The LASIK Vision Institute

Definitely the best experience from start to finish and I would put all my loved one’s eyes in the care of Dr. Kownacki and his team– Tony & Judith & Dr. Wu. Their support staff is knowledgeable, courteous and friendly. The complimentary evaluation and pre-​check to see if I was a candidate was smooth & absolutely reasonable. I have put off LASIK for 15 years because I was afraid. Afraid of everything! After all, it’s only my VISION!!! All of these individuals answered every question I had, even the silly ones, and helped me through the process. I am now 3 months post LASIK and btw, my vision before was so bad I couldn’t see without contacts and had worn them since 5^th grade. I am now ²⁰⁄₂₀ both eyes and I have healed perfectly! My life will never be the same!!! PS– I went for the Lifetime adjustment warranty because almost every person I know that got LASIK a long time ago (when I was putting it off) is wearing glasses now. I rarely take the time to write reviews but this is a LIFE-​CHANGER and deservers all the kudos in the world! Thank you LASIK Vision Institute!!!

5-​star review all the way as the entire staff, especially Tony and Dr. Wu, were incredibly helpful and honest. Plus, the Groupon price I had was great!
I don’t post much on Unilocal,but I wanted to take a moment to thank them for a job well done as it’s now been a week since my procedure which went GREAT!

Such a great experience. Very friendly staff! First, the consultation went smooth, they didn’t have me waiting forever. Everyone was friendly and helpful. They explained everything from pricing, to procedure perfectly! Also explained every eye test they were performing. The day of the surgery, I feel like I was a bit difficult. I went in intending to pay full price. However, my friend pushed me to ask for the groupon deal. They let me get it but offered me another option which saved me $ 1200 off the full price by paying cash up front. I could’ve saved more by opting out of the life time warranty, however, the deal was already amazing compared to the regular price of LASIK, so I got the lifetime assurance. Plus, I’m young and my eyes are notorious for changing.
After the procedure, I wasn’t crazy about the results at first bc my left eye was a bit blurry. At my post op appointment, they explained what was going on with my eyes (severe dryness) and gave me instructions to better promote the healing process. I woke up the next day with almost perfect vision! So happy about everything. My eyes will only continue to improve. Highly recommend!
* also! The doctor used to do LASIK for AirForce pilots! Definitely made it easier for me to trust him with my eyes!

Received a Groupon deal as a gift from a loved one. Made an appointment for 31DEC2015 and after my consultation, they said the doctor would call me back on Saturday (1JAN) to see if I was a good candidate for Lasik surgery. My prescription is very strong so they did mention that I might not be a good candidate. Made a follow up call on 4JAN2016 thinking that due to the holidays, the doctor was busy or on vacation. Still didn’t get an answer from the doctor. A representative told me that the doctor would call me back by Wednesday 6JAN. I waitied all day yesterday and even left a message, with still no response. Called back the morning of 7JAN and left a second message, didn’t receive a call back. So I called the 866−258−5857 number and the representative told me that their office was closed due to renovation. I asked her when I would hear back from someone and she didn’t know. I told her that I was going to look elsewhere and that I didn’t want someone that couldn’t even give me a courtesy call to operate on my eyes. She didn’t try to convince me to stay with the business so I will ask my loved one to cancel the Groupon deal. I will tell my friends and family not to go with this business, not worth it.

