Costs and Effectiveness of Eye Surgery

Suffering from nearsightedness can be frustrating to live with.  Wearing glasses or contact lenses can be a nuisance and occasionally painful.  Luckily, with modern technology, there are plenty of non-invasive surgical options to help repair your nearsightedness and keep you from ever having to go back to wearing glasses of contact lenses again!  Many insurance companies fully or partially cover these procedures, however, there are some surgical eye procedures that are not covered and the costs of eye surgery can be extremely high. 

Lasik eye surgery is one of the most popular procedures done today.  Done on an outpatient basis, the entire procedure from start to finish is generally done in less than one hour.  You are awake during the procedure with only an anesthetic eye drop applied to numb the incision area.  Occasionally, a mild sedative is given to help the patient to relax.  This surgery is usually covered under most insurance plans and on average runs about $2000 per eye.

If you suffer from cataracts, eye surgery may prove to be beneficial for you.  Using a laser, your cornea is gently cut and the flap is lifted exposing the cataracts damage.  A small laser probe is then used to break up the cloudy matter and suction is applied to absorb the fragments.  Occasionally, instead of just lifting a flap, the entire cornea is needed to be removed and then replaced once the cataract is abolished.  If the surgery is successful, patients report bright and clear vision instead of the cloudy film cover that they had dealt with prior to the cataracts surgery.  Most insurance companies cover the costs of this procedure which can run upwards of $3000.

An eye procedure that is most expensive and also not generally covered under medical insurance is permanent implantable contact lenses.  Designed for patients with profound nearsightedness, this high priced eye procedure is also highly effective.  A survey given to patients who received permanent implantable contact lenses reported of having perfect 20/20 or better vision as far as five years post-operation.  Of those surveyed, 97% said that they would have the procedure done again if necessary.  As stated above, this procedure is not usually covered under any medical plan and is one of the most expensive eye surgeries performed today.  The cost can range from $1500 or $5000 with an average of about $3500.  Although the cost is extremely high, the benefit of having perfect vision might outweigh the cost.
When considering which procedure is best for you, the costs of eye surgery are definitely something that should take priority.  If you have excellent medical insurance, choosing Lasik eye surgery should be an easy decision.  It is fast, effective with very little recovery time.  If you are tired of constantly changing your contact lenses and dealing with the itchy and sticky eyes that go along with daily lens use, paying the high cost for implantable contact lenses may be the best choice for you.  Discuss with your ophthalmologist which direction they believe you should go.