Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley — Local services in San Jose

I wore glasses for over 20 years of my life, having first reported headaches and some blurred vision late into my teenage years, and having been diagnosed with astigmatism in both eyes. At the time, contact lenses suitable for the condition were prohibitively expensive, so I got used to glasses, and didn't look back... until I discovered Dr. Bindi and the team at Laser Eye Center.

I'd known about Laser Eye surgery for a long time, but always thought "the price will be very high" and "there are associated risks, glasses are a compromise but they're the Devil I know." I put off thinking about it for years. Finally, two things propelled me into going: the consultation is free, which of course still means a time investment from you, but understanding the procedure, the risks, the costs, etc. involves over 30 minutes of working with technicians and diagnosis with sensitive equipment, so it's nice not to be out-of-pocket for this. This session is the start of your laser eye surgery journey, where based on the Center's assessment, you'll know precisely what costs and next steps are. Free is my favorite price. I discovered that Linus Torvalds had his laser eye surgery done there. Linus-friggin'-Torvalds. If you're a software engineer who grew up with Linux like yours truly, this is only several degrees removed from nirvana itself. If it's good enough for Linus, it's good enough for me. Let's give it a shot.

The consultation was a very pleasant use of my morning. Sara was delightful when checking me in and getting my paperwork in order. Monica did the legwork of double-checking my prescription and filling out the technical details for Dr. Bindi. I even enjoyed a coffee while we waited for the good ol' eyedrops to take effect for pupil dilation during one of the tests. Then, the Doctor himself came in and talked to me for 10 minutes, describing the results of the tests, what procedures (there are 5 different laser procedures the Center does) are applicable to my situation, and what he would recommend. The time commitment, process, risks, and benefits (no glasses!) were all outlined during this time. Finally, I spent time talking to Jamie & Cindy, who outlined the pricing and financing options. They made it work for me... so we scheduled a surgery date.

The day of surgery - a few weeks later, in my case - is always nerve-wracking, but there's very little reason here, in hindsight. No anesthesia is required, except for local numbing agents applied as eyedrops. Prep for the procedure - including coffee, pleasantries, and a Valium to help you hold still - takes about 15 minutes. The operation - in my case - took fewer than 5. The amount of work done by the laser for a LASIK procedure was approximately 20 seconds' worth. The doctor examined the results, and I was done. Off to home. Sleep it off.

I went home, napped for 3 hours, and when I woke up... I had 20/15 vision. Without any visual aids. I had three checkup appointments - 1 day, 1 month, and 3 months after the procedure - during which the only ask of me was "please keep putting in synthetic eye drops 4 or more times per day to keep your eye moist and lubricated while it heals." 3 months of eyedrops is a SWELL trade-off for no more glasses. I can't thank Dr. Bindi and the team enough for such a quick, painless, professional procedure. It's thrilling unsubscribing from your optometrist's mailing list.

It's also thrilling to dive, ride dirtbikes, swim, play contact sports, and other activities where you balanced the compromise of glasses with their vision-granting benefits... without the compromise.

I've been asked whether it's financially "worth it." If you're planning long-term: yes. If you have a work vision plan, it will probably take a while before your work-subsidized glasses cost would overtake your laser expenditure, but over time, it will happen. While you wait for that though, you can enjoy crystal clear vision without any of the face-ache, headache, annoyance and compromise of glasses. I recommend it...

I've been wearing glasses since the 1st grade. In 2014, I went to four different Optometrist who specialize in lasik, and all four told me I do not qualify for lasik because my cornea to thin. I had given up hope that my eyes were "fixable". I know wearing glasses is not a bad thing, I had very cute glasses, but because my prescription in my right eye was VERY different from my left, my glasses would look funny because the right eye lenses would be much thicker and I would have to pay extra to get it thinned down. Also with glasses, driving at night was not fun whatsoever because all of the lights would reflect against the glasses. Contacts were too expensive for my weird eye prescription.

