El CheapO laser eye surgery.

Factual Questions
1

EVERY sunday for the last 2 years this place has run seperate, full page, full color ads for laser eye in the sunday Milwaukee Urinal/sentinal: surgeryhttp://www.laservisioninstitute.com/html/loc_brookfield.html

I went for a consultation and was told the fee would be $899 per eye, which INCLUDES all follow up treatments including any future corrections I may need. I also did a background check on the doctor and didn’t find any law suites against him in this state, or against the clinic. I also talked to about 15 patients who I approached as they were coming/going and they all were happy as can be. (I know 15 isn’t much, but that’s all I found withing the course of 2 hours).

Anyway, every other clinic in this area does laser eye surgery for no less than 1800 per eye, double of what this place charges. I guess the question is, What am I missing? How is this place only charging $899? The doctor told me it was because of the sheer volume he does. I was hopping someone could shed some light. His name is Ivan A. Ireland, and he also does surgery in Florida.
This is a general question because I’m looking for information on laser surgery in general.

2

You get what you pay for. I’ve heard that some of the low fees can be due to the use of cheap laser machines. When it comes to your eyes, cheaper isn’t always better. Here are some links for more information about what to look for and be aware of:

http://www.banders.com/prevention/informedconsumer/LASIK/surgeoncriteria.html
http://www.refractivesource.com/patients/discount.htm
http://www.aao.org/

The doctor you asked about apparently keeps his costs down due to sheer volume. But that’s not always a good thing. Will he be available for your followup visits? Do you get to meet with him before your surgery? If your eyes are pretty out of whack like mine (bad astigmatism) a second operation may be necessary. Does he charge extra for enhancement surgery?