Imagine Life with Clear Vision
If you still have questions regarding refractive surgery or LASIK vision correction, contact Dr. Koenig in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Steven B. Koenig, M.D.
925 North 87th St.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226
P / 414-456-5274
F / 414-456-6300
If you are considering LASIK vision correction or another refractive surgery procedure with Dr. Steven B. Koenig at The Eye Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we would like to answer all your questions and encourage you to become as informed as possible before making any decisions about refractive surgery. Please review the information provided below and contact The Eye Institute with any additional questions.
General Concerns
Before Surgery
The Surgery
After The Surgery
Dr. Steven Koenig is a fellowship-trained corneal surgeon who has performed thousands of successful LASIK procedures, offering the most up-to-date equipment and software. He performs the evaluation, surgery, and sees you personally for each follow-up appointment. Dr. Koenig is the only LASIK vision correction surgeon in the Milwaukee area to be selected by his peers to appear in “Best Doctors in America®”. Dr. Koenig’s focus is quality over quantity, recognizing that on average one out of five individuals are not ideal candidates for refractive surgery. Dr. Koenig’s conservative approach and meticulous screening process allow you to achieve your PERSONAL BEST VISION ™.
Millions of individuals worldwide have enjoyed the lifestyle-enhancing benefits of refractive surgery. However, LASIK is not for everyone. If you are considering refractive surgery, contact The Eye Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to schedule an evaluation with Dr. Steven B.Koenig. During this thorough, two-hour evaluation, Dr. Koenig will take extensive measurements of your eyes to determine if LASIK is right for you.
To find out if you are able to schedule a LASIK evaluation, please take our “Am I a Candidate” quiz or call 414-456-5274.
Dr. Koenig emphasizes patient education, offering free LASIK vision correction seminars at The Eye Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Anyone considering LASIK surgery is invited to attend. Seminars are an excellent opportunity for you to meet with Dr. Koenig outside of a clinic setting and learn more about the procedure, risks, benefits, and appropriate expectations. During the seminar, you will have an opportunity to speak with the surgeon directly and he will personally answer all your questions.
To learn more about our seminar schedule, please Register online, or call 414-456-5274.
LASIK surgery involves reshaping the cornea, allowing it to focus light more sharply on the retina to produce clear distance vision. This tissue will not change shape unless you were to develop a condition such as diabetes or a disease of the eye, such as glaucoma or cataracts. Refractive surgery will neither cause nor prevent you from developing any of these conditions.
It is part of the natural aging process for your near vision to deteriorate between the ages of 40 and 60. LASIK is not designed to improve your near/reading vision. LASIK was designed to improve your distance vision, and the results for your distance vision are permanent, baring the development of any disease of the eye.
As the eye ages, the lens loses its flexibility and becomes unable to focus on near objects. This natural aging process, known as presbyopia, typically begins to develop around age 40. If you undergo refractive surgery before age 40, you will still require reading glasses later in life as presbyopia develops. Changing the shape of your cornea changes your prescription. If you undergo refractive surgery after age 40, you may need reading glasses immediately following surgery, even if you did not use reading glasses prior to LASIK surgery. This is because your prescription has changed, improving your distance vision while giving up some of your near vision.
An alternative to needing reading glasses is Monovision. Click here to learn more about Monovision.
Fees - Dr. Koenig has a set fee for each procedure. The evaluation fee is $100. IntraLase® (laser creates flap) is $2,250 per eye. CustomVue ™ photos (fine-tune prescription) are available for $200 per eye. These fees include all your drops, medications and follow-up appointments with Dr. Koenig up to one year after your surgery.
Flex - We encourage you to check with your employer to determine if you’re eligible to utilize a flexible spending account. This is an arrangement you make during your employer’s open enrollment period to have a fixed amount of pre-tax dollars withheld from your earnings and kept in an account to pay for medical expenses not covered by your medical insurance. This is a helpful benefit and a good option to assist you with paying for refractive surgery. We recommend that you do not set up a flex account until after you’ve had a complete evaluation with Dr. Koenig to ensure you are a candidate for LASIK surgery. Please note: Most plans stipulate you need to incur the expense and submit the paid receipt within your plan year, in order to be eligible for reimbursement.
Insurance - As LASIK surgery is elective and considered cosmetic, it is usually not a covered medical benefit. However, if your employer or insurance company does pay for a portion or all of your LASIK vision correction procedure, please contact us at 414-456-LASIK(5274) before scheduling your evaluation, to determine what steps need to be taken to request preauthorization.
