LaserVue Eye Center

I realized four days before surgery that the information packet said to stop wearing my contact lenses 1 week before the surgery. Making this information more prominent in the packet would help. Making sure you tell the client directly using your words would help. Or have clients stop wearing their contacts right away!
But wait, I wore contacts right before my eval for surgery, the day before in fact. LaserVue said not to wear them to the eval.
What’s the FDA got to say? «If you wear contact lenses, it is a good idea to stop wearing them before your baseline evaluation and switch to wearing your glasses full-​time. Contact lenses change the shape of your cornea for up to several weeks after you have stopped using them depending on the type of contact lenses you wear. Not leaving your contact lenses out long enough for your cornea to assume its natural shape before surgery can have negative consequences. These consequences include inaccurate measurements and a poor surgical plan, resulting in poor vision after surgery. These measurements, which determine how much corneal tissue to remove, may need to be repeated at least a week after your initial evaluation and before surgery to make sure they have not changed, especially if you wear RGP or hard lenses.
If you wear:
soft contact lenses, you should stop wearing them for 2 weeks before your initial evaluation.
toric soft lenses or rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses, you should stop wearing them for at least 3 weeks before your initial evaluation.
hard lenses, you should stop wearing them for at least 4 weeks before your initial evaluation.»
I’m now about 3 years post surgery. I am still free from glasses and eye doc says I will be for a while. My eyes were so bad that my regular eye doc who has no affiliation with any Lasik providers recommended that I have Lasik because my contacts and glasses were so expensive that having Lasik would pay for itself in a couple years. I’m past the break even.
My vision isn’t perfect. It’s hard for me to see in mixes of bright sun and shadows. My night vision also could be better. I’m told these are common effects after surgery.
My actual surgery was in Mountain View whereas my eval and my follow up was in Walnut Creek. I am sorry to say that the optometrist in Walnut Creek has halitosis. Please, it’s easy to use mouthwash before you work with patients. You are breathing right in our faces.

I got PRK at the San Francisco location, but had all my follow-​up appointments at this Mountain View location. If you’d like to read the details of my recovery course, you can find it on the review for the San Francisco location. But here’s a summary of things to consider if you’re thinking about PRK:
Lasik versus PRK (there are probably more types out there, but I only learned about these two in my research): I heard about Lasik a lot because that’s what most people (and about two dozen of my friends/​coworkers/​family) get — and it was unanimously one of the best decisions they ever made. I wish I qualified for Lasik. But if your corneas are too thin for Lasik, your surgeon will probably recommend PRK. In fact, one of the surgeons (at another place) told me that he always recommends PRK even if you can do Lasik because it yields better results and you don’t have the risk of disturbing the flap that’s created in Lasik. PRK is more expensive and a much longer recovery time though.
Risks and benefits: I’ve wanted to have vision correction surgery for years now, mainly because I was so blind that I couldn’t be without my contacts, and this impeded my water activities as I can’t get into the water without goggles (yay for snorkeling!). And surfing doesn’t look as cool with goggles. But honestly, I had no other problems with contacts (for 15 years!). And my close-​up vision was way better before — they tell you it won’t stop you from needing reading glasses that commonly happens in your 40s, but I didn’t think I was going to lose my close vision a decade early!
Location: It’s a good idea to choose a location that’s close and convenient. LaserVue has four locations in the Bay Area, which was great because I was able to have surgery at one location, and follow-​up appointments at another location to fit my schedule. At the same time, it’s also annoying that you can’t get everything you need at one location if you don’t have a flexible schedule.
Lifetime package: Unlike the other two places I had consultations at, LaserVue does NOT offer lifetime touch-​ups. This is fine by me as I have no interest in going through this again. It’s also cheaper this way.
Cutting onions will now make you cry. No more contacts shield.
Tear duct plugs: These weren’t offered to me at LaserVue, but one place wanted to charge me an additional $ 400 for them. I scoffed then, but really wish I had them in retrospect. They’re supposed to keep your eyes from drying out, and they dissolve after a week (like those dissolving stitches they put in your mouth after you have your wisdom teeth out).
Shorter summary: Would I do it again? Hell no.

