Pacific Vision Institute

It has been about 3 weeks after my PRK procedure and I could not recommend Pacific Vision Institute (PVI) more highly. Having worn glasses since middle school, I have forgotten what it is like to go about my everyday life without them. The only benefit of wearing glasses for me was that if I needed to squash a nasty bug, I could take my glasses off and turn it into an unidentifiable blurry dot. Going from Clark Kent to Superman of smashing bugs hardly outweighed the cons. Wearing glasses in the rain is the worst!
Once I decided to get corrective surgery for my vision I started my research. I sifted through Unilocal reviews, talked to friends and coworkers who have gone through the procedure, and asked my optometrist for the lowdown on the whole procedure which lead me to PVI. I was initially a little taken back by the 1 and 2 star reviews on Unilocal,but I decided to read through each one to make sure I knew everything about who was going to handle my eyes. The majority of these reviews had a beef with the sales pitch, but inquiring about payment is a necessary step for a business, especially for such a costly procedure.
Upon inquiring about a consultation via email, I received an response from Stephennie, their Patient Care Coordinator. She asked me questions to know my history with glasses and contacts and shipped me eye drops to take a week prior to my to my appointment.
/​/​Consultation /​/​
My consultation began with talking to Stephennie about the types of corrective surgeries, the procedures, recovery and their success rate. I then met with their clinical manager Gene, and got topographic maps taken of my eye. I picked his brain on the different laser technology, machine maintenance, calibration and reliability. Trusting the laser is just as important as trusting the doctor because during the treatment your vision is in the hands of a computer. Gene explained my maps to me and said that my cornea (the outer layer of my eye) is thick enough to to receive LASIK, however the shape of my eye raised some concerns and that I might need PRK. I then saw Dr. Quan who checked my vision and looked at my eyes in more detail and explained why PRK was ideal for me.
There are essentially two corneal procedures that you can go through to get your vision corrected: LASIK and PRK.
LASIK involves creating a flap on your eye that is then lifted up before the laser reshapes that eye. The flap is then lowered back over the eye and the patient’s vision is clear. The patient can typically go back to work the next day.
Unlike LASIK, the PRK does not create a flap but removes the cornea’s outer layer and procedure is done on the surface of the cornea. This process takes longer to recover, but yields a similar result.
Based on Dr. Faktorovich’s diagnosis of my eyes, I decided to move forward with PRK. I scheduled the procedure, I got my prescription eye drops fulfilled and showed up at PVI the day of with my dad.
/​/​The Surgery /​/​
The procedure was very quick, less than 10 mins for both eyes! The longest part was putting the numbing eye drops and waiting for them to take affect. Dr. Faktorovich talked to me the whole time and kept my mind at ease.
As soon as the process was over my vision was near perfect! Everything was very clear, but I couldn’t enjoy it too much as they taped eye shields on my face and gave me nifty sunglasses. After my dad drove my home, I passed out for 4 hours and went on to the recover process.
Note: If you don’t have someone to drive you home, PVI provides Über service!
/​/​The Recovery /​/​
The first week is the hardest. In the first few days you experience dryness, irritation and discomfort, but they weren’t as bad as the horror stories that i heard. Just make sure you have painkillers on hand just in case. I had ²⁰⁄₂₀ the day after my procedure but my vision dropped off and varied for a week as expected.
It takes time for your vision to stabilize after PRK, but my vision has been getting slightly better everyday. I look out my window at work everyday to check my progress and I can finally read the tiny letters on the billboard that my coworkers can’t read. I have no regrets!