Payment Methods - Your surgical fee is due the day prior to your procedure. We accept cash, check, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. We also offer a Healthcare Financing Plan Credit Card through M&I Bank, which offers 0% APR for 180 days.
Will pregnancy affect my ability to schedule an evaluation/surgery?
If you are pregnant or have recently given birth, you need to wait at least two months after you have delivered and two months after you have stopped nursing before scheduling a LASIK evaluation. Hormone levels can affect the curvature of the cornea. Dr. Koenig wants to ensure he is recording your accurate measurements during your evaluation.
After wearing contacts for an extended period of time, it is possible for the contact lenses to alter the natural shape of your eyes. During your evaluation, Dr. Koenig wants to make certain he is accurately measuring the natural curve of your cornea. This means that if you wear contacts you will need to leave them out for a period of time prior to your evaluation. If you wear soft lenses, they’ll need to be left out for a minimum of two weeks prior to your evaluation. If you wear rigid or gas permeable lenses, they’ll need to be left out for a minimum of three weeks prior to your evaluation, possibly longer depending on how many years they’ve been worn. To ensure Dr. Koenig has the same measurements for your procedure, your contacts should not be worn for the same length of time prior to your surgery.
LASIK - When you arrive for your surgery, you will be given 5mg of Valium and drops to numb each eye. While this ensures you will not feel the procedure, you may notice some pressure while the flap is being created. While this pressure is sometimes interpreted as discomfort, it is usually not considered painful.
PRK – When you arrive for surgery, you will be given 5mg of Valium and drops to numb each eye. This ensures you will not be able to feel the procedure. However, because the surface of your eye is being reshaped, once the numbing drops wear off, you will be given pain pills to take every four hours as needed. You may need three to five days before you feel comfortable resuming normal activities, including driving.
Most patients prefer to schedule surgery for both eyes at the same time. This allows for fewer follow-up appointments and a faster recover time. During your evaluation, Dr. Koenig will help determine the treatment plan that works best for you.
We ask that you arrive 45 minutes before your scheduled surgery time. This allows plenty of time for you to be given 5mg of Valium and drops to numb your eyes, as well as have any questions answered. It typically takes less than one minute per eye to create the flap and less than one minute per eye to reshape the cornea. However, you should allow approximately 20 minutes for each eye. If you’re having surgery on both eyes, you should plan to need a ride home one hour and 25 minutes after you arrive.
For the first two weeks after surgery, do not:
Be especially careful while exercising, playing sports, and while taking care of small children and pets. Do not rub your eyes for at least one month following surgery.
You should be able to resume driving and return to work the day after surgery. It is normal for your vision to be blurry for the first couple days after surgery, however you should be able to see well enough to function. If the nature of your occupation could put others at risk, (pilot/doctor/nurse) you may not want to return to work the day after your surgery if your vision is blurry. If your work environment (sawdust) or hobbies (basketball) put your eyes at risk, you may want to wear safety goggles for the first two weeks following surgery. While it is safe to fly in an airplane anytime after surgery, please note that airplanes and hotel rooms are especially dry environments, and you should plan to use preservative-free artificial tears.
You will be given an anti-inflammatory drop and an antibiotic drop to be used for the first five days after surgery. You may use artificial tears lubricating drops to alleviate any dryness you may experience, however artificial tears must be preservative free.
Dr. Koenig would like to see you for a one-day, one-week and three-month follow-up appointment. You are welcome to see Dr. Koenig as much as you’d like up to one year after your surgery for no additional fee. These appointments are with your surgeon, located at The Eye Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and should take approximately 10 minutes each. It does take up to three months for your eyes to heal to the point where your vision will no longer fluctuate. At your three-month appointment you will determine if you are pleased with your surgical outcome or if an enhancement would be beneficial. An enhancement involves re-lifting the flap created during your original procedure and using the excimer laser to reshape the cornea. Enhancements are not common, however if Dr. Koenig determines it would be beneficial, the cost of this procedure, as well as your follow-up appointments up to one year after your enhancement are included in your original surgical fee.
Refractive surgery will not interfere with any future surgery you may require. However, you will need to let your surgeon know that you’ve had LASIK surgery so they are able to take accurate measurements for any future procedures you may require.
If you have more questions concerning LASIK vision correction or refractive surgery, contact The Eye Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to schedule an appointment with Dr. Koenig today.