Been living with a cataract in 1 eye for about 2 years. Made an appointment with Dr Tal Raviv NYC for tomorrow. My research shows he is highly regarded & uses FEMTOSECOND LASER . Uses ORA. Any suggestions from members for this 1st visit? Questions etc.
Hi Dennis:
I would:
1) Go to the appointment with written questions -- eg "Do you recommend a lease replacement now and if so what
brand/model of lense would you use?"
2) Take careful note of how much time he gives you, what his manner is like, and how much of the process he delegates to staff. My inclination is that the more personal interest he takes in your case, the better your outcome is likely to be.
3) Also note carefully when his follow-up visits after a procedure will be. For instance, for an IOL procedure, IMHO,
it is optimal for the surgeon himself to examine you the morning after and then a week, a month, and six months later -- given no serious complications.
4) See if the surgeon himself is prepared to deal immediately with any serious complications that you yourself might believe that you have after a procedure; make sure that the surgeon is prepared to answer email or telephone questions himself promptly after a procedure.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Ed
Sorry, my wacky word processing app changed "lense" to "lease" in the first line.
Ed thanks... not sure if we would want to lease a replacement.
Give some thought to your own preferences too. If you had to choose (especially if going with monofocal lenses) what distance would you prefer to see best at and which you wouldn’t mind wearing glasses for. To help with that choice I considered my work, hobbies, and activities. Do you drive a lot at night? If yes to that one you may not want a premium lens as they do produce more halos and glare versus a monofocal lens.
Find out which lenses are your surgeons ‘go to’ lenses as some prefer a particular brand (or have more experience with one) versus another.
Wish you all the best.
I'm a designer & work on 30" computer monitor. Occasionally drive at night. Most of my life did not need glasses till reading glasses last 12 years. I have read about all the negatives of the Symphony lens. I am hoping the doctor I meet with tomorrow can offer some of his suggestions what lens may work best for me.
I also did some research on Zeiss Lara or Lisa & if it pays to wait for US approval?
Another consideration that I never was able to get answered is if there is any advantage to laser surgery has over conventional? as I have 2 different highly regarded Dr for each procedure to choose from.
Too funny!
Is there a date on Zeiss in the US? I can't speak for others, but I'm thrilled with my Zeiss lenses. The trifocal iol is amazing. Please let us know how it goes. I wish you the very best.
Hi Dennis
I did consult with Dr. Tal Raviv and will probably go with him for surgery. I traveled out of state to see him.
He takes time to answer all the questions. He warned me about Symfony side effects. Showed me the concentric circles on the internet and discussed plan of action for what I wanted.
He acknowledged all risks that I brought up to him. The communication from that office is excellent and immediate. They had no hesitation in telling why actual specification of the lens they will order. He is big on ORA which is what I like about him. His office also answered my questions one month after the appointment.
On the flip side the office is less than impressive than some
other doctors that I saw and they are more expensive probably because of being in manhattan.
He is Brown University educated with residency from NYU so is very well qualified.
I am also interested in Zeiss LARA and don't think they will ever be available in the US. Zeiss themselves said they have no US release date. Please let me know what he says.
Also he uses catalys Femtolaser at both his surgery centers and both have ORA.
Some complicated cases require manual incisions though.
No release date for the US. Zeiss emailed me as such. Given that Zeiss Lisa was introduced in 2013 and still did not make it to the US, I doubt that Zeiss LARA ever will.
Did you get yours done in the U.K.? What night time halos do you see?
A highly qualified and skilled cataract surgeon, who happens to be a LASIK surgeon and also does laser surgery, is definitely a bonus. If the selling point is the femtosecond laser above the others, one has got to watch out. Some people who had undergone Phakic or ICL surgery would benefit from laser cataract surgery.
Trifocal lenses are available in Canada. Acrysoft IQ PanOptix was launched back in 2016-Jan-26, FINEvision in 2010; atLISA in 2012-Apr.
Would the surgeon know a complicated case beforehand? or this can happen during surgery.
Just read an article in CRST "Time To Upgrade...Is Your Most Important Tool Outdated? If your phaco machine is more than a few years old, it’s time to upgrade." It speaks about CENTURION (ALCON), STELLARIS ELITE (BAUSCH + LOMB), WHITESTAR SIGNATURE PRO (JOHNSON & JOHNSON VISION). Did you know if Dr. Tal Raviv uses any of these?
FYI: I am also out of state, no big deal NJ as I decided to consult with Dr. Tal Raviv out of a list I made of over 25 Drs within 50 miles of my location.
One of his surgery centers is NYU which is ranked 13th for ophthalmology so I do. It believe the equipment will be outdated.
Ed: Great Advice Thanks
Hi, Soks. Mine were done in Mexico. I'm 3 weeks out, so take this with a grain of salt, but I don't have halo issues. The glow around lights is the same as before. Hubby has the same results with no halo issues. My eyes were (and still are) crap, so I am amazed at the improvements.
I should have mentioned that by "crap," I didn't mean the vision, but all the retinal issues, etc.
Thanks britkennels. Did you get LISA or LARA?
Had consultation earlier today with Dr Tal Raviv. From my limited... just one other eye Dr office but many other MD offices... I found Eye Center of NY to be very efficient with very little wait time. Many more eye tests then I was used to were done by his staff & another optometrist prior to the consultation with Dr Raviv. Dr Raviv explained the procedure (I was pretty knowledgeable because of all my prior research) he answered all my pre-written questions (thanks Ed for the tip & basic questions). He then did additional examination & looked at the cataract eye with ultra sound.
I questioned him about Zeiss Lara or Lisa & he said they won't be around in USA for many years. He went thru my IOL options & said the Symfony IOL will be the best choice (it was the most costly choice $6M additional), I brought up that Symfony patients were bothered by halo/starburst. His answer was that they are much improved today & only 10% of his patients experienced this problem.
I contracted for surgery implanting Symfony IOL. My remaining decision is which of the 2 facilities Dr Raviv uses to pick for my surgery. I was told they both have same equipment. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai or Retina Ambulatory Surgery Center- will have to some more research on which to choose. If any member has any experience with either please let me know.
Thank you for members for all your advice.