It took me a long time to be able to write this because I wanted to ensure that I covered all my bases and gave the fairest judgement. This definitely isn’t something to be taken lightly as it’s a life changing procedure. However, almost 2 years have passed since my surgery so I think I’ve given enough time.
I didn’t qualify for Lasik and had gone to quite a few doctors here and overseas. All said PRK was my best chance. When asking around eye doctors here in the bay area– everyone said Dr. Faktorovich and her «magic machine» were going to be my best bet. Not to mention, I live in the city and wanted something convenient.
I don’t have comparison since I’ve only done PRK once at this place so I’ll have to trust the machine is as good as they say it is– I won’t ever know. Do I regret doing the surgery? No way. Do I still have issues with my sight and dry eyes? Yes. However, to be able to wake up and more or less relatively be able to see… is something I’m extremely thankful for.
With that being said, the staff is probably the most incompetent staff I have ever come across. My follow up «doctor» set the worst expectations and it was only until my last check up 3 months ago when I had a different doctor that he said healing time can take up to a year and a half. My original follow up person told me that some people were driving in 5 days. Now I understand that everyone heals incredibly differently but that is a huge difference. In addition, she kept changing her story of healing time every time I came in– stretching it out to 6 months– a year, etc. It’s one thing to explain that there is a long healing time and everyone is different but you should not set expectations as the norm being you can drive/​resume regular activity within less than a week. If I were her– I’d set lower expectations. I had to take extra time off work because of her unrealistic expectations.
In addition, because you are essentially out of it the first 4 days, I had to have family fly in to help me. They cancelled my reservation less than a month before my surgery after all tickets were booked and rescheduled me for 2 weeks earlier. I’m noticing that since I had the surgery a lot of people seemed to have the same complaints as me and my only wish is that I had seen this sooner. For how expensive they are– I wish I had given my money to people that actually care about patients. In addition, there’s no way my right eye is ²⁰⁄₂₀ but my last check up the doctor insisted that I was even, though I could barely see the 1^st line. I have since gone to my old optometrist and confirmed it’s not ²⁰⁄₂₀.
In the grand scheme of things, yes it’s great to be able to see way better– but for at least one eye, I miss seeing crystal clear (with contacts). Surgery aside, this was the most frustrating, worst customer care/​bedside manners I have ever experienced and I would not recommend them. Now, normally customer service is something that I’d brush off but given that you have so many follow ups in your first 18 months, it does make a difference. All I’m saying is do your research, PVI has consistently the most up to date technology but since doing my surgery– I’ve heard great things about Hyver, Stanford, etc. It’s definitely a big decision so I’ll just leave you with the fact to do your research and weigh what’s important to you– pre, during and post surgery. Good luck!

A hard pressed 2 stars, I may be generous here.
Overall if you want a very good eye surgeon then yes, go to Dr. Faktorovich.
If you want to be treated well, deal with a competent staff, have your concerns addressed, have good thorough and responsible follow up care, have a doctor that is a participant in your care, then RUN AWAY. Really fast.
I’ll just nutshell it since my bad experiences with them could fill a small book. Let’s just say that for my circumstances Dr. Faktorovich was my best bet, and I do think she’s a great surgeon. I have no beef with her. It’s her staff that’s the problem. And yes, I understand she hires them, or runs the place, whatever. But my experiences with them are that they’re unprofessional, inept, incompetent, occasionally rude, insensitive, manipulative, and inattentive. I save that for last because in medical you need to be extremely attentive. You have people’s health, and in this case vision, at stake. Information, detail and timing are critical and this staff don’t seem to care, don’t take their mistakes seriously (and there are many mistakes) and don’t take responsibility for the errors.
If you want details go ahead and get in touch with me. I’m happy to share, but I’d be going on for ever if I wrote it all here.
I leave you with this again — if you don’t mind having to micro manage everything, get it ALL in writing, follow up on every detail during the entire process, check and double check the info you get from the staff about pre and post op care, expenses, micro manage your post op then yeah. Go to PVI. Otherwise, find a place that’s going to appreciate and respond to their responsibilities, and appreciate you as a patient and customer.

I had laser eye surgery at Pacific Vision Institute (PVI). After dealing with them extensively, I can say without a doubt they are deceptive and unfit to be called medical professionals.
A group of former patients is filing a lawsuit for fraud, misrepresentation, and other criminal deception by PVI. Please contact me if you are a former patient who has been wronged by PVI and/​or Ella Faktorovich to join in the claims we are presenting as a class.
Ella and her husband Gene seem friendly and nice on the surface. Be careful. Her surgery failed on me, she did not correct the situation, subjected my eyes to significant risk, and then she refused to honor her commitment to pay a surgeon with different equipment to fix the problems she caused.
Ella never should have operated on my eyes — the equipment she uses does not have a wide enough ablation zone for my pupil size. She failed to inform me of this at the time she recommended surgery.
I have had to pay $ 10k out of pocket to fix the problems she caused, and now have little cornea left on my eyes. To this day Ella refuses to pay me even a cent, despite promising to do so.
PVI has faced legal problems before. Even their landlord has sued them:

I hope others benefit from my experience, and am willing to share what I know. I have done extensive analysis and met with most credible laser eye doctors in the area.