I was referred to Dr. Banal and LaserVue by my insurance company and recently had the «custom» lasik procedure done. I had very bad vision 20/​70+ and now (two weeks later) my vision is better than it had been with any corrective lens (better than ²⁰⁄₂₀). My night driving is also better.
I am a 38 year old male, work as a firefighter, and I had been sleeping/​surfing/​traveling with my contacts for years and always felt a bit vulnerable that if I lost one in a critical moment it could be disastrous. I had also had several eye infections due to extended lens wear while on extended deployments and I was ready for a change. But I’m very cautious with my eyes so this was a leap of faith.
I had the «custom» procedure done and could not be happier with the results. The procedure probably took only 10 minutes, was not painful at all, and was by far the easiest «surgical» procedure I have ever gone through. I could instantaneously see as if I had corrective lenses on immediately after the surgery which was great (and surprising).
A word of warning to help you prepare for the recovery. My eyes were very sore, dry, irritated for two days following the procedure. Prepare to just take a huge nap and do nothing immediately following the procedure and probably the day after. My comfort level dramatically improved over the next five days and now (two weeks after) my eyes are almost irritation free (although I still do use re-​wetting drops in the morning and evening).
I am so blown away by the results — they far exceeded my expectations. I honestly thought that my vision was so bad before that if I got somewhere in the ball park of not needing to wear correction when I was driving that it would be a success. My vision is far better than it has been with correction and my night driving vision is equally better.
There is an entire «anxiety» and «infrastructure» of needing to bring corrective lens with me throughout my active lifestyle is no longer present. Its like taking a thorn out of my side I had gotten used to.
Their operation is courteous, efficient, and responsive. Having been cautious and quite frankly scared of getting this procedure done, I felt the need to communicate how awesome the results are and how great the service was.
This team knows what they are doing and this has changed my life for the better. I am so glad I’ve had this done.

LaserVue Eye Center was the second place that we visited for a Lasik consultation. Compared to other Lasik places, this is a no frills type of place. There wasn’t a huge operations of doctors and nurses on-​site.
Overall, the service was good. Here is what we experienced during our consultation:
— Cornea mapping and eye test
— Eye examination and dilation
— Final conclusion on Lasik candidacy
Be prepared as this consultation took over one hour with the optometrist. My husband never had his eyes dilated, so the optometrist found a round spot on his eye. He had to get that spot checked out after the appointment.
We did not meet Dr. Bansal, but that didn’t affect our decision for choosing a Lasik place. We opted to not go with LaserVue since they did not have the lifetime guarantee touch-​up. Cost was the lowest out of the three places that we visited for $ 3800 for both eyes. It is the same price as the Groupon deal. Touch-​ups are free after the first year, but afterwards, you would need to pay.
Everyone was nice and professional. I would recommend them as one of the places you visit for Lasik.

Friday I did it, I got Lasik Eye Surgery. I was terrified. Dr. Jay Baysal made it quick, painless and provided me with two valium to calm my nerves. I laid down, looked into the light, as he guided me. He would tell me, it’s going to be blurry, or keep looking at the orange light, your doing great, almost done, then it was o.k. let’s do the other eye… Really? That’s it? My surgery was done in 10 minutes or less and I didn’t have any pain at all, it was just uncomfortable knowing they are lasering your eye, but I literally couldn’t feel it. When I sat up I could see better already! I could NOT believe that was it. I went home, took a nap in the goggles they provided me, which made it nice knowing I wouldn’t rub or smoosh my eye in the pillow and not know it. Woke up 2 – 3 hours later ecstatic! The following morning i had my follow up. Already seeing ²⁰⁄₂₀ and he said if I could read the bottom line it would be a bonus. I read it with flying colors. He said next week after the normal swelling goes down, which I don’t even notice or feel, I will see even better, even crisper and clearer, probably ²⁰⁄₁₅. I can’t wait. I AM SO GLAD I FINALLY DID IT! Its really all in your head, the fear of this surgery, but it’s literally painless and Sooooooo worth it! I woke up to see my alarm clock, my room, I can see the details of every leaf on every tree. My husband keeps singing to me, «A whole new world…» from Disney’s Aladdin and teasing me. But it really is… I highly recommend Dr. Jay Basal at LaserVue in Mountain View. It was super close to my house, his nurse held my hand through the entire surgery and they had Krispy Kreme donuts on the counter for their patients when I walked in. I grabbed one on my way out to celebrate my fresh new eyes.
PS: The way I found LAsik was my husband found a GROUPON and it was NOT for LaserVue but he asked and sure enough, THEY HONORED IT.

