NVISION Eye Centers - Newport Beach

Reviews 3

TO

Tom W

Most experienced Ophthalmologist in the WESTERN UNITED STATES. No exaggeration; 100,000+ surgeries. Why risk your eyes in the hands of someone inexperienced? You dont have to worry about going blind from any surgeon; the difference is your risk of side effects. Studies show more experienced surgeons = less side effects. I have no side effects and am loving life. Hes also referred to as the "Maestro," he even fixes other LASIK surgeons poor jobs! REFERRALS!!!! This is huge! If you are referred to the office, you can get $100 off your surgery! Private message me and I will give you a referral. I also get $100 out of it. NOTE: You must mention you were referred on your first visit, or else its difficult to get the discount. I have to say though, I felt like the staff could be a little bit better organized about how they give you the information as to what meds to take when. It seemed a little bit disorganized and like some of the staff had slightly different instructions. Double check with the staff that you fully understand how it works and what to do when. Ok so how does the whole process work? Here is a quick breakdown of what to expect: --Free consultation. You will get to talk to Dr. Tooma. Might be over the phone only though due to his busy schedule. He just bought out TLC afterall =P --The standard price is about $5200 for getting both eyes done, including lifetime benefits and all post operation checkups and most of your meds. This is on the higher end amongst laser eye surgeries, but hey, you are paying for the experienced surgeon --The day of surgery takes roughly 2 hours. You are under the laser for like 3 minutes. The laser was only on during a 20 second period for my eyes. Dont worry, the lasers track eye movement so its not like theyll accidentally burn your eye from moving. REMEMBER, there have been no recorded cases of blindness as a direct result from a surgery, so dont worry about them burning a hole through your eye. BONUS TIPS!! --If your insurance covers lasik at all, it might give you an allowance towards lasik on a yearly basis. Do what I did and split your surgery into two separate appointments (one for each eye) for December and January the month after. That way you maximize your allowance because its split into two different years. --Use the coupons dr. tooma gives! there might be some coupons online too. My restasis is free due to coupons! --Use lots of preservative free artificial tears! The more the merrier because its better for healing and decreasing side effects. You can never have too much of the preservative free artificial tears. --Ask them for free samples! They have lots in stock and they hand them out like candy. --After you have perfect eyes, what will you do with your VSP insurance? If you still have it, you can use your VSP insurance to get discounted quality sunglasses through your optometrist! No more cheap $10 sunglasses from target for me! --Bring your own video camera if you want to record your operation! Your friend/family who accompanies you can watch the procedure with a TV monitor showing a close up of your eye. You can easily just hold up a video camera to record the recording lol

A

A Private User

Best decision – Ever. I was on a time crunch – 3 weeks to get LASIK done before my birthday. I was going to be cut off from my dad’s insurance because of the dependents age limit. If I didn’t get it done, I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of the my dads 30%+ company discount. That’s a lot of money! I got the procedure done a week before my birthday. I wanted to get LASIK for years but never had the money. I extensively researched LASIK online, talked to people who had it done, visited various offices for information, went to seminars and knew a friend who previously worked for a LASIK doctor. I was afraid of the procedure. I found clips online of how it would the procedure would be done…the top of my eyeball needed to be sliced? I would smell burning? What now?? I weighed the situation over and over. Did I really want to be stuck with bottle cap glasses where even the thinnest possible lenses would still be too thick? My eyes were -6.75/-7.5. My nose hurt and had indentations from my heavy glasses. The oil from my lashes always brushed up against the lenses and made it difficult to see clearly. Because I felt self-conscious with glasses, I was a devoted contacts lens-wearer for nearly ten years. And with more money, I was able to travel the world…which made contacts a hassle with needing extra pairs and an ample supply of solution. I would dread coming to the last pair, thinking about the upfront cost of a year’s supply. I made a decision and went to the Newport TLC for a consultation. Initial testing on their high tech gizmos revealed I was a candidate for LASIK but to be sure, I needed to meet with their affiliated optometrist for a comprehensive exam. The referred optometrist turned out to be the one I’ve been going to for the last two years. I thought, “They made a good choice, because I like my optometrist and her office a lot.” Found out my eye pressures were strong enough for LASIK and was able to get it done 2 weeks later. This could have been sooner, but I needed to be completely free of contacts – since they warp the eye and can skew the final pre-LASIK readings. The Newport TLC staff was ridiculously friendly. They explained everything in detail and answered all my long list of questions. I was amazed of how organized everything was – the paperwork and staff. I didn’t have to take off much time from work because they made everything as convenient and easy as possible. I was antsy the day of my procedure. I opted to watch two procedures before it was my turn(there is a viewing pane) and my mind was going crazy while my heart was at a steady pulse (thanks to some drugs). The drug-administering person went beyond the drug-calming and stood with me watching the doctor and his patient and explained each step. When it was my turn the doctor and his assistant did the same with great reassurance. The procedure went by quickly and painlessly. I went to sleep that night and open my eyes to crisp and clear images. Nothing hurt and nothing stung. I went from 20/800 to 20/20 vision. Thus, best decision EVER.

RY

Ryan Thomas

NVISION and Dr. Tooma were recommended to me by my optometrist in July 2012, and I had an incredible experience. I went in for a free consultation, and the staff was extremely friendly. After a few brief (painless) tests to verify my prescription, I was brought to an office where I watched a video about the surgery. The representative, Sierra, was extremely friendly and was able to address all of my concerns. An on-site optometrist came in to double check my eyes; I cannot remember his name but he was also very friendly. Sierra even called Dr. Tooma in to speak with me, and he too, made me feel welcomed and appreciated. Sierra explained the entire process, clearly stating all expectations, including procedures, costs, risks, etc. I tentatively set up a surgery date at this appointment for August. There wasnt much haggling with price, but I paid $4600 (reduced from $6000) out the door, after turning down financing, and getting a deduction through my Vision Insurance. There was a less-expensive offer if I either choose to forgo the life-time guarantee, or if I chose to have a different surgeon than Dr. Tooma. I also chose to have the Femtosecond laser procedure with traditional Lasik to correct my near-sightedness. Per the instructions, in the weeks leading up to my procedure, I took all of the required drops. My friends all thought I was crazy carrying around little bottles of eye drops. The day of surgery was easy, I came in the late afternoon, was taken in to have my measurements re-confirmed, met with an optometrist, was given Xanax and a few other drops, and waited my turn in the waiting room. Unlike other reviews have mentioned, I NEVER felt like cattle, I never felt rushed. After about a 20-30 minute wait in the waiting room, I was in the room for procedure. Dr. Tooma again was very friendly, and made sure that I was comfortable. The whole procedure took less than 20 minutes. I was then taken to the waiting room to rest until my ride came. I think I was at the NVISION center for less than 2 hours. When I went home, I had a small bite to eat and went straight to bed. I got a full nights rest and when I woke up, I was seeing 20/20 at least! At my next-day follow-up, my optometrist declared that I had 20/15 vision. For the next few weeks, I did see halos around lights when driving at night, and I continued to take the prescribed eye-drops as recommended, in addition to artificial tears. I took artificial tears for about 2 months, as my eyes were regularly dry; I have not had any issues with dry eyes since the beginning of October. Every follow-up appointment I have had with my optometrist, he is continually impressed with my vision. I can clearly see 20/15, and can usually get 7 out of 8 letters correct on the 20/10 test. Overall, I would recommend this surgery to anyone who can afford it. It is well-worth it.