I had Lasik done here for both eyes in either late 2009 or early 2010, and everything went smoothly. Recovery time for me was just a couple days, and I still have better than ²⁰⁄₂₀ today. no regrets.

I agree with most of the reviews.
Totally money hungry.
It’s not about patient care or customer service at all. Constant conversations about payments. Huge turn off. It’s got that feel. You can’t put your finger on it exactly but you know «this person is in this to rip me».
I spent the money and flew to Los Angeles to have my vision corrected by Dr Maloney. He did famous people. Not that it matters but I figured someone in the public eye probably has more pressure not to screw up.

*For quick pros/​cons and update on my vision jump to bottom.
OVERALL: I highly recommend PVI if you are considering refractive surgery.
BACKGROUND CHECK: Before making the big decision, I instinctively jumped on Unilocal to check out other Unilocalers’ experiences and thoughts on PVI. 4-​star rating over all = looks good so far but most recent reviews are 1 star … now I am conflicted. So I rolled up my sleeves and actually read each review thoroughly, since my vision is on the line. The main gripe from the 1 star review was the sales pitch.
Honestly, a sale pitching or having an employee inquire how I am about to pay for an expensive but life-​changing procedure does not bother me. Those questions are reasonable, especially for and an elective surgery. What I am more concerned with is PVI’s ability to answer my questions and care for my eyes and vision. After reading the Unilocal reviews, I reached out to my best friend, a licensed optometrist, for his opinion on LASIK and PVI. My girlfriend, a soon-​to-​be optometrist, yelled at me for not asking her first. Lesson learned, ask your girlfriend first! (She made me say that part). After consulting with both of them, and learning that PVI had the latest technology in LASIK with an extremely skilled and renowned surgeon, I scheduled my consult.
CONSULTATION: The staff and optometrist at PVI are capable, friendly, and direct. I truly value their honestly and willingness to address all of my concerns. During the consult my curiosity got the best of my and I asked about a previous PVI customer who voiced his poor experience on Unilocal.Instead of brushing my question aside, PVI reassured me that person does have fantastic visual acuity and PVI was willing to perform enhancements, as long as it is safe for your eyes. This showed me that PVI cares about my vision and making sure that I am making an informed decision. After the Q&A, and hours of reading terrifying LASIK complications, I decided that I could trust PVI and scheduled a pre-​op appointment.
PRE-​OP: An exceptional optometrist greeted me with a friendly smile and gave me the scoop on LASIK, as I tried to get some dirt on the establishment. He told me that since he started working there he has seen hundreds of thousands of patients and none of them had complications. I was reassured and he proceeded to screen me for and take my measurements for LASIK. He is very professional and thorough. Only thing that could make this better was if Dr. F would come and talk to me.
DAY OF SURGERY: I was prepared. I knew the risks. I even had a friend who just had the procedure tell me exactly what to expect. Most important advice I received is to take the pill to help you relax. Despite my preparation, I was really nervous that morning and swallowed that pill the instant I saw it. Unfortunately it took effect after the procedure, but it was a good thing because you needed to keep your eyes close 4 hours after, so it helped me nap. I met with the optometrist who prepared me for my procedure and marked up my eyes. Many eye drops later, I was ready for surgery. Dr. F introduced herself and told me that I was in good hands. Listening to her instructions of «you are doing well just keep staring at the green light» during the 10 – 15 minute procedure help reduce my anxiety. Afterwards, I was then led back to the optometrist for a quick check and given a post-​op pack and sent home. PVI offers UBER for free but I had a ride so I declined.
My Pre-​LASIK prescription (for reference):
right eye –3.50 + 0.75×083
left eye –3.50 + 0.75×075
Pros:
–Skilled surgeon who is known as an authority on LASIK
–Exceptional and friendly staff
–Clean and organized office
–Free granola bars and water
–Easy to follow pre– and post-​op instructions
–Über car to bring you home after LASIK
–My vision so far: ²⁰⁄₁₅ (results may vary depending on the person)
Cons:
–Parking (I love free parking)
–LASIK is only performed on Wednesdays

