[BerkshireGrl]

Hello all!

I was wondering if there is anyone who has had their LASIK done at the Laservue clinic in Montreal?

A coworker went there in 2005 and praised them like mad... she went from -7.5 vision to 20/20 the next day!

My sight is not that bad, it's -3.5 and -5.0, with a mild astigmatism, but I have been wearing glasses since I was 7. I'm now 36 and ready to LOSE THEM, ugh! I've tried contacts but like glasses better, if you can imagine that. Contacts were just too much of a hassle, between the religious cleaning and buying solutions all the time. I'd so much rather just be able to open my eyes and SEE in the morning! Go swimming and see! Or not have my glasses falling off from sweat when I exercise... Ah so many reasons!

Here is the cost info I have from 2005 for Laservue in Montreal:

You can schedule your appointments at anytime, your length of stay in Montreal will vary depending on which laser will be needed. We can offer both standard or custom cornea wavefront laser. According to your prescription you could be a candidate for either lasers, more extensive tests will be required to confirm.

The surgical fee for the standard laser (treatment of myopia)will be $800.00USD** per eye, not including pre and post-op care.(surgeries Monday to Friday). Requires one night stay.

What to expect on your first day (Standard laser)

You arrive one hour prior to your surgery. We double check tests results do some tests of our own and then we prep you for surgery. The surgery itself takes about 15 minutes.

Custom cornea wavefront laser

The surgical fee for wavefront custom laser is $1200.00USD** per eye, not including pre and post-op care and requires two nights stay in Montreal. (surgeries Monday to Friday) Treatment of myopia and/or myopia with astigmatism.

I just emailed them last night to see if they have bumped up their prices, I wouldn't be surprised if they did after almost 3 years...

If anyone has indeed had it done there, I am curious what your grand total $ ended up being at the end. I am thinking of going for the wavefront custom laser because the results are better vision more of the time and healing time is reduced also. Heck it's my eyes, I can cough up $800 more for it I think!

If you had it done in the US or elsewhere in Canada too, I'd be interested in hearing all stories! When you had it done, the cost, recovery time, any problems you had, and would you do it again?

Thanks! I'm hoping to get it done in May 2008 when I have some vacation scheduled...

[StillTryin]

I am interested in your replies as I would love to have this done also. My eyes seem to be about the same prescription as yours...I have not had a change in prescription since I was 18...but hate the glasses and agree about the contacts being a pain. I hope you get some good replies

[lovinlifex2]

I didn't have mine done at the facility you are referring to, but I did have mine done almost a year ago (Jan 5, 2007) and LOVE IT!!

I am not honestly sure what type of laser it was. I had worn glasses since I was 7 years old until I was about 13 when I got my first contacts and then wore them until last year.

It was a bit more expensive than you have referenced above. It was $4,000 US dollars, but I did have a vision plan through my work (Superior Vision Plus) that covered 20% of it so I only paid $3,200 out of pocket. But, mine also included the evaluation, all pre op and all post op care - which included checkups the day after, 2 weeks after, 2 months after, 6 months after and 1 year after surgery.

I had to be there 2 hours before my surgery and they just checked me in and then took me back and took vitals and offered some valium if you wanted it. Then they started putting a series of eye drops in my eyes. Some every 2 minutes for about the next 20 min. I beileve this was to both dialate and numb the eye. Then I walked back to the operating type room and laid on the table.

They used an instrument to open my eye and the doctor said that my vision would go black so don't get upset it was normal. He put something on it and felt like a twist and then it did go black, but came back about 10 seconds later. This was a little flap that they cut in the eye and lift up to expose it for the laser. He told me to hold very still as the laser lined up. The laser itself sounded like a rubber band snapping and it did smell like hair burning, but I felt no pain during the procedure. He laid the flap back down and spayed air over it to seal it nice and tight. He told me exactly what was going on the whole time and was very nice. Then he repeated the other eye.

I was only in the room maybe 10 min at the most and then walked out to the recovery area. I could see right after, but it was very blurry. I had to stay there for an hour while they put more drops in and then they checked the flap to make sure it was still sealed after that and then let me go home. No overnight stay was required. I did have to go back in the next morning.

The procedure itself did not hurt, but honestly that night it did hurt quite a bit. They were burning and stinging like I had sand in them, but I tried to sleep most of the evening and when I woke up the next morning most of the discomfort was gone. I went in for my checkup the next morning and my vision was perfect 20/20.

I had to wear what looked like skiing goggles to bed for the first month to avoid rubbing or bumping the eye so as to not damagethe flap. I was told to be very careful not to rub my eyes for about the first 3 months due to that some reason and to not let water get in them at all. My eyes were very dry about the first 3 months. I was using rewetting drops about every couple hours or so, but most of that has gone away. I noticied that the longer I would stare at my computer screen at work the drier they would get and I still use them every morning when I get up, but other than that I never had any other side effects.

I don't regret the surgery for one second. It is the best money that I ever spent and would do it again in a heartbeat.

I hope that helps some. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Good luck - you will love it!!

[BerkshireGrl]

lovinlifex2 - Thank you so much for your reply! That was great information... I have read that about dryness, yes, but that it goes away after the severed nerves grow back in the healed flap. With 20/20 vision, a little dryness? I say no problem!

I am now officially scheduled to have LASIK done at Laservue on May 12th!

Woohoo! I will definitely come back to this thread and post a full recounting of everything... I am very excited to get rid of my glasses

Strange side note: One cannot fly direct from Albany, NY to Montreal. Weird eh? The cheapest round-trip flight I found go first to Newark in NJ, on Continental -- and cost $500 per person round trip -- but just for about a 1-hour flight each way! Yikes! So my mom and I are gonna drive 4 1/2 hours up to Montreal instead, heh!

Perfect vision... here I come!

I was initially planning to spend my 10 day vacation in Portland, Oregon, but I decided seeing clearly for many years was a better way to spend a couple grand

[BerkshireGrl]

Just thought I would bump this up to see if anyone new out there has experience with the Laservue clinic in Montreal, or has had LASIK themselves

I've got just a bit over a month to go before I get lasered and I'm EXCITED!

Everything I have read about Laservue has been positive and my local eye doc partners with them to do all pre- and post-op care. So, while I am still a bit nervous about having micro-thin layers burned off my eyes with a laser (eep!), I'm going for it.

It's going to run me $2,600 US for Custom Wavefront LASIK ($1,300 per eye) and then $500 for my local doc: total $3,100.

I'd love to hear anyone's stories about their own LASIK experience, no matter where you got it

I will be sure to come back here after May 12th and tell you all about it too!

[BerkshireGrl]

From my long-ago thread, I am very happy to report that Laservue in Montreal was fantastic. Very, very professional and skilled.

Within a few days after surgery in May 2008, my eyes stabilized at 20/15 vision... Even better than 20/20!

Every day I am amazed at the result. Best money I ever spent. I wish I could pay for everyone with poor eyesight to have this surgery.