Alright. Where to begin. First of all several of the reviews which were a year or more old scared me just a little. I would not listen to those people bc my experience here was amazing!!!
I first came in bc of a groupon I saw and went for the initial visit back in sept of ’15. My schedule was very hectic and couldn’t do anything until after the new year and finally on Jan 2 ’16 I had the pre op stuff done in the morning of Saturday and then around 1 pm was the surgery. Like others said u go from room to room which is normal since u hVe many checkups and machines you need to use so they know exactly what you need to do for your eyes so they correct them right. If they didn’t do this I would be very scared. I am only a little off on my right eye so I was only getting one done. The other is near perfect. Anyways, for the pre op stuff lasted maybe an hour or so and then was told when to come back for the surgery which also lasted about one hour. The only thing which there is no way around is how they do the surgery. It doesn’t hurt but is a little uncomfortable. They tape your eye lashes then insert something to cup the outer part of your eye then have this thing that covers the entire eye and can give auction. The whole procedure lasts about 5 min or less which u just get through it and then you are all done.
After I was told to keep my eye closed as much as possible. Since I only did one eye it was pretty easy to do this and prob better for me as well. I had to wear dark glasses which they provided since I couldn’t find mine indoors and out and was told to rest the rest of the day. You are not able to watch tv or do anything on a phone or computer but for me since I could use my left eye it was ok. I just covered my right and closed it as well as to not hurt it. When sleeping they have a patch to use so you don’t touch it and hurt anything. They also give you two medicated eye drops you use for one week after every four hours and a regular eye drops every hour to not get dry.
I am now in the waiting room the next day awaiting to see the dr for my post follow up and can’t wait to see how everything is working out. I will let u know how the results come. I almost forgot. Get the lifetime warranty. For only $ 500 per eye why wouldn’t you get it. Eyes always change and u never know what could happen and get the groupon it may not be there forever.
So as far as my opinion I am very very happy with the results and staff here. They were very nice and the time wasn’t too long like I would think. If you no longer want to use glasses or contacts I would say you should wait no longer and take advantage of this ASAP.
Update. I just finished and eye was ²⁰⁄₄₀ and now ²⁰⁄₂₀ but a little blurry so I missed a couple letters. They say it should get sharper over the next several days but already a great improvement even though the eye was only at .75. Yeah!

In November of 2015, I began price and facility shopping because I was/​am ready to have LASIK on my eyes. My coworker AND her husband both had their eyes successfully done here, so I wanted to see what it was all about.
My first appointment was difficult to schedule with limited hours during the week. Based on my experience, seems like they cram everyone in on Saturday mornings if they can’t be there at their latest time during the week, which is somewhere in the ballpark of 3 PM. They were about 45 minutes behind, so make sure you bring a book, iPad, whatever… You’ll definitely be waiting. Once you get started, they shuffle you from room to room to machine to machine. I found this pretty typically, so the other thing I found annoying was when they made me actually do wait in the waiting room between machines.
Once all the scans are completed, you get the sales pitch, also pretty typically. The woman who’s name is escaping me informed me that due to my Cornea, I may need a different version of LASIK. At other doctors offices, I did not get told the same, so it made me nervous. She said that the surgeon was in on Tuesday and would review my file. I said, fine. We went ahead and scheduled my pre-​op and surgery for January. Now remember, this was a Saturday.
Tuesday rolls around, no call. Okay, no problem, I know they are busy. Wednesday rolls around, not call. Okay, no problem, I know they are busy. On Thursday or Friday, I call the office. I am told that the surgeon was no in that week so my file could not be reviewed and someone would call me the following week. Okay, fine. The following week rolls around, no call. A week later, no call. Over one month later and not a single person called me back. If you want my business, you could at least make the smallest of efforts.
My decision was made, if I am not important enough to call back in a month, you probably have more than enough clients and you don’t care or need my business. These are my beautiful brown eyes we are talking about. Losing them is serious, so I want the place I am trusting my eyes with to take ME serious.
A couple weeks ago, I sent an e-​mail to their Center Manager (Tony Powers) explaining the situation and telling him I wanted to cancel my future appointments. They are receiving 2 stars instead of 1 because he was quick to reply back and take responsibility for the lack of communication. He did try and sounded sincere, however for me, the damage had already been done.
I would not recommend this company to others, though I can say I know people who had successful surgeries with no issues more than a year later. I hope other people’s experiences should you choose this company turn out better than mine did. I am having my procedure done at Clearview, where I was treated like a patient who mattered.

Staff is ok. The time that they schedule you does not really matter because you will still have to wail since they also have walk ins. The price of regular lasik is about $ 5k. Groupon says $ 1600 but they do charge you another $ 2K because of «extra fees». I would have given perfect reviews if they would respect the price. This just shows that they are just like any other medical business, just trying to make the most money they can.

I had a great experience with my lasik procedure. The wait time was minimal. I whent in for a free consultation on a friday and the next friday i was in for my actual surgery. Previously before i when to the lasik vision Institute i went to another consultation with a different place y hwt offered lasik for $ 4500. With lasik vision institute i got temporary punctal plugs for dry eyes after surgery, lifetime plan where they make adjustments li ater if needed, and actual surgery for $ 3000. I got the surgery yesterday and today i am seeing ²⁰⁄₁₅ with no pain or disconfort at all. I definitely recommend anyone planning to have the surgery done to do it. I couldnt be happier with my choice. It feels good to invest in my own health it was worth every penny.