I actually had LASIK surgery in March 2014, with mixed results. I was waiting to see how things turned out before I posted & final result is average. I was led to believe my vision would be perfect after surgery which is why I am disappointed as it is average, and the final result does not seem worth the cost.
As other people have noted the sales tactic was completely over the top! I actually thought the sales person was the Doctor, but obviously a professional as she knew how to close. She knew I was balking at $ 6800 price tag, so she did hard pressured sales tactic and pushed hard to close– so bizarre! Although to give credit it worked, although in retrospect I wish I had gone with my gut that said no. I actually only saw Dr. In operating room for 20 min, maybe less. It is amazing to wake up & see without glasses after all those years but for me the expense wasn’t worth it especially since eyes have regressed.
My husband had surgery & was a believer but I am not sure worth it. My eyes are now ²⁵⁄₄₀ so not sure much better than before although haven’t been to ophthalmologist yet to check but I do see glasses/​contacts in my future. I only saw Dr. F during surgery briefly (very short procedure) & rest of time it is very young Doctors & staff you interact with. All very nice but was odd to me that you don’t see Doctor after surgery as with some other procedures I have seen surgeon for follow up, usually the surgeon comes in to check work for a few minutes after lower staff review. I talked to PVI about a touch up on right eye but they seemed to think it was not needed, but it is clear to me that my right eye is off in vision. I think that should happened awhile ago as my eyes have been in same place for awhile but they seemed to be putting me off & truthfully not sure want to go through the surgery again. Even though very brief it is uncomfortable and a bit of an ordeal.
I can see benefit of surgery for people in military, pilots, doctors but for average active person like me although nice to have, not necessary. I have wasted money on worse things but if I had to do over I would not spend the money on this as almost a year out and my final result was average. I can see without lenses but my right eye is off, so in the not too distant future I know I will need corrective lenses which seems like a waste after this surgery. I think this is the type of procedure you should think about why you want/​need and weigh it against the cost to see if it is worth it for you as I don’t think it was warranted for me.

They checked to see if I qualified for a payment plan, and next thing you know, I have a new credit card. I am calling now to complain to them, but I haven’t been able to reach anyone. They didn’t even tell me they were signing me up for a credit card!

The one star review is for a phone conversation I had to schedule a consultation for PRK.
The FIRST THING I was asked is, «How will you be paying for this?» After a «Umm» from being taken aback, I replied either a payment plan or cash. Fine.
They scheduled me for a 9AM appointment, and then I got an email confirming a 4PM time? I replied, that was fixed, so next I came to Unilocal to read reviews. Here is where I would paste the Nope Octopus GIF.
From being 100% money oriented, to screwing up my first schedule, to the slew of bad reviews, no thanks.
PSA: I have to have PRK because my LASIK from 2010 in Arizona was done so poorly you can see my flaps are crooked with the naked eye and my vision is back to ²⁰⁄₄₀. Plus the added bonus of serious ghosting (I see 4 – 6 of everything) because my astigmatism returned and the crooked flap cuts. I’m not taking ANY chances since I blew $ 4k for *nothing* and this is likely my last shot to ditch glasses!

The receptionist was very nice, but the sales woman that came right after cared only about the money. She didn’t listen a lot and only tried to close the sale. Hard and aggressive sales technics. Not something that you would expect once you come to do eye surgery.
Not only that, but she applied for me for a credit card without my authorization. A week later I was shocked to get a new credit card in the mail because of her.
Maybe the doctors are good at this place, but the way they do business is just NOT NICE.

This place is only out to make money and not to help people.
After having Lasik done somewhere else, I called the Pacific Vision Institute to get a second opinion on some problems I was having. When I called the staff said flatly «We don’t do that». When I inquired why they told me «We just don’t». Confused I asked for an explanation, and was told that they only deal with their customers.
This seems a little strange to me, basically they’re saying that they’ll only see you if they are guaranteed to get the $ 9000 they charge for the procedure out of you.
I would recommend going to the doctors at UCSF, they only charge $ 6000 for the procedure and gladly do second opinions.

In 2002 I had LASIK with excellent results. In 2005 I had a touch up and excellent results again keeping me at 20 20 vision with mono vision. Months ago I had PRK which
brought my vision to 20 15. The process requires extra drops but after healing time the results are amazing. To think I can see 20 15 when in 2002 I had 2 pairs of glasses one for reading one for driving. Now I will never need glasses again. I recommend PRK over LASIK any day. Doc F. Is excellent and so is her staff. Their aftercare is over the top they see you for many check ups because they are perfectionists! My life has really changed having perfect vision considering in 2002 I was told by a few Eye MDs that I was not even a candidate. Doc F. Is well beyond the curve thank you !

