FAQ’s of Patients from Out Of Mumbai

Ans. Like I said above you can travel anywhere after 3 days of the procedure and need not be seen by us again unless convenient to you. You will be asked to follow up in your own city and we give you a detailed report of the same. Usually the follow up need not be done at an eye surgeon as a consultation, but just a routine examination with an optometrist in your city, that too after 3 months of the procedure. Most of our patients visit us again when they come back to Mumbai and we do not charge for these follow-ups. The regular follow up schedule if convenient to you would be … the next day, after 7-10 days, after 3 months and then after a year.

Ans. Yes, as I said above you can travel anywhere after 3 days of the procedure, go on a nice vacation WITHOUT glasses! Usually, most people prefer to do the LASIK procedure before their vacation, so that they may enjoy the same. Also, since most come back to Mumbai before flying out, they get a chance to come for a follow-up check up again. However we leave it up to you to plan your procedure during your trip and would help you schedule the dates for the same. Many of our patients go to Goa and other places in India after LASIK.

Ans. The precautions are fairly simple and would be similar to all irrespective of LASIK done. The fear is of catching an eye infection. The first week after LASIK you will be on eye drops which are antibiotics so that aspect is anyways taken care of. However, some general and basic rules of hygiene such as not rubbing your eyes with unclean hands, carrying a hand sanitizer to keep the hands clean etc helps. We ask you to wear a pair of good UV protecting sunglasses when outdoors to protect your eyes from dust, strong sunlight and allergens. Only swimming underwater is to be avoided for a few days. Those looking forward to enjoy our beaches can swim in the sea or pool, but with swimming goggles for protection.

Ans. The success of laser vision correction or LASIK depends on a multitude of factors, primary being the expertise of the doctor along with a good laser technology in an International standard set up of hygiene and care with stringent eligibility criteria. Many doctors today budget the LASIK and discount LASIK prices esp in India. This is only possible if one can cut costs, but that would be at the cost of compromising quality, re using blades, working with older cheaper technology etc. Many use the Nidek and Mel lasers which give problems in night vision and glares in over 50% of their patients. These lasers do not have wavefront technology either. In the USA the FDA has even proven that most complications arise in discount LASIK centres. We are proud to say that within a JCI Certified hospital, with strict protocols on hygiene, a completely disposable centre and with a Wavelight 500 Hz laser system using wavefront or custom LASIK technology, we offer a far superior, safe and reliable technology at affordable comparable prices.

Ans. Dr. Anand Shroff, Chief Surgeon, at the Shroff Eye Hospital, Bandra, Mumbai, has several years of experience in LASIK and is among the country’s longest-standing users of the benchmark ‘flying-spot’ laser technology. He also is the first to use the WaveLight Allegretto 200 Hz excimer laser in India before the most recent Concerto 500 Hz was launched at our Eye Hospital. Wavefront LASIK or custom LASIK is the most advanced LASIK method today. It can be performed using various lasers. The speed of the laser and its applications are very important in delivering results. Today, we use the world’s fastest laser the 500 HZ whereas most other lasers are close to 50-100 Hz and some to 200-250-400 Hz. Wavefront technology has been around since 1998. It is specifically for those patients who would end up unhappy if a standard LASIK procedure is done on them. These patients are detected during their LASIK screening and evaluation, by certain specific indications which would arise on the topography and aberrometry tests. It is also a technology for those who have undergone LASIK on poor obsolete lasers or have undergone PRK or RK [other techniques for removal of spectacle numbers] and are having problems. We believe in the best, having always stood for distinction in eye care. After working on different lasers and being offered other lasers still entering the market, we went ahead with the Wavelight Concerto 500 Hz laser because of its superior technology. Most lasers are retrofitted for wavefront or to simply put upgraded whilst this laser has been developed for wavefront from scratch. The detailed research in the laser system took into account the needs of the surgeon, patient as well as looked after the many drawbacks of the other laser systems. To put it simply, the ‘ wavefront’ is the way the natural light pathway goes in the eye thru the entire optics. This is supposed to be a smooth path in an ideal eye. As the light travels thru the other optical system inside the eye, like the lens, vitreous jelly etc. it undergoes further degradation. This is acceptable to a certain extent and that is why the eye surgeons have reached a 6/6 or 20/20 criteria as normal sight. However, when these errors or ‘higher order aberrations’ as they are known, exist to an extent in which they need to be treated then wavefront treatments [Custom LASIK] are a must for such patients. Earlier lasers without wavefront technology can only correct the spectacle number, which arises from the curvature irregularities of the cornea. Our laser can treat the entire optical system errors. Further, when we treat these optical errors by doing wavefront, some patients actually gain lines of sight, better than 6/6 OR 20/20. Then again, that is not our aim alone. We want to give quality of sight. By which I mean good contrast sensitivity and good night vision. In the night the pupil expands or dilates to let in more light for visibility. If a laser treats a zone, which is smaller in diameter than the diameter of expansion of the pupil, then what you have is an untreated rim of cornea, which in the night is going to disperse light in various directions resulting in haloes or glares of light. This is the problem most of the West ie. USA is facing, because most of their lasers treat a 5 mm zone only and because of lighter colored eyes, their pupils [in US] can dilate upto 7 mm. Our laser can treat wide pupils and has a near zero percent of night vision problems in our experience. There is a lot more of this laser, which helps the patient and the doctor. We can now treat higher numbers with more accuracy, re- treat earlier laser unhappy patients to get better night vision etc. and include patients who would have been poor candidates for earlier technology. This is why our success rates have been good from the beginning, as we have been thorough in our patient evaluation and stringent in our eligibility criteria.