We did not end up choosing to get Lasik after all, but just wanted to rate the customer service that we received during our consultation as 5 stars. It was easy to get an appointment for our initial evaluation, and we were then called to confirm our appointment, and e-​mailed with directions/​map. From the time we checked in to the time we were seen had to have been about 5 minutes! It was a Monday morning and my husband and I had 9 and 9:15 appointments, but they thoughtfully evaluated us together which made the process more fun and comfortable. We met with manager Tony — he actually did our exams as the technician was busy — and he is very cool — professional, friendly, personable, and super knowledgeable about Lasik. He took the time to answer our MANY questions and was super patient (and helpful). If/​when we get Lasik, we highly recommend these guys for top-​notch customer service (I can only speak for the initial evaluation, but it was great!).

I have worn glasses since I was about 6 years old and was discouraged by my eye doctor about getting Lasik. I entered a drawing at the Rock N Roll Expo and got a call a few months later from this business. Everybody at this office was super nice from Tracy at the front to the financial lady, Judith, in the back. I was nervous about the whole experience but they made it easy and even honored a Groupon that was in the process of being updated. I highly recommend them and have sent several friends information to set up consultations. Yes, it is a process but do you want something as important as eyesight to be taken lightly. I didn’t and now instead of seeing clearly only things within 6 inches of my face — now I have ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision. Thank you to all the staff!

I had a great experience at the LASIK vision institute. All staff were friendly and professional. My appointments did not take a long time and I was always seen within a few minutes of my appointment time. When it came time for the (scary) procedure, the doctor was so professional and informative. It is very stressful to have surgery on your eyes and the doctor explained every step of the procedure as it was happening and what to expect. I really like this because it makes me feel safe when I know what is going on.
Oh yeah, and the best part is… I CAN SEE! It is like a miracle. I wore glasses for over 20 years and now I have ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision.

Friendly staff. Dr Kownacki was friendly and informative throughput the procedure. He was skillful a d calming. Pricing was awesome! Both my wife and I had procedures and extremely happy. Saved thousands over small private practice for same procedure and Lasik machine.

I have to write this review to express how impressed I am with the service and the results of the treatment. About seven years ago I had a regular Lasik procedure done at The Lasik Vision Institute with a lifetime guarantee. The original results were amazing. I could see perfectly without glasses on the day following the procedure. That lasted about 5 years but due to my computer related job my vision started to go down after 5 years and eventually I needed glasses again.
I went back to the The Lasik Vision Institute. Tony (manager) even remembered me and sent me to the examination process. After careful examination I was told that I would need a PRK Lasik this time around. It is more invasive type of procedure but the results should last the lifetime. I went ahead with Lasik for the second time and now one month later my vision is back to ²⁰⁄₂₀! It did not cost me an extra penny beyond what I have already paid originally seven years ago.
I was told exactly what to expect and when. Everything went exactly as predicted and I am a happy customer again.
I highly recommend The Lasik Vision Institute for the professionalism of their personnel and for the care that they demonstrate for their patients.

This place is fabulous!!! I’ve thinking of getting Lasik surgery for about 10 years but been so afraid of anything touching my eye balls and my eye sight worsening. But after so many years of glasses and losing them here and there and my boyfriend insisting on Lasik– I was fed up & gave in!!! I went in for an Evaluation on a Thursday to see if I was a candidate, after hearing everything I knew it was the right choice for me. I went in for surgery around 4:30pm on a Friday (next day) and within 10 minutes I was out the surgery room. Went back in Saturday 9am for a follow-​up & boom I have ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision less than 24hrs later.
Awesome, friendly, professional & knowledgeable staff!
Everything was done back to back, they’re prompt.
Fast customer service.

