Patient Reviews

Cataracts in both eyes. Left eye fixed first, right eye 1 week later. SUMMARY: WOW! First eye done. Incredible! I cant believe the difference, I had no idea I have been seeing everything thru a beige lens. The left eye now sees WHITE, but the right eye still saw everything thru a beige filter. I included 2 color squares below – the one on the left is what the left eye saw after surgery, true white. The one on the right is how the right eye saw that same white square & everything else before surgery on it. SURGERY: Surgery took 6 minutes. I was really worried about moving my eye during a critical cut / moment (“oh look, something shiny”), and ruining my eye, but do not worry, they numb both eyes, nothing moves, plus they use an IV, so you are mostly knocked out for it. I vaguely remember seeing flashes of light as they removed left cataract & inserted the new lens, but no issues, no fear, no pain, no problem, just kinda cool. I had a sense it only took 1-2 minutes, they said it was 6. I don't remember the right eye. When I opened my eye with the new lens in the recovery room, WOW! I could not believe the difference! True WHITE, true BLUE. I kept alternating closing right / left eye to compare the difference! WOW!!! Mind blowing! After leaving Chu’s, the left eye saw everything thru thick blueish fog, just vague shapes (don't worry, to be expected, the eye is still dilated). That gradually thinned toward evening and was mostly gone the next day. First day after surgery, the left eye could see as far as right, but was still a little fuzzy (still some dilation) so couldn't read as far away as the right. 2nd day, they were about equal. INSURANCE: Insurance will typically only cover only whatever Medicare covers. (whether you have Medicare or not, Medicare defines what is ‘covered’, and all insurance companies follow their lead). If you have cataracts, its covered (medically necessary). ISSUES: They asked whether or not I wanted to use the laser, at $1,700 per eye. I never got an explanation as to “why?” What would the laser DO? Chu folks said Medicare would not pay for their use of laser, and my eyes didn't warrant using it. My new lens is GREAT with no laser involved. Saved $3,400. OUT OF POCKET COSTS: The images of my eyes showed laser would not be useful, so my total out of pocket cost for cataract surgery, for both eyes was one office co-pay, $15, plus $74 per eye ($148 total, my part of surgery costs). Total OFP: $163. My insurance is Medicare & BCBS supplemental. If you choose multi-focal lens, add $4,000. If you use the laser, add $3,400. TYPES OF REPLACEMENT LENS: - Multi-Focus Lens: For an extra $2,000 per eye, not covered by Medicare or Ins, you can get a single lens that ‘might’ eliminate the need for glasses. Most reviews advise against it, due to performance, halo, etc issues, cost, and you might still need glasses anyway, so why spend $4K? - Single-Focus Lens: You WILL need glasses with single focus lens, but I’ve been using reading glasses for 20 years, so no brainer (just like when I turned 40, and suddenly needed readers). You can choose either good far vision (6 feet), or good close up vision (5 feet and under), and use glasses for the other. TV, driving, golf, looking around a room or out a window, etc are all 6 feet, so I chose to be far sighted, and will use readers or bifocals for up close work, just like before. Plus I question whether opting for close vision up would really handle ALL close up work: threading a needle, reading phone / book / newspaper, computer, etc. Bottom line: WOW, what a difference. Both eyes are now done and both are way better than before. I used to need 200 readers to see my 60 inch TV & to drive, and 300 for computer. Now I only use 175 readers for reading and for computer, and don't need glasses for anything else. No pain, quick recovery, & immediate benefit / improvement. What’s not to like?! How can instantly improving your vision not be the top of your To-Do list?! Dr Chu and staff were all pros, very supportive and did a great job. Definitely 5-stars!