I visited four other places before I decided to go with LaserVue Eye Center. Here are my reasons why:
–LaserVue Eye Center seemed way more down to earth, the doctors did not seem «fake» and they did not seem like they were out there to get your money.
–They were truthful and honest (I asked the receptionist about how she felt about Dr. Bansal’s previous malpractice suit, she didn’t try to talk her way out of it or try to trick me)
–The pricing is a lot cheaper than other places.
Sure, at this point, you are probably thinking malpractice?! Cheap pricing?! Don’t you want the best for your eyes? Yes. I do. First, malpractice was using an older version of laser. Now that it is all laser lasik, there is no need to worry about the blades. Second, just because the other places charge more, does not make them more qualified to deal with my eyes.
Now, 2 months later, I have at least ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision, if not better. I experienced some dry eye after the initial couple of weeks but now I don’t feel it much at all. I do not have any issues seeing at night either.
Dr. Bansal was great the day of the surgery as well. He was really caring and helped calm me down (yes, I think it’s hard not to get at least a little bit nervous). They even gave me a little baggy to take home with all the supplies such as extra boxes of eyedrops and the eye protector thing. I didn’t have to wait for the surgery at all, and the greatest part was I had it done on Friday and they were open on Saturday just for followups of the surgery (I noticed that many other places do not open on Saturday following the surgery, and your «1 day post-​op» was actually on Monday — 3 days later). All in all, my experience there and the follow up appointments were absolutely great. I would recommend this place if you are looking for more places to get your Lasik done at!

I had astigmatism and really bad near sidedness and was always paying big money to get thinner lenses for my glasses. I finally decided to get Lasik and so I got three different consultations. I wish I would have seen Dr. Bansal first and saved myself the time of going to so many consultations. The staff (Mary & Dr. Kay) in the Mountain View office is extremely friendly and inviting, and the office itself is very clean. I felt like they really cared about my vision and my experience. The procedure itself took less than 10 minutes and six hours later I had perfect vision. It’s been about three weeks and I still have the dry eyes (as expected), but I just put some artificial tears and I’m good to go. My only regret is not doing it sooner! I highly recommend this practice!!! If you are on the fence, go in for a free consultation and give them a chance to win you over, because they will! Thank you Dr. Bansal… you changed my life!

The Mountain View office is pleasant and the Optometrists are very professional in their assessment.
Dr. Bansal’s experience and educational background is impressive.
I decided that my particular case’s risks outweighed the possible benefits therefore, I am not pursuing Lasik.
I did get an independent assessment done later and with the additional information I made my decision to not pursue Lasik eye correction.
After-​all its elective for me and other options may be available for my constellation of particular variables.
So, for the general purpose of providing some constructive comment on this Unilocal board, I concur and quote another Unilocaler’s sound advice regarding Lasik since for many this is an elective surgery, The comment is general and not generated from my experience with LaserVue.
Quote «Some advice for my Unilocalers out there reading this. Always get a 2^nd [option] opinion but don’t get it from someone that knows nothing about Lasek/​Lasik. Get it from your respectable [ophthalmologist] doctor (not a doctor that is trying to sell you glasses or a doctor that is trying to sell you LASIK). Here is some reason why you shouldn’t get eye surgery, if your eyes change a lot meaning more than +/​-​1.0 per year, you’re not a risk taker, if you like wearing glasses or contacts, you under 18 (your eyes haven’t quite mature yet).»

I would recommend the LaserVue Eye Center to everyone. It has been several years now that I had my left eye done and I couldn’t be happier.
Friendly Doctors and Staff. They took their time and were extremely thorough in their pre-​exam. They gave me all the details unique to my situation and showed genuine concern for my success. I was extremely impressed with the facility and people. I felt nervous at first because of the seriousness of the procedure; being that a mistake could mean my loss of sight. However, the Doctors and staff made me feel very comfortable and confident every step of the way. They were available 24hrs a day 7 days a week after I had my surgery and responded immediately to my post op concerns.
Words are just words… My motivation for this review is becuase I strongly feel that everyone at the center is genuine in their concern for you to be knowledgable about the procedure and comfortable in the process. Plan a visit and experience it for yourself :)

Before I begin, I did go to the SF facility for my consultation/​checkups and did the procedure in mountain view.
I had my Lasik surgery with wavefront done earlier this morning at 8:30 and was out by 9AM. There looked to be donuts and coffee when I entered but didnt get it since I was a bit nervous for the procedure. As soon I entered they were ready to start (No waiting or anything!) they rechecked my eyes (just like the consulation) and discussed what to do after the operation. I was in and out in a flash. I can see somewhat better now compared to earlier which was a bit hazy and supposedly able see a lot better tomorrow. I have been teary eyed all day and a bit itchy eyed, but that was expected.
A few things:
1. I did read a few reviews before deciding on this facility and heard about their lack of sanitizing the eye testing equipment but when I did enter, they did alcohol wipe the equipment before I used it.
2. During the procedure I did feel a slight discomfort when they were opening the flap for the first eye. That was the only issue and I can’t explain why it happened (maybe the numbing medication wasn’t on long enough? maybe that eye was sensitive?) other than that, the whole procedure was painless.
3. The staff here are VERY friendly. I was able to get all my questions answered and wasn’t rushed into doing anything. I was a bit iffy about getting lasik initially, but after having the consultation and reading more into it, I jumped on it and glad I did… SO FAR.
I’ll try and update this post in a few weeks/​months to see the end result.
One week review:
Went in for my one day checkup with good enough vision to drive up to the SF clinic (since I live in SF). Although my eyes did feel a bit sensitive to light (maybe because it was a cloudy day during my procedure?) and did get dry quick at the time. I was able to run some errands prior. The check up was about 15 minutes and the results came out to close to ²⁰⁄₂₀. They told me what i should do for the remaining week until my one week check up and answered any questions that I had.
For my one week checkup, I had already felt a dramatic change in comfort and in vision quality. I have ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision according to the doctor. My eyes don’t dry up much. I am not as light sensitive as before. I honestly feel happy with the procedure and glad to have gotten it. I am very satisfied with the results and would definitely recommend it to people, but just remember like any surgery there comes risks. I have not seen any of the typical complications that may occur with this surgery (after a week of having it done).