Ans. The laser systems should possess specific features for higher quality visual results. The Wavelight company [our laser company] was the first laser to have done the worldwide wavefront LASIK treatment which others have modified or upgraded in their already existing lasers. Features of our Laser comparing with other Lasers 1 Laser Spot Size The small laser spot size is mandatory to produce fine complex treatment patterns. Smaller the size, finer the treatment. Ours is the smallest in the world so far… viz 0.68 HM 2 Speed Shortens ablation/ treatment time remarkably. To the benefit of the surgeon and to the comfort of the patient, Because shortened corneal exposure time allows faster visual recovery. The rapid rate is vital to maintain corneal hydration intra-operatively, especially in wavefront guided procedures with larger optical zones where a prolonged treatment time could adversely affect the planned treatment profile. A simple principle in laser refractive surgery is to keep the eye as physiologically hydrated as possible intra-operatively for a faster visual recovery. Hence, faster speed lasers have better visual outcomes. Our is the fastest in the world so far… viz 500 Hz keeping in mind the safety limit as well. 3 Optical Zone Ideally the laser should have the widest treatment area that also removes the least tissue possible, which is what our laser supports. Most Other lasers in order to treat a wider area, take out more corneal tissue. This also results in night vision problems. In the night the pupil expands or dilates to let in more light for visibility. If a laser treats a zone, which is smaller in diameter than the diameter of expansion of the pupil, then what you have is an untreated rim of cornea, which in the night is going to result in haloes or glares of light. Most lasers treat upto a 5 mm zone to 6 mm only , ours can treat upto 7 mm. In cases of patients with night glare due to earlier treatments, the ability of our laser to retreat is highly beneficial. 4 Eye Tracking speed The eye is kept fixed with the laser during treatment. However there are fine saccadic eye movements not seen by naked eye. The Wavelight Concerto 500 Hz is better than any other excimer laser system as it tracks the eye at 500 times a second and allows for spot on treatments. Most other lasers have an eye tracker which if the eye moves even to some extent during treatment, then the laser stops. 5 Topography Link treatment Is necessary for a customized laser treatment. Especially in re treatments when undergone earlier LASIK and patient is unhappy. For topography-linked retreatments, the Wavelight Concerto 500 Hz laser has the best capabilities at present.

Ans. We can send you details of hotels close by. They have a special rate different from their rack rate for our hospital; hence ask them for the same.

Ans. We have the same fees for all patients irrespective of their Nationality. Approximately 5% to 20% are from overseas depending on the months of visit

Ans. I understand your concerns as these are usually similar to the LASIK patients from over 90 countries that we have treated. Usually, not more than 3-4 days is required post LASIK. Your only mandatory eye check required is your usual annual check that you must do in Australia or anywhere else in the world. However, yes, we definitely need you in Mumbai the next day of LASIK. Many even fly out the day after this check or on that evening itself, and still do fine as they follow the instructions what they would have followed in Mumbai, in their own city or country. One of the reasons we have a high end laser like the WaveLight 500 Hz Laser is because we treat many patients from overseas and we also do not like to re treat them. But sure, there is a possibility of re treatment, but this possibility is one of the least compared to most centres worldwide being as low as 0.4%. Centres abroad price their LASIK (the kind of LASIK we do) at a fee of 4000 Euros which is way above our fees, which is why they can afford to give guarantees as their initial fees itself cover what you would pay for re treatments. We do not charge you if you have any residual powers in the first year post LASIK. Any regression later in life is not due to initial treatment but due to usually very long hrs on the PC or if the candidate was not well chosen. We counter this long term issue with computers by advising you computer prescription glasses which will not cause any numbers to return and also the check up and treatment is both done by Dr Anand Shroff, our LASIK surgeon itself, hence we have excellent results.

Ans. We usually advise you to reach at least a day before the procedure so that the evaluation and examination can be done. This examination procedure takes about an hour in our office and the only important instruction you need to follow is to be off soft contact lenses for about a week before the examination and off hard or semi soft contact lenses for about 3 weeks. The LASIK procedure is usually planned once or twice a week and you need to inform us a week before for scheduling the date. We need to see you for a post LASIK check up the next day and at least 3-4 days later. Those who live close to Mumbai usually are sent home the next day after their examination and then seen again after 7 to 10 days.

Ans. Like I said above you can travel anywhere after 3 days of the procedure and need not be seen by us again unless convenient to you. You will be asked to follow up in your own city and we give you a detailed report of the same. Usually the follow up need not be done at an eye surgeon as a consultation, but just a routine examination with an optometrist in your city, that too after 3 months of the procedure. Most of our patients visit us again when they come back to Mumbai and we do not charge for these follow-ups. The regular follow up schedule if convenient to you would be … the next day, after 7-10 days, after 3 months and then after a year.