Fast forward to September 2024 where I kept seeing ads for Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley. I figured why not go in for a consultation, its free. I thought to myself time has past maybe there is new technology where my eyes could qualify. First thing, making appointment was super easy and flexible. Literally as quick as a text. I met with Dr. Bindi for a Lasik consultation after several eye tests the technicians took. Dr. Bindi went over the results with me and informed me that due to my cornea being to thin, it would not be safe to do Lasik. He expressed everything very kindly, in plain language for me to understand that I genuinely appreciated. He also told me about EVO ICL. The team provided me a short video to watch and expressed to me that I may qualify for EVO ICL and to meet with Dr. Ling for a second opinion.

Renee kindly worked with me to set up an appointment with Dr. Ling and provided me the cost of my treatment and ways to pay for the treatment. Renee truly was amazing to work with, and made you feel so special and welcomed. She really went above and beyond for me after I told her that I was getting married/moving to New York in December and I have henna night in November. She literally worked her magic to get me all my appointments from meeting with Dr. Ling to surgery date to follow ups. I cannot express enough gratitude towards her, truly Laser Center of Silicon Valley in the Pleasanton location is lucky to have her.

I met with Dr. Ling. He gave me hope that I am a good candidate for right eye to have the procedure done. I went to one more appointment with them before the official surgery. The day of the surgery the staff has you all relaxed and introduced themselves. It was the quickest procedure I have ever had (wisdom teeth taken out in past). No pain, no long wait, no crazy side effect, nothing. The procedure and the recovery went SO WELL.

I was rather impressed that when I came to my one month post op appointment, I was in tears on how thankful I was to the staff in Pleasanton. I was able to see everything clearly. My henna night went so well, I was sitting on the stage able to see everyone's reaction, properly see the decor details. I cried literally standing in their waiting area with the front desk staff and Renee on how genuinely happy I was that one night of my wedding events, I was able to see. I was looking forward to the day my wedding even more. Mind you the staff here are phenomenal. You will be taken care of, and the procedure was as quick as a blink of an eye ;) You literally wake up and see. The whole experience was worth every penny. Thank you truly from the bottom of my heart to the Laser Eye Center of Silicon...

Pre-operative examination: I underwent a total of two eye exams, one regular eye exam plus dilation exam and then a week later, another dilation exam to get an accurate prescription. I did not wear soft contact lenses for 7 days before the surgery (Doctor recommended only not wearing them for 24 hours). Dr. Joseph was very kind, answering all of my questions, and his relaxed attitude made me feel at ease and relieved about the operation.

On the day of surgery: My appointment was at 7:00 am in the morning and was scheduled to be the first surgery of the day. After checking in, I was taken to a small room to rest (I was nervous!). Nurses came to educate me on post-operative care and check my vitals. I was prescribed to take three drops of medicine a day for a week after the surgery and one drop of medicine a day for one month.

The operation process: I was very nervous, the most difficult part was looking directly at the light source, which was very dazzling. I am not sure if it was because of my bad prescription. I could not see the doctor's operation clearly, but I felt pressure on the side of my eye and that many medication drops were put into my eye, but there was minimal pain. The entire process, including putting drops into one eye, took about 2 minutes. Dr. Joseph's technique was very good, and the operation was very fast.

On the day of postoperative recovery: I was not allowed to drive and my husband came to pick me up before going to work. I could see clearly right after the operation but was a bit sensitive to light. I was advised not to use my phone that day and so I prepared audiobooks and meditated using YouTube. I went straight to bed when I got home and woke up at noon with a little discomfort in my eyes (not painful), slept after eating, and felt fine after waking up. I put on my sunglasses and went for a walk with my dog. On the first day, there was glare and halos.

Checkup the next day after surgery: The next day, I could see 20/20 (yay!). The doctor said my recovery was very good and my eye pressure was even lower than before, with only halos remaining. The doctor told me that my brain would automatically adjust and the halos would become invisible over time (the brain would ignore them).

One month after surgery: Two weeks after the surgery, I went on a Disney cruise in San Diego! I tried to avoid getting my eyes wet and always carried artificial tears. My eyes felt dry when I was tired. Another change was that my night vision improved. I can now see things clearly even with a small light source at night, making it easier for me to take care of my baby in the middle of the night.

Overall speaking, I am happy with the results, despite the expense, and grateful to Dr. Joseph...