What to expect during your Laser Suitability Medical Assessment at Wellington Eye Centre

Your Medical Assessment is a key step in assessing your suitability for laser eye surgery. This appointment usually takes place after your free assessment.

The Medical Assessment dives a bit deeper into the health of your eye, for this reason it is carried out by a registered eye care provider such as an Optometrist and/or our surgeon Dr Andrew Logan. If at the end of this appointment you are confirmed as being suitable for laser vision correction, Dr Logan will discuss the best laser eye surgery option for you.

This blog walks you through what happens during a Medical Assessment, and how that might differ depending on which area you are based in.

Types of Medical Assessments

The type of Medical Assessment we will offer you depends on your location, your current visual needs and how tight a time frame you are working with. Where-ever possible we will try and make your journey to laser vision correction as simple and as quick as possible, but sometimes there are benefits in taking your time choosing between the different laser vision correction options.

Wellington

If you are in the Wellington region, we would recommend you have a free suitability assessment first, then a few days/weeks later have your Medical Assessment.

You can check out this article for more information on what is covered in the free suitability assessment. 

During this free suitability assessment, our ophthalmic technicians will spend about 45 minutes checking your vision, taking scans of your eyes (focusing on your corneas using the Pentacam and Corvis) and making sure there are no obvious reasons why you might not be suitable for laser vision correction surgery. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about surgery options, cost, and recovery. Since this appointment is no charge to you, it is a fantastic way for you to learn a bit more about laser vision correction surgery, before committing to the next step, which do have costs associated with them.

If you already know quite a bit about laser eye surgery and are keen to go ahead as quickly as possible, or if you live a fair distance away from our clinic, you may decide to book a “Combined Medical Assessment”. This is essentially a free suitability assessment and a Medical Assessment all in one appointment. You will need to allow 90 minutes for a Combined Medical assessment. This appointment reduces the number of times you need to visit us before surgery, making it a great option if travelling to Wellington is difficult for you. We may request clinical records from your most recent optometrist appointment, or ask that you see your local optometrist beforehand, to minimize the chance you are found unsuitable.

Hawkes Bay

We have a satellite clinic in Ahuriri, Napier. Our technician visits once a month and can offer you a free suitability assessment right there in Napier! Dr. Logan visits twice a month and can complete Medical Assessments there too. In Napier, you can have the free suitability assessment first, then a week or so later have a Medical Assessment with Dr Logan. In some situations, your visual needs might make it possible for you to skip the Free Suitability Assessment and start with the Medical Assessment.

During your visit to our Hawkes Bay clinic, we will be able to scan your corneas with our Pentacam and our Corvis.  Dr. Logan will then perform a thorough eye health exam and be able to give you a very good idea of how suitable you will be for surgery. Sadly, he can’t fully confirm this till the day of surgery.

When you come to Wellington, the day of your surgery, we will perform a few extra scans, ones we don’t have access to in Napier.  The chance of being found unsuitable on the day of surgery is low, and since our most critical equipment is also in Napier, this chance is lower than what it would be for people coming from other regions.

Other locations

If you are from any other location in New Zealand, you will need to come to Wellington for a Medical Assessment the day before your surgery. We may ask you to see your local Optometrist for an eye health exam before booking this surgery. If you appear suitable and have surgery with us, we will reimburse you the cost of that Optometrist appointment.

If you live in Nelson, Dr Logan can see you for a free 30-minute consultation at our Nelson satellite clinic. He will gather information to determine your potential suitability and discuss surgical options. You will still need a Medical Assessment in Wellington the day before your surgery.

What is involved in a Medical Assessment?

During your Medical Assessment, Dr Logan will assess the physical suitability of your cornea, check the health of your eye, and confirm which laser eye surgery procedure(s) you are suitable for. This assessment is completed in two parts.

The first part will involve refining your visual correction from your free assessment. Further scans like auto-refraction, WASCA, and Pentacam maps may be completed as part of this appointment. This ensures that your treatment is personalised to give you the best possible outcome.

The second part of the assessment is a dilated examination of the eyes. A dilated exam involves using eyedrops to make your pupils larger. This is to thoroughly check the health of your eye to ensure that there aren’t any underlying eye conditions that could affect your vision now or in the future.

At this point Dr Logan usually has enough clinical information to confirm your suitability for laser eye surgery. At the end of the Medical Assessment Dr Logan will discuss which procedure(s) you are suitable for and recommend the procedure that is the most beneficial for you. Your vision, age, ocular health and lifestyle can influence which procedure(s) is most suited to you. Dr Logan will be able to answer any further questions you have, and we encourage you to ask about anything. It is very important to us that you are 100% informed and confident about laser eye surgery.

What is the cost of a Medical Assessment?

The cost of a Medical Assessment is $180. If you are found suitable, this is taken off the final cost of surgery.

How long should I allow for the Medical Assessment?

A Medical Assessment takes 45-60 minutes; a Combined Medical Assessment usually takes 90 minutes.

How to Prepare for your Medical Assessment

There are a few things you can do to prepare for your appointment, to make the most of it. Firstly, make sure you are not wearing contact lenses for 48 hours beforehand. This is to ensure your corneas are in their most natural state.

The dilating drops can make your eyes light-sensitive and your vision blurry. The effect of these drops can last for up to eight hours. Until your vision has returned to normal, you should not drive or operate any machinery. Bring sunglasses and arrange for someone to drive you home or take public transport. We also advise that you do not return to work for the rest of the day.

When your Medical Assessment has been booked, we will email you a Patient Information Brochure. This contains information about the Medical Assessment, the three types of laser eye surgery, presbyopia and laser blended vision, and about our surgeon Dr Logan. Have a read of this beforehand to make the most of your consultation.

If you want to do even more research, our website has some great blogs! We recommend:

• Everything You Should Know About LASIK Eye Surgery
• SMILE Surgery: Read The Facts
• What is PRK or Photorefractive Keratectomy?
• What to Expect on The Day of Surgery
• Recovery After Laser Eye Surgery
• The Truth Behind Common Laser Eye Surgery Myths
• Risks and Complications of Laser Eye Surgery
• What Can Go Wrong During Your Laser Eye Surgery?
• Dr Andrew Logans Innovation Achievements