The truth about $299 LASIK

This FAQ came from Quora.com and as a registered expert our Chief of Surgery, Dr. J. Trevor Woodhams, answers the question about the discount LASIK mills who advertise extremely low prices for LASIK. It has been repurposed for our blog.

Is it safe (or even possible) to have Lasik surgery for $299 an eye like some advertisements say?

The LASIK marketplace is highly competitive. Corporate entities have brought truth in advertising down to a level that would have been unthinkable in days when doctors themselves were in charge and held to the highest levels of ethical conduct.

The tactic of unrealistically low “teaser” fees to get people in the door is called “Bait & Switch.” A LASIK candidate is not usually told before coming in that $299 is only applicable to about 1–2% of the nearsighted population. By the time they realize this, the patient counselor has them in the office (and maybe even dilated). The patient can then be talked into a more typical, higher fee by offering a “generous discount” off of a high “list price.” These counselors are often financially incentivized to “close the deal.” Many patients capitulate -who wants to go through all that testing and dilation again?

Safe? Possible? Sure. But know there are no more $299 LASIK procedures being done than is absolutely necessary to fend off an FTC complaint. What else might a company recruiting customers with “bait & switch” tell you (or not tell you) to get you on the laser table for cash?