I think they started beginning of this month December. The chinese lady doctor I spoke to(theres 2 doctors, her and the malay lady whos head of the department) said she did about 200 patients so far and none have any complications so far "touch wood" lol. Yea the price is like almost RM 12.5k before discount not cheap at all but now they offering 9.3k.
The excimer laser is called Mel-80 if im not wrong.

but considering this simple step will change your life, it is realy realy worth it.but only if enough budget..

I don't know..for that amount of money, better go for Vista NASA iLasik
add few hundred more only.
At least the Visx machine they use is approved for military use.
Not that other machine is no good but there must be a good reason for US military & nasa to approve the machine.
The staff at Vista told me they did almost 18,000 cases already.

Anyway, both visumax & mel-80 laser are made by zeiss.
& everybody know zeiss makes superb lenses

u mean contact lens?

Thinking to do it long long time ago,but after browsing through all the posts here,i don't think i want to do it already...Last time i was told the fee was like RM3-5k only,but now it seems to me it will cost around RM10k for the best lasik surgery.Is there any way insurance can cover the cost for me?Not willing to fork out that much for something which i don't really need.Hehe...

i assume it's PCMC / prince Court medical Centre that you have asked. Only PCMC has mel 80 in asia. Mel 80 is a refractive laser system from carl Ziess. ypu can get much cheaper with more advance system in Pantai Bangsar..look for Dr Ching weng Sing an ocular plastic surgeon there. He own the world most advance refractive laser system, Allegretto wave. And he charge much cheaper too, not to mention the exprience he has.


RM 10k for a Lasik surgery is not worth it. ILasik or so call whatever it is, it just a marketing gimmick. Lasik is procedure is the same on all. Ablation of your uneven corneal surface.

In Lasik, there's only which system has the fastest repititation rate, the most advance scanner and the best laser power delivery. Using baldes or no blades makes not much difference at all. Just another marketing gimmick to me.

Decided not to do normal lasik at prince court as my cornea is too thin/power too high. Did Epi-Lasik instead at Optimax TTDI by Dr.Chuah. He is very experienced and the surgery went well. I'm on my 3rd day healing now and everything is fine.

Cost was RM4776 total over 12 months - RM200 for referral friend.

U really can't say what's worth & what's not in regard to this.
The Nasa iLasik is definitely a marketing gimmick but not baseless. The machine is indeed approved for use by NASA & US military.

Saying using microkeratome or intralase system makes no different is just wrong.
Saying there is not much difference is acceptable though.
Yes there isn't much difference but statistically the all-laser system have less complication percentage.
Microkeratome still depends on operator hands.
Laser flap making is totally on the machine.
No human hands can reproduce consistently & accurately as what the machines can do.

Your statement "In Lasik, there's only which system has the fastest repititation rate, the most advance scanner and the best laser power delivery" contradicts to what u said as not worth it.
Different machine & technology have different prices.

The Nasa iLasik is also relatively new. so of course price will be higher. Once they recoup the costs & more competition using the machine, I believe price will drop.

Saying all Lasik systems are the same is an ignorant statement.
The fundamental basic is the same yes.
But how the machine do it, differs.
Early machines corrects each type of irregularities separately.
Shortsighted 1st, then only do the astigmatism => unnecessary tissue wastage.
Newer machine do it all in a single shot.
There are some other minor differences as well.

Btw, have u undergone a lasik surgery?

U can't put a price on my eyes.
10 grand is a mere pocket change in comparison to what my eyes are worth.
I won't sell half my eyeball from 10 million.
A small part of my liver..maybe. My eyes..no way.

If u can afford it, why not take the best proven system?
Approval by US military is good enough reason for me

I do believe most other machines are good enough to do the job of correcting my eyes.
Do whatever makes u feel best
If u feel the extra 5k is unnecessary, no problem.
Most newer systems are reliable enough that it is just a matter of personal choice

Congrats!

epi-lasik is using a different kind of microkeratome right?
won't a laser system makes a thinner flap?
I did read that epi-lasik is for those who have thin cornea but don't understand why not just use a laser flap making system.
What did the doctor said?

btw, did u wear some kind of contact lenses to hold the flap?
Do keep us updated on your eyes progress

just to add, todays newspaper(berita harian) got info about LASIX..

i''m sorry if i have offended you. but i was laughing all the way, when i'm reading thru your reply. No offence.

