmatism. Dr. Witlin is also certified to use a variety of microkeratomes which allows him to further customize each patient’s surgery by varying the size and thickness of the flap, as well as the position of the hinge (thereby creating either down/up or side-to-side LASIK). Dr. Witlin also offers the option of all-laser LASIK using the femtosecond laser (see Customized Laser Surgery page).

As a LASIK patient himself, Dr. Witlin can testify that the discomfort from LASIK is very mild. Patients can experience mild irritation, redness or tearing for the first few hours after surgery. Following the surgery, we strongly encourage our patients to go home and rest; and to refrain from reading or using a computer the day of surgery. By the next morning, the mild discomfort has usually completely subsided. No strong narcotics are needed.

Yes.

Yes. Most patients prefer to have both eyes done the same day. Several published studies show that the results are the same as doing one eye at a time. Most patients prefer the convenience of bilateral surgery.

Some patients do notice changes in their night vision and can experience glare and halos at night. For that sub-group of patients that notices these phenomena, these symptoms are generally quite manageable and self-limited, resolving spontaneously within 2-3 months of the surgery. Higher risk patients include patients with a combination of factors including high prescriptions and larger pupils. For these patients, Dr. Witlin strongly recommends a custom Lasik procedure. We have had excellent results using this more sophisticated technology in avoiding these types of symptoms.

Some patients do notice changes in their night vision and can experience glare and halos at night. For that sub-group of patients that notices these phenomena, these symptoms are generally quite manageable and self-limited, resolving spontaneously within 2-3 months of the surgery. Higher risk patients include patients with a combination of factors including high prescriptions and larger pupils. For these patients, Dr. Witlin strongly recommends a custom Lasik procedure. We have had excellent results using this more sophisticated technology in avoiding these types of symptoms.

Most patients can return to work the next day. It is best not to schedule a heavy reading or computer load the first day you return to work. Bring your lubricating drops to work with you and instill them liberally for the first few days following your surgery.

In most cases, the answer is no. The major insurance companies view this surgery as cosmetic (which it is not) and decline to cover it. A few union welfare plans do offer some coverage. We ask that you make payment arrangements for the day of surgery. We will give you a paid receipt for your surgery should you desire to try to seek some reimbursement from your insurance carrier.

We participate in the VSP, Spectera, and Davis Lasik Programs. Please contact us at 732-698-9300 for more details, or visit www.carecredit.com.

The answer is Yes. If you have successfully adapted to the monovision concept (that is, one eye is fitted to be distance-dominant; the other is used for reading vision), we can attempt the same correction with the laser. If monovision is something you are considering, please discuss this in detail with either Dr. Witlin or your own optometrist before the surgery has been planned.