Laser eye surgery a cheap, effective excuse to abandon glasses
What seemed like science fiction a few years ago has become a thriving business for Ukrainian ophthalmologists. Thousands have discovered that they can toss out their eyeglasses and contact lenses following quick, painless and relatively inexpensive laser eye surgery.
Although surgery using the excimer laser is widely available in the West, patients from outside Ukraine are coming here for the outpatient operation because Kyiv doctors offer a benefit not easily obtained elsewhere: price.
In the United States, the laser cure for near- and far-sightedness comes with a $3,500 to $5,200 price tag. And, since the surgery is considered cosmetic, it isn’t covered by most insurance plans. That makes the $750 to $900 fee Ukrainian clinics charge for the treatment attractive, even after airfare and accommodations are taken into account.
At Kyiv’s Excimer Ophthalmic Center, physicians specialize in surgery that corrects near- and far-sightedness, and astigmatism using the excimer laser. Established in 1999, the clinic follows a model developed by a chain of similar surgery centers in Russia. Doctors at the clinic have performed at least 5,000 operations using the laser, according to Georgy Parkhomenko, the clinic’s chief doctor.
“We operate the same way as centers in Europe or the United States,” Parkhomenko said. “Performing a large number of procedures has allowed us to gain experience quickly.”
The excimer laser equipment the Kyiv clinic uses is the same or similar to that used in the West.
In the United States and elsewhere, laser centers are common and there is a lot of competition for patients, Parkhomenko said. In Moscow, more than 20 clinics compete for business. Only two clinics offer excimer laser treatment in Kyiv, giving each literally half the market.
“When we tell Western colleagues how many patients we treat in our center, they are quite impressed,” he said.
Parkhomenko sees competition on the horizon.
“I am sure in two or three years there will be a dozen centers like ours here. The excimer laser method is very popular.”
Last year, almost a million U.S. citizens underwent the procedure, Parkhomenko said.
Rapid scientific advances may mean the excimer laser’s heyday may be nearing an end. But that doesn’t worry Parkhomenko, who says his clinic will keep pace.
The clinic is drawing patients from outside the capital. Although surgeries are performed only in Kyiv, the clinic recently opened an office in Kharkiv to schedule appointments and assist patients with rail and hotel bookings in Kyiv.
The clinic uses conventional advertising, but says that many new patients are referred by people who have had surgery done at the center.
Word-of-mouth advertising has been especially helpful in bringing foreigners to the center, Parkhomenko said.
“Friends and family usually follow [a patient],” he said. “The center’s patients include U.S. Embassy employees and South Koreans employed by Daewoo,” Parkhomenko said.
In addition, an increasing number of foreigners are travelling to Kyiv for the surgery, he said.
Americans have merged vacations with trips to medical clinics outside the U. S. for years. Whereas vacationing in a foreign country is not tax deductible, going abroad to seek medical treatment usually is. Combined with a deductible trip, moderately priced surgery performed by competent physicians is an attractive alternative for many Americans.
Americans who do seek medical treatment abroad may be giving up an important protection, though. With different laws, legal systems and insurance protection, foreign nations, including Ukraine, offer scant protection against medical malpractice.
“We take upon ourselves huge responsibility. We free people from their dependency on glasses and contacts but still we interfere into a theoretically healthy eye,” Parkhomenko said.
The surgical procedure itself is highly computerized and has an extremely high, 99.8 percent success rate. In the procedure, surgeons use a special scalpel, called a micro-keratome, to create a flap in the cornea. The tissue is temporarily folded back off the cornea, allowing ophthalmologists using a computerized excimer laser to gently vaporize a layer of the underlying tissue, essentially changing the shape of the eye and improving the patient’s vision. The flap is then replaced in its original position.
The operation lasts not more than five minutes, according to Parkhomenko, and there is no need for hospitalization.
“Our doctors are trained right here,” he said. “The laser is almost automatic, so our most important job is providing post-operative care,” Parkhomenko said.
Parkhomenko came to the clinic from the State Ophthalmic Center, where he gained experience and knowledge of general ophthalmology.
Parkhomenko says Ukrainian laws hinder the clinic’s future development.
“Last December we decided to provide a full spectrum of ophthalmic treatment and started removing cataracts. However, a new law forbids private clinics from performing organ transplants, so we can’t transplant corneas. This law makes no sense,” Parkhomenko said.