2÷16÷14 Update: Still amazing. :D. Read my immediate post-​op review from last summer below.
I just had my LASIK procedure done this morning (literally 6 hours ago) by Dr. Faktorovich and her staff at PVI. The fact that I’m writing a 5-​star Unilocal review this quickly should tell you many things unto itself, but here are a few bullet points I’d like to highlight (updates to follow) —
1) I had a relatively light prescription with astigmatism, and 6 hours after the procedure, I have no pain or discomfort and can see everything. Like, everything. I took my new eyeballs out for a walk just to test them out. It was like wearing my glasses, only with a little hazyness (to be expected from the post-​op instructions). I’m told its only going to get better, which is hard to believe, because it’s pretty incredible now.
2) The all-​laser LASIK procedure I had done was truly painless. You don’t feel the lasers doing their thing, as your eyes are numbed. The only discomfort you feel is from the clamps they put on your eyes, and its moderate and brief. So if you’re freaked out about being in all sorts of pain during the procedure, forget about it. Not likely to happen at all. I was in the first laser chair and out of the second in less than 10 minutes. Crazy.
3) There are lots of people on Unilocal who are critical of the sales approach at PVI. True, it can be a little over the top (I walked in, and basically said «Hi, I’d like LASIK, please,» and still got bombarded with sales pitches), but understand that it’s an expensive procedure that a lot of people want but aren’t sure they can justify the investment. 3^rd party validation (customer success stories) aim to serve that purpose, which is why you see books of customer comments all over the office. In summary: if you are extremely sensitive to salespeople, you might feel uncomfortable. If you do enough research, and talk to enough people and decide that you want LASIK (provided that you’re a candidate), you should just do it. And get it done at PVI because Dr. F is the authority. A little sales pitch never hurt anybody, and they have the best laser technology in the world here.
Ok, time for more eyedrops.

I feel very mislead. I was initially told to come in for a consultation and it was a «long drawn out sales pitch» as some of the other reviews state. However I really wanted this surgery and was trying to be open minded as Dr. Faktorovich is supposedly one of the «best surgeons». I felt like the sales girl wanted to «close the deal». At one point she asked me what would make me want to do this surgery. I explained that I was only considering LASIK and was not prepared to commit to the more painful PRK surgery. I went through some tests and was told that I definitely qualified for lasik and the technician assured me that he had The surgeon sign off on this. I should also tell you that you do not meet the surgeon until your actual surgery. This is where i should have stopped this process. However I continued with the process and asked if I could meet the surgeon prior to surgery and they said «you might be able to meet her for a minute in the hall Between surgeries– she is very busy».
I was told that I was a perfect candidate for LASIK and I was so excited to hear this! I moved around my schedule took unpaid time off work and was totally invested despite continuing to question why the surgeon herself did not want to meet her patient. However I felt that because she has a good reputation I was ok with it. I showed up the day of my surgery at 840 am as I was told. I met dr faktorovich for the first time at the check in counter while I paid the final portion of my bill. At that moment she decided to read my chart (for the first time) and said «oh your cornea looks a little rough» «you might need Prk, but don’t worry it will be easy for you since you have a very mild stigmatism» I felt like this was the classic bait and switch! I told the original salesperson I only wanted LASIK if I qualified and I did not want to consider PRK at this time as I was aware I needed to take more time off work and it was a painful and longer process that I was not ready to consider. Sooooo here I was 5 minutes before I thought I was going to get LASIK being told that I was not a candidate even though I had been told I was getting LASIK the entire time (about 4 weeks lapsed between my initial visit and my surgery date with a pre-​op appointment one week prior) and never did they ever suggest any possibility of changing this. I was amazed at the complete lack of consideration for me and my time. They never even mentioned they might switch on me at the last minute … I was so deeply disappointed in their lack of caring about their patients! The surgeon never came out to apologize for not giving me this information sooner so I could have been prepared. She had her optometrist give me the news and no one ever even apologized .
I never had the surgery. I could not feel good about giving $ 7100 to someone who does not care about her patients. I heard that she does 20 surgeries a day and only does surgery 2 days a week… with each surgery ranging from $ 7 – 14,000. At these prices don’t you think a little bed side manner is well deserved? I have spoken with other people who have had these procedures with other surgeons and who all met the surgeon before their surgery. I am sure The doctor does a perfectly fine job with the actual surgery but how is her follow-​up care if her pre-​op care is so poor? I will never go back here and am considering other doctors to spend my money somewhere else.

