NVISION Eye Centers - LASIK eye clinic - San Diego — Attraction in San Diego

This place deserves 4.5 stars. I couldn't give it 5 stars because that would have been a perfect experience.

I looked at 2 different places before deciding to get my Lasik done at this location. (Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute) This place and NVision were both recommended by a doctor friend in the field so that's why I only looked at 2 places. I probably should have gotten a total of 3 different consultations. No particular reason except an extra opinion helps but that would have required more time off work. I can only compare both places up to the point of before getting surgery.

In terms of ancillary staff. I won't name names but I thought there were some exceptional and some that were just okay. I think the receptionist at NVision is better. I think the patient care coordinator is slightly better at New Vision. In my opinion, it's everything from body language and how they value you is what sets all these centers apart. They all explain every step of the process along the way. It's just that I felt it was slightly better at New Vision.There will always be people who drink the same kool-aid and buy into the practice and there are others who are there because it's a job.

One thing that I liked about this place was that it accepted by VSP insurance and they have military discount (if you qualify).

In terms of the equipment that cuts your cornea and the laser that reshapes it. NVision uses Wavelight EX500 Excimer and New Vision uses Allegretto EX500. Both products of myalcon. I don't know what the laser machines are called (I think it's Wavelight Femtosecond 200). Regardless of where you go, you want to go to a place with the latest technology and I think these 2 machines are it.

Both places offer financing through CareCredit if you need it. In terms of pricing, I've been told by multiple friends that you do not want to go to the cheapest place. It's at that price point for a reason.

On day of surgery, I had my eyes re-checked by their various machines. This would have been the same for New Vision as well. Any place that you go to, they should recheck your eyes before proceeding with surgery. In my situation, I have a relatively thin cornea so Dr. Parikh asked for my eyes to be rechecked on another machine. I had a discussion with him and felt it was safe to proceed and a 2% chance of recurrence, meaning wearing glasses or contacts because the tension forces may not support the newly shaped corneal flap and will result in buckling. Surgery was quick, at times could be uncomfortable, but painless. What is really cool is while you stare at the green laser, when the laser is actually working, you can literally see the green laser light becoming clearer and clearer (meaning it looks more to be in focus). If you're astute enough, you can also smell a little of your burnt tissue, it's a very distinct smell but they have a vacuum in the machine to suck up the vapors. After it was done, I sat up and I could immediately read the text on the scrubs across the room. Granted my vision in general had a "smokey" glaze at the beginning that immediately went away.

Because I did not have any friends or family with me on day of surgery, they were kind enough to pay for my uber/lyft ride home. I think this subtle but meaningful service sets them apart from other institutions.

I went home, took my Valium and went to sleep. Going to sleep is a MUST!! I purposely had my surgery on a Friday so I could sleep Friday, Sat, and Sunday. Even though they say you just need 24 hrs to recover. I would highly recommend sleeping as much as you can throughout the entire weekend and not do anything. Less strain on your eyes the better.

review cut short, character...

Everyone was nice, courteous and great before my surgery. Everything was explained to me six months before the surgery and I was sent home with a packet. But I’m giving 4 stars because on the day of surgery the operating doctor spoke to me for 10 seconds stopped went into the OR and said he would come back. Well he didn’t, I know I was high off the Xanax that was given to me but I wanted more of an introduction and I had some questions. It would have been nice to at least have a two minute conversation about what to expect or at least a quick instruction of what was expected of me. I did watch a video about six months ago but that was six months ago. I didn’t expect a full explanation but just a quick rundown. As I was waiting on the giant comfy recliner, the circulator-I’m assuming he was the circulator- or nurse called out my name and it was time to go in. My eyes got checked and I was told to lay down. The procedure did suck but I assumed it would. After, the post-op nurse sat me down, placed goggles on me and rushed me out the waiting area. No post-op instructions. I was a bit confused and high. I needed paperwork signed so I could use my work Benefits Card, that wasn’t signed and once again the nurse gestured with his unspoken body movements that he was eager to get me out of the building and to the car. He just stood there when I told him what I needed. He could have at least enquired to the front desk to ask about the paperwork and helped out a post-op patient that was high off the Xanax that had just been given for the procedure, and who just went through a pretty traumatic operation while awake. The front desk said she put the paperwork in my folder/chart. Well, the nurse in a hurry stated it would be signed and sent to me via email. I could tell he really didn’t know what he was talking about, he just wanted to rush me to my ride. My original packet that was given to me 6 months back really didn’t say much about my post-op medicated eye drops, it only mentioned the artificial tears and instructions on what not to do. So I had to ask my optometrist the next day and she was upset that I wasn’t given any paperwork about the eye drops. So everything was fantastic up until the surgery and after. As someone who’s circulated in an OR many times and who has also discharged many patients home, It is routine to give written DC orders or instructions because who’s going to remember everything that was verbally told to you on the day before and day of. I didn’t expect a red carpet, I just expected the kind of care I would give my patients as a basic standard of care. I’m not the kinda nurse that gets medical care and make it known that I’m an RN. I don’t want to be annoying and nitpick. Nursing is hard enough but simple instructions and being rushed out when I needed my paperwork is not ok either. It wasn’t complicated paperwork, just a sheet showing that I received the treatment for the procedure paid for. Now I have to call and ask about the paperwork because I’ve yet to receive anything from them and it probably got lost. So before the day of, everyone was wonderful and kind, the day of in the back waiting room, not the best, not the worst but not the best, so...

I received my Lasik on July 20, 2023, knew that they had a referral program where you get a gift card if you refer someone, and if you forgot that they had one, they go out of their way to even email you after your lasik as a reminder, see the picture. If you're asking what the * mentions, it states: * $50 Gift Card is paid when a referred friend and/or family member mentions your name when scheduling the LASIK consultation or at the time of the consultation with their patient counselor. The referral must complete their consultation by 02/29/2024 to be eligible. So you don't even need an actual LASIK surgery, just the consultation should've sufficed. Anyways, I thought the overall process was fine. My questions were answered, they gave me detailed instructions of what each step would be like. Although honestly that mostly came from my optometrist that I was referred to, they were the ones that really took the time to talk through the whole process with me. But nonethless, I figured I could refer my sister who had been wanting it for a while. She got her consultation AND had the actual LASIK surgery on January 25 2024 .

I waited for several months for the gift card but it never came. I can't even tell you how many times I've called regarding this, potentially once a week at some points..I would always get the same message "John or Abe manages that, I've given them the message, they'll give you a call back at the end of the day"...of course crickets..until 11Sep2024, when I actually got a call back from Abe. He left a voicemail saying that it would be sent electronically so that it'd get to me faster since I've been waiting for it for almost 9 months. I was so excited to have this ordeal behind me..fast forward to today...I still have yet to receive ANYTHING from anyone. You bet that I'd been calling them back for a follow up, and it's back to the same story...I've tried holding off on leaving a scathing review, but I think I've given them more than enough time for benefit of the doubt...we'll see if this changes anything for them..but at this point, it's not even about the money, it's about the principle of the matter now. For the record John Brunsell is the person responsible, and he has not addressed this even once throughout the whole year of me following up.

TL,DR: you get treated like sh*t as soon as your lasik is done, referral program is just a blatant lie, while the lasik procedure itself was fine, I'd say find another place that actually truly cares about their patients, even...