I went in on a Friday for my initial appointment and by Saturday night I had ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision.
The staff was awesome. The Service is quick and precise. No Fluff.
I can not thank them enough. Waking up the first day seeing a whole new world is nothing short of a miracle to me. You guys changed my life, Thanks Pete T

Want better vision? Sure. You can come here, and they get it done. From the perspective of someone with extreme astigmatism, I am grateful for any degree of improvement on my vision without the need for eyeglasses or contact lenses. Tony, the manager, gave me a discount for being referred by several of my co-​workers. He is kind, polite, and easy to talk to. He gave me the same price he gave my co-​workers, which is a bargain. Yey for that!
So why only 3 stars?
The process you have to go through is extremely time consuming and tedious. For my initial consultation, I was there for 3 hours, being shuffled from room to room, as another Unilocaler mentioned. There are magazines and a TV in the waiting area, but when you’re alone in one of the examination rooms, you can’t exactly entertain yourself with a smartphone (which they ask you to turn off, because it supposedly interferes with the laser nearby). That is, unless you don’t give a $h*t about laser interference and entertain yourself anyway. I had to cut my appointment short because it was approaching 3 hours and my eyes weren’t even dilated yet. So I had to come back for a second appointment to have my eyes dilated by this lady doctor wearing inappropriately high hooker heels.
The surgery itself was quick like an assembly line. I went through the regular LASIK procedure. They basically lay you down on the operating table, tape open your eyes, put anesthetic drops, slice your cornea, laser it, and put it back in place. Just suck it up for about 15 minutes, like riding a roller coaster. Whether you like it or not, it’s really happening! After the surgery, my eyes burned like I had chopped fresh onions for 4 hours with my eyes open, even though they were closed. Just go to sleep. After my nap, my vision was clear. It was a miraculous and joyous moment. Why did I ever wait this long? Oh yeah, I couldn’t afford it before. Duh.
Special mention to Dr. Wu and his poor bedside, or rather, «chairside» manner. Every time he examines my vision, he makes me feel like $h*t for not being able to distinguish which lens in clearer…1 or 2? 3 or 4? 20 or 21? Like I said, I have extreme astigmatism and sometimes they all look the same to me. On my first appointment, he tells me, «are you always this difficult on your eye exams?» I said no, of course not. And that is the truth! My ophthalmologist at Scripps never had a problem figuring out my eye grade. At Scripps, I could clearly distinguish the clearer lens. Maybe it’s an equipment issue. Just a while ago, I had another argument with Dr. Wu regarding the same thing. I finally had it. He couldn’t seem to grasp that even though one lens view is clearer than the other, I still couldn’t read the ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision line. He scolded me for bouncing all over the place with my answers. I told him, «I can’t read it! What do you want me to do? The lenses mostly look the same as each other. You don’t have my eyes and you’re not seeing it the way I’m seeing it.» Which basically shows how bad my astigmatism was. It turns out I need to wait it out until my eyesight stabilizes. He says I may need more correction.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m already satisfied with my vision. I don’t ask to see ²⁰⁄₂₀. Just good enough to be happy. If you decide to go through with it, just make sure to use your drops to avoid dry eyes. Dr. Wu says he was just doing his job. Well, just be more patient and understanding of your patients with poor eyesight ok? It’s not like I enjoy confusing you, because it is my vision that is being evaluated, and I honestly don’t want to go back to the chopping block.

I got my procedure done at LVI when they were still located in La Jolla. By the time of my post-​op, they had moved to La Mesa. Long story short. They over-​corrected one eye and under-​corrected the other on what another clinic (Motwani) said should have been a straightforward procedure. This ends up being worse than it sounds because it is challenging for my eyes to converge their two images. Motwani also told me that the diameter of the ablation on my cornea was smaller than my pupil and that this would cause me to see halos around lights at night. They charged me $ 2800 for both eyes. Motwani just quoted me $ 4000 to fix LVI’s procedure. I wish I could get my $ 2800 back from LVI!!!
While the pre-​op felt professional at LVI, the operation itself was very assembly-​line. Things felt off, very off. I was with a bunch of patients. Each of us had a sticker with our name on it. Seriously. At the post-​op, I told them that I thought my left-​eye was overcorrected and my right-​eye under-​corrected. They wouldn’t acknowledge this.
I initially went here because 3 trustworthy friends recommended it. So perhaps not all of their outcomes are bad but I wouldn’t recommend taking a 1 out 4 chance on it.
Anyways, 5 years of meh eyesight later, hopefully Motwani can fix me up. He told me that he can’t make it as good as he could have if I had come to him first but that he could make it much better. He said he could fix my acuity and convergence issues and that he couldn’t widen the ablation as much as he would like but that he could make it noticeably better. That procedure is next week. I will post a review on his Unilocal page afterwards.