I had PRK surgery done and the results are great — I am seeing around ²⁰⁄₂₀. While the results are great, the process was a total train wreck.
Here are some of my observations:
1. If you have PRK surgery, plan for at least three weeks of poor vision (with the first week being almost to the point of not being able to function). I was told I would be able to return to work and be functional by Monday or Tuesday following surgery (on a Thursday). That was not true. I couldn’t see to a functional degree for weeks (almost a full month) after surgery. When I brought this up to the post-​op doctor, she literally said to me «well, there’s nothing we can do about it now». This was a big case of mismanaged expectations on recovery time and I am just thankful that I didn’t have to drive to work everyday.
2. If you have Kaiser insurance, plan ahead for the prescriptions (and they are pricey –the Vigamox cost $ 104, even with my medical coverage).
3. The pain over the weekend is as described, but you’ll get through it.
4. I wasn’t impressed by the staff overall. Other than Dr. F (who you see for about 10 minutes total), everyone else was underwhelming.
5. If you want to meet Dr. F. during your consultation, you have to explicitly ask to meet her.
6. Be prepared to spend a small fortune on eye drops. I definitely spent several hundred dollars on eye drops following my PRK surgery. They say that using the eye drops frequently is the only way to get your eyes to heal more quickly. So, you’ll be going through many boxes.
7. Be prepared for MANY follow up appointments. I was told I would only have a follow up the day after surgery, the week after and then a month after. Well, this wasn’t true either. I had an appointment almost every week or two for the first three months. This was a huge hassle, considering time off work and the time (and cab fare) it took to get to the office from work and then to get home.
Based on the results, I would do it again. However, I am not sure I would come to PVI. Or, if I did, I would reset my expectations about the process in a big way.

i’ve limited $ 300 off gift cards on any procedures if you are serious about it and want to do your surgery before 2÷1÷2014 :) contact me !
here is my experience:
I’ve had my PRK by Dr. Faktorovich 3.5 weeks ago now and it is already great! of course sometime it get a little blurrier than it used to, and this is totally normal until your vision stabilize, but this is already much better than my glasses vision!, Colors are great, lines are straight, everything is larger, self-​confidence improved, food taste better (just kidding on this one)
The surgery itself is a breeze, don’t stress out, super fine!, but you have to expect pain/​discomfort for the next two day following surgery with PRK, load your phone with radiolab podcast or good music and deal with it, it’s worth it!
my night vision does have small hallo around some lights, but doesn’t seems worse than what it used to be…
Yes the surgery is expensive, but hey! this is your eyes, not something you can replace like a car tire if they get messed up!
As a bonus, i’ll add a photoshop picture of what you’ll see when you get the surgery done (you have to look at the green center light which create some funky patterns around it)

After reading Unilocal reviews I was expecting a major sales pitch which I never got. I was pretty sold on doing the procedure with Dr. F before my consultation because:
1. She’s the best. Just check out her resume. And with eyes, you want the best.
2. My optometrist (Dr. Ha) recommended Dr. F (& her staff). That’s really the only recommendation that I needed since I love and trust my optometrist.
3. I told them I wanted IntraLasik so they didn’t even go into any other options.
Thankfully, I was a perfect candidate for the procedure I wanted. They WILL reject you as a candidate if your cornea is too thin, along with a few other conditions. THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD. Yes, they want a good success rate but WHY would you elect a procedure if you aren’t a good candidate?! Boggles my mind. End rant.
Before the procedure I went through a bunch of tests. Vision, corneal mapping, I can’t remember what else. None of them are painful. I was given the necessary prescriptions for eye drops (have to fill through your own pharmacy) and I was ready!
Day of procedure: I show up, they give me Atavan (anti-​anxiety), I go back to the exam room, they give me numbing eye drops and I’m taken back into the operating room. I’m not going to re-​live the details but let’s just say … I’m glad I only had to do that once in my life. Other reviewers have written in-​depth summaries. Or do google search.
Dr. Lee was/​is my follow-​up optometrist. Request him if you can, he is awesome. Plus, he plays hockey. I had a check-​up the next day, week, month and I’m coming up on my 3 month.
I couldn’t be happier with my experience or results! Thank you PVI, Dr. F and Dr. Lee!

