San Antonio Eye Specialists — Local services in San Antonio

I had my Lasik procedure done in October 2023, overall things turned out well. I fully healed about 6 months later where I was without any foreign body sensation in my eyes, dryness had mostly dissipated, and I could see 20/20. There were some things that I believe could have improved the experience:

The day before when I went for my initial preparatory procedure to have my eyes dilated and measured, they provided a handout of what drops to buy with a coupon. There are several drops listed on the handout, so it was challenging to decipher which to purchase and we ended up buying the wrong drops. I would have loved having the drops provided to me at the office to ensure I was using the correct ones and did not have to go get them the evening before my procedure (which was the next morning at 8:00am). I also was seen late in the day at 4pm, and they pulled me back late, so I was not out of that office until almost 6pm and my pharmacy closes at 7pm. So I almost had a situation in which I would not have been able to fill the prescription. On the day of my procedure, the laser machine went down, so my appointment was delayed almost an hour. I had already taken the valium they prescribe for the procedure and requested off a whole day of PTO. They gave me the option to go home, but I decided to go through with the procedure. After the procedure and discharge, I was in so much pain. I did not realize that I had purchased the wrong drops from the sheet they provided, and every 20 minutes was putting in drops that dried out my eyes instead of lubricating them. The pain continued all day and it was brutal. Thankfully, the doctor did see me after hours that day, but I had been in so much pain and my eyes were so dry, they had to go back and redo the procedure in my left eye. This complication required me to have multiple follow up visits for the next 3 weeks and take off extra time from work to resolve the issue.

My eyes are now great and I'm grateful for that. However, I feel strongly that all the drops necessary for the procedure should be provided prior to the surgery. Had this happened, I think my pain would have been significantly reduced and improved my outcomes. It also would have sped up my recovery time. There's also a sheet of paper detailing important information of precautions after the procedure that they give you the day prior to your surgery. This should be provided way in advance to allow people enough time to prepare and make accommodations for post surgery. I did a good amount of research going into this procedure and evaluated between this company and another company. None of the information I found could have prepared me for this experience. I really hope in future some of these things change to allow people to have a more pleasant and seamless...

Date: 22 July 2024 Procedure: Laser cataract surgery Truly an exceptional medical experience, from the testing, the staff, the surgery, and the final result assessments. The offices and waiting areas were very clean and comfortable; the receptionists were prepared, and every effort was made to keep patients' appointments on time. Staff members were professional and pleasant (extra shoutout to Coco, my technician). All aspects of the laser cataract surgery and options were clearly explained by Dr. Iskander, and i was given a folder with information about billing, pre and post surgery instructions, expectations, an appointment calendar, and important office phone numbers. Dr. Iskander performs the surgeries at a different OR site, but it too was well organized. The hospital staff reminded me of a beehive: everyone had a specialized job and worked well together to get everything done quietly and efficiently. I appreciated staff members introducing themselves and stating their roles in my care. For example, "Hello, my name is Gina. I'll be taking your vital signs and putting eye drops in your eye" or, "Hello, I'm Peggy, I'll be your recovery nurse". That extra effort put me at ease; I felt more like a person than a bed number. In case you are apprehensive about pain, let me reassure you, the mild sedative was excellent--i felt no pain, i didn't remember a thing, and i was awake in Recovery within 15 minutes, not the usual 3 or 4 hours. The total time at that hospital was 2 hours and the majority of that was filling out paperwork and waiting for the special eye drops to take effect. Three final thoughts (1) I followed all the doctor's instructions 100% and had no complications before/after the first surgery. Please don't take shortcuts or miss any steps (2) This surgery was so easy and successful, I am completely at ease about fixing the other eye (3) I actually saw/interviewed two other laser specialists but felt like an item on an assembly line; there simply wasn't a patient-physician connection. Several friends recommended Dr. Iskander, citing his medical reputation, extraordinary number of successful surgeries, and patient satisfaction numbers. Once i verified that information, i did not hesitant to select him. It was a wise, wise decision.

Note: these are my own opinions, voluntarily offered, without any...

So it turns out LASIK is amazing! I wore glasses since I was 7 years old. Now at age 30 I decided to go for LASIK after a couple of negative experiences with bad optometrists. I realized that even though I don't mind wearing glasses in general and I think I do look good in them, I just didn't want to be dependent on them anymore. I did some research and found that Dr. Iskander has excellent reviews, so I decided to come in for a consultation just to see if I would be a good candidate. At the consultation, everyone was very friendly and professional. Dr. Iskander explained all the options in great detail and went over my eye health with me (turns out that other than being pretty nearsighted, my eyes were in great shape). After that, his surgical coordinator sat down with me and went over all the payment options and details and answered all my questions about cost and logistics. They were able to get me scheduled for during spring break, which was awesome because I am a high school teacher, so I didn't have to take any time off. A couple days before the surgery, I came in to get my eyes dilated and the final pre-op measurements taken. Again everything went smoothly and the staff were great. Surgery day I went in and they went over the procedure with me one more time, double checked that my eyes were in good shape and ready to go, and then took me into the surgery room. Again, very comfortable setup! Dr. Iskander talked me through every step as he was doing it and did a great job keeping me calm. Both eyes were done in probably about 20 or 30 minutes. The worst part was definitely the first 4 hours after surgery. They recommend that you take a nap but I wasn't able to fall asleep, so instead I just laid down, put on some relaxing music, and waited. After about 4 hours the pain subsided and I was able to open my eyes. It was crazy how much better my vision was already! The next morning there was still some soreness but just keep on using the eye drops as instructed and they help a lot. I also took some ibuprofen the day after surgery and that also helps. It's amazing to look at the world around me with my...