I can see why they have bad reviews on here but they aren’t really that bad!
Here’s the real deal:
My first visit to this establishment was fall 2012. Made an appointment and was told 30 – 60 mins for basic tests and exam. Not so. I was shuffled from room to room, and back out into the lobby, then back in for a test, and then back out to wait. I almost contemplated walking out because I was there over 3 hours. Finally sat in with the eye doctor who said yes i’m a candidate for the surgery. Then they had me talk to a lady about pricing and she was very pushy. Basically wanting me to commit to locking down a day and asking how I was going to pay for it etc. I was sort of off put by this and wouldn’t have even considered them after this initial consultation except for the fact that my boyfriend and all of his family had gone through them with great results and fair pricing.
So I decide to get the procedure and arrange a follow up in the beginning of 2013. And because the eye exams you take during the initial consult are only «good» for one calendar month, I needed to come in again and be re-​tested before I could lock down a surgery date. This next time they took me after 5 mins of waiting which was not bad. The tests went by quickly and I was out in about an hour. The second visit to the LVI was not bad at all.
They did not have the surgeon’s schedule for the month I wanted yet, so they said they would call me. This was a long back and fourth battle to call centers and leaving messages because they are only open certain days of the week. Again really seemed like a hassle. But the real life testimonials of people who have come here and the great pricing in addition to the lifetime warranty made all this worth it. I guess???
Still no surgery date, so I had to not wear contacts during the ‘waiting’ period because you cannot wear contacts and mascara for 2 weeks prior to the surgery. I totally get that, but I meet with people a lot and looking nice and having makeup on is part of looking professional. But again, i’m getting a good deal right???
Finally call and get a date locked down! Phewwww it’s actually going to happen! As my date slowly crept up I assumed I would get a follow up call reminding me of my surgery date or something. My mistake again the back and forth with the calling. Finally I got an exact time for my surgery. Oh yes did I forget to mention I have a surgery DAY locked in place but not an actual surgery TIME. That is sort of important, don’t you think? Ok so now I have the day AND the date. Good to go.
The day of surgery, I was nervous. Not even gonna lie, I was scared of this laser being shot at my eye. But not having to wear glasses or contacts is worth it right??? The assistant April is the sweetest girl ever! She totally helped calm me down and was sooooo nice about answering questions etc. (ONE STAR FOR APRIL) My family and friends were curious about the actual procedure and April offered to take a video with my phone and photos etc! What a plus!!! Because we all know if you don’t post it on instagram then it didn’t actually happen! Now you see why she alone gets a star! ;)
It is painful and you are extremely sensitive to light. The drops and sleeping help a lot. Not driving and staying off electronics is extremely hard. I had to go in a second time because my eyes were so bad that they needed more correction. There were also issues with payment and getting calls back and confirming things etc too. All of the back and forth and pain and second surgery was worth it in the end. I’m currently recovered from a second surgery and everything is great.
Short version:
The office is slow at times, yes. One lady is pushy and pressures you to do the surgery, yes. The office manager and eye doctor are very very nice, yes. (ONE STAR TO THEM) Your surgery might not take right the first time, yes. You will have issues with call back, billing, wait times etc, yes. The mainly nice staff helps make it better. I do think they could be much more organized but it is what it is. As long as you get your eyes examined at their office or fax over a copy of your annual eye exam you are covered with your lifetime warranty. People are upset by this but it says so in the contract you sign before they even do the surgery. (ONE STAR FOR THE LIFETIME WARRANTY) So basically it’s a good price, good service, good staff, good warranty. Solid 3 stars. Nothing more and nothing less.

What’s the point in making an appointment. They make you wait 2 hrs after you show up just to be seen. I’ve already watched the same movie in the lobby 3 times in a loop every time I have been here.
Make sure you eat before you come because who knows how long you will be sitting in a very cold waiting room for hours watching the same movie over and over again.
You would think this assembly line would be more efficient and they would respect your time and honor the appointment the office schedules.
Staff needs to understand scheduling better and respect customers time.

Do not use this company in any city! You will be treated like a product on an assembly line.
They made the promise of free touch-​ups for life if needed as long as I agreed to see them for yearly checkups. Every time that I was able to get someone on the phone to make an appointment (I had to pretend to be a new customer), they scheduled me for an appointment on days they were closed. Eventually I gave up. The only positive that I can say about The Lasik Vision Institute is that my eyesight, although not perfect, is doing great and I’ve had no issues with my eyes.
Do yourself a favor and see a local, reputable doctor.