I'm a very practical person, Nasa Lasik or iLasik of what they call it to me is still a marketing gimmick no matter what they call. in refractive surgery our aim is to produce 20/20 vision or 'Eagle Eye' if possible..(better than 20/20 vision ). yes, Nasa Approves the all laser lasik, so?
does the FDA clearance need the it to be so?

I'm sorry to me microkerotome is still the best way to remove the corneal flap...why? if your Intralase or light based removal, you will create uneven surface on the corneal on micro/nano size level and the and that might happer the result ( of course, yoou might need to consider which refractive system the person will be using )...i'm sorry if i confused you but if yoou search the web in more details, you will find what i'm saying.

In my line of profession, we dealt we technological advance on daily basis, and we compare system to system ( technology to technology daily ) and trust me, most of the system out there saying that they achieve high level of success rate by patients selection process. Thus, the only way to ask for the best system is to look at thier clinical research reports and clinical FDA datas. On microkeratome side, or blade flap cut, i still a strong believer of that due to the long history of low complication rate. Of coz, again you need to know which microkeratome that your physician is using.

as for myself, i'm a medical laser specialist which also a consultant for a New York based reserach firm Gerson Lehrman Group. And nope, i have yet to do my lasik surgery yet, why? because i'm awaiting my presbiopia to develop and i can do it all together with my myopia that i having at the moment.


Again, my appologies if i did offended you.

no offense taken.
people are not supposed to be offended in a discussion or debate.
like i said, most newer systems are reliable enough that it is just a matter of personal choice.

regarding microkeratome is better than all-laser system, that is new to me.
I never stumbled upon anywhere saying the blade is better than laser.
maybe u can point me to a reliable article or journals.

my common sense says laser will be more accurate than mechanical blade.
if laser cause micro/nano unevenness, I would guess the blade will make macro unevenness?

low complication rate, yes. Lower even comparing to wearing contact lenses. But i believe all laser systems are even lower risk as that removes another possibility of human error.
I still trust machine better than a human (i'm screwed is someone invented a robotic dentist )
machines are created by man to do the best they can consistently

The reason i trust Nasa approval is, they have virtually limitless amount of cash that they can afford just about everything best.
And they will want the lowest risk of screwing up their astronaut's sight .
FDA on the other hand have their own guideline & applies to a broader population. What they approve should be good enough for most.
This is just what i thought though

btw, what are u doing as a laser specialist?
laser skin cosmetic treatment?
& how old are u? why don't just do the lasik now instead of waiting.
when the presbiopia develops, just do it again (if there's enough tissue of course <= maybe this is your reason of waiting?)
from what u describe as your profession, I don't see money is even remotely an issue

Comparison


God da@M it, just spend an hour on the article and it was lost during the tag attachment. Will try to reply our discussion in details again.

This post has been edited by hojeff: Dec 22 2008, 05:49 PM

er..that's a comparison of 2 different types of microkeratome?
Aren't we looking for microkeratome vs laser?

Is there any chance insurance can cover the lasik fee?

no

if got, many people will get insurance and claim, i bet insurance company will tutup kedai lor..

Caerulln,

Can you give an update so far in terms of your vision and what problems, if any, so far that you are facing?

Btw, do you have any astig?

my eyes are doing great.
just slightly dry in cold & dry places.
No problem so far. Biggest problem is the halo around bright lights. A bit annoying when driving during the night.
According to the doctor, this is due to my large pupil size. It should be reduced in 3 months.

Yes i have astig.
3.00+ on left & 1.00+ on right eye.

I've gone through the LASIK in one of the famous LASIK center in malaysia. but the outcome is not so good.
i've went back for follow up for 3 months but still no improvement at all.
so, plan to find an eye specialist to see what's my problem.

Any recommendation for a good eye specialist? preferably at KL or PJ area.