This review is late, but I have to add to the positive reviews. I got my Lasik done January 2011, and it was an amazing experience overall. I had been contemplating the surgery for years, and when a Groupon deal for LaserVue showed up in my email, I knew it was a sign. I went in for a consultation, which was quick, easy, yet thorough. I can’t remember the doctor’s name who I saw for my consultation, but she was VERY friendly and sweet, and answered all of my questions.
The day of the surgery I was terrified, and Dr. B had to tell me to stop shaking. But he was so great, and talked me through the entire surgery (which only lasted about 10 minutes!).
Almost a year later, my eyes are perfect! I definitely get dryness, but that is normal and can be solved with some lubricating drops.
This was literally the best thing I have ever done for myself and my eyes. Such a life changing experience. Go for it! And go to LaserVue!

I had lasik at the Mountain View location in April 2010. Besides the best eye doctor experience I have had, this was most definitely the best doctor experience in general. Dr. Boghossian did my initial consult in late 2009 (I wanted to get a cost to set up my flexible spending plan) and was incredibly attentive and had excellent bedside manner. He even called me the day before to ask me what questions I had.
Since then, his wife had a baby and was out on leave during the time I wanted my surgery. Dr. Bansal, the owner of all the LaserVue centers, who generally runs the Santa Rosa office, took over all of his surgeries in order for them not to be cancelled. That alone was a testament to his business values.
Surgery day was a breeze — I was literally in and out of the office within 30 minutes, only 5 – 10 being in the surgery suite and the rest spent re-​checking my eyes to ensure they hadn’t changed from the week before.
As soon as the surgery was over, I could see at least twice as well as I could see before, and by the time the day was over, I could almost see perfectly. The next day my vision was 20/​20, verified at my follow up appointment.
I would highly recommend LaserVue. What a great experience!

I had my Lasik done there 2 years ago, payed $ 5000. I am still very happy I did it and Dr. Bansal is the best! He was referred by my very good friend who is a scientist in San Francisco. P. S. Dr. Manchini at Stanford refused to do it because I had really bad astigmatism, but Dr. Bansal assured me everything would go great and it did!

A little over a year now, I am doing great with my vision. Haven’t have any problem at all. Very glad to have lasik done. Many thanks to Dr. Boghossian

i saw dr. boghossian at the laservue eye center back in december when i was considering the procedure. after my initial consult with him, i knew i didn’t want to go anywhere else. dr. boghossian is very knowledgable, efficient, has great «bedside» manners and made me feel very comfortable. he wasn’t pushy about moving forward with the surgery until he was absolutely certain that i was ready for it bot physically and mentally.
i opted for the monovision surgery because i wanted to be completely free from contact lenses and glasses. refractive eye surgery would have required that i use reading glasses which i didn’t care for.
throughout the three month process, dr. boghossian reiterated the need for me to refrain from wearing my contact lenses and backed it up with regular test results from corneal topography screening that i had to have whenever i went in.
i had a slight allergy-​induced cough the day of the surgery, but he made me feel at ease and assured me everything would be okay. i hated the numbing drops. .. they sting like buggery! i was given a chewable valium prior to the surgery so that helped. the surgery itself was painless and took about 10 minutes. later that afternoon, dr. boghossian called me at home to see how i was doing.
my eyesight today is amazing! i wish i’d thought about having it done sooner. if you’re considering the procedure, i highly recommend dr. boghossian. absolutely the best $ 5000 investment i’ve ever made. i wouldn’t trust my eyes with anyone else.

just had lasik here (literally this morning) and very glad i did! minimal discomfort throughout and after the procedure. (for those of you who wear contacts, recovery for me felt similar to falling asleep with them in and waking up w/​hazy vision & scratchy eyes.)
dr. boghossian was thorough, efficient, answered all my questions and put me at ease through the procedure. would definitely recommend going for a consult if you are thinking about having lasik in the silicon valley area.