I had LASIK yesterday and am seeing better than 20 – 20 today! It is unbelievable.
I am 26, had worn glasses since the 3^rd grade and contacts since the 9^th grade. Lately, I started hearing of ecstatic friends and colleagues (many of whom are doctors) who had LASIK and decided to look into it. Keep in mind, contacts had been fine for many years and this is an elective procedure.
As great as the idea sounded, I was pretty scared and had a million questions. I am of the practical/​skeptical type. I researched a lot and consulted two practices in SF, but once I visited PVI it was hard to choose anyone else: 99% success rate for 20 – 20, and maybe 60−70% for 20 – 15 (note that this depends on your eyes’ natural potential — mine did not have the potential for 20 – 15, so 20 – 20 is my best result). They are truly pros at what they do, and gave me the confidence to go with Dr. Faktorovich.
Initially a lot of my communication was with the patient coordinators. At times, they seemed overwhelmed by my unending questions and passed me to the doctors. Dr. Lee and Dr. Faktorovich were better able to address my more detailed questions.
Despite my nerves, the procedure itself was over before I knew it. Once you are in the chair, everything happens quickly and Dr. Faktorovich is communicative and comforting. There is definite pressure and slight discomfort, but it is absolutely tolerable. I would recommend reading up so you know exactly what to expect.
My rating is based on my successful procedure and already amazing results. In conclusion, if you want to rid your glasses/​contacts and can afford LASIK, definitely go for it. But do it with the best. I have limited $ 300 coupons if you are serious about it — I know this is a big decision, so please feel free to message me.

(It’s 2:30 a.m. and I’m writing a Unilocal review because Marc D. has made a request that I get off my duff and not neglect my reviews.)
It’s been a little over three weeks since my procedure with Dr. Faktorovich and I’m going to be just like one those annoying «after» people right now. There’s a «before» person who’s usually chubby, unhappy, in need of makeup and a little sun and there’s an «after» person who’s smiling, bubbly, young, attractive and loving life. Thanks to this amazing investment in myself, I feel like an «after» picture!
I’ll admit that I didn’t do much research when it came to getting eye surgery done. I merely went on the recommendation of my trusted optometrist and a peer who’s sole job was to teach people how to live without glasses. My sister’s own surgery and recovery almost made me run for the hills with how groggy she was after surgery and how much of an invalid she became, but my annoyance with glasses and contacts outweighed the memories of her recovery.
I had corneal scarring in both eyes and I open my eyes during my sleep so they were always dry and irritated in the morning so I went in for a consultation with almost no faith that they could do anything for me. Thankfully I hadn’t worn contacts for months though because apparently they did a lot of damage unbeknownst to me. When your doctor says to 1. not sleep in them 2. only wear them for the recommended amount of time 3. clean and sanitize your everything, they mean it for a good reason.
I had a consult with their salesperson as is customary so I could discuss payment options (2 years with 0% finance by the way) and have my cornea mapped out over and over again. I had spent about an hour with their technician before meeting again with the salesperson. Luckily, I still had a thick enough cornea that I wasn’t going to have to do the PRK and just continue with the traditional IntraLasik. Looking over the information packet gave me enough to help make an informed decision by the time I walked through the doors and surgery was scheduled on my birthday.
My surgery was only 50 minutes from the time I walked in the door to the time I was shaking Dr. Faktorovich’s hand blindly before being lead out. She talks to you through every step of the procedure and her staff literally takes you by the hand for every step of the recovery also.
I was instructed to try and not open my eyes for 4 hours after the surgery so after eating breakfast, I decided to force a nap in and woke up in the afternoon being able to see ²⁰⁄₂₀ for the first time in over 20 years. I don’t care what they naysayers have to say about how pricey Dr. Faktorovich is but I respect a professional who doesn’t spread herself thin, doesn’t offer radio ad deals and at the same time, has nothing but recommendations from other eye doctors in the area. Other Lasik doctors might have the endorsement from athletes but I’d want my doctor to have the endorsement of my eye doctor more. I genuinely feel that she sees you as a person and not a dollar sign like some other doctors might. She remembered my sister’s surgery from two years ago and kept comparing how different our behaviors were in surgery. I apparently am the «good sister.»
For anyone who’s ever thought about getting it done but was hesitant because of cost, potential pain, or because they’re too lazy to do it, then I’d strongly suggest calling or emailing for their giant brochure so you can further educate yourself on the process. I don’t have to worry about glasses, prescription sunglasses, contacts, contact solution, eye appointments for a prescription or contact cases anymore.
Being able to see was definitely the best birthday present ever and it’s literally given me a new outlook on life.