Posted by: Mann Eye in Uncategorized
It is always a good day when we get to visit our friends at We Are Austin, and this week Dr. Luke Barker appeared on We Are Austin to discuss the advancements in LASIK technology, specifically Contoura Topo-guided LASIK, and his personal experience with LASIK nine years ago. You can watch the segment or read what they discussed below.
Taylor – “You’ve heard of LASIK but do you know how it can positively affect your active lifestyle? Dr. Luke Barker with Mann Eye Institute shares his personal experiences after undergoing LASIK himself. It’s nice to see you.”
Dr. Barker – “You too!”
Taylor – “So you know firsthand how this works but briefly explain the procedure for us.”
Dr. Barker – “The procedure’s a lot simpler than people realize. It takes about 10 minutes to do both eyes. It’s very quick, all done with a laser, there’s no blades, no needles, no stitches and most people can tell the difference as soon as they sit up, and most people can tell that they can drive without glasses or contacts the day after surgery.”
Taylor – “Wow, so it can really change your life. So what was it like from your own experience undergoing that procedure? Kind of from start to finish. Is there nerves? Is there pain? What do you think about?”
Dr. Barker – “There’s no pain involved with the procedure at all. There’s obviously nerves even when I had it, you’re definitely nervous about any type of surgery. But I needed it for several years and I got to the point where contacts were so uncomfortable and then when I finally did it 9 years ago, I’ve had no problems ever since. I wanted to experience that as a patient as well because I do it and can experience and benefit from it so it made sense.”
Taylor – “So what are some of the biggest differences you’ve seen in your life since having the procedure?”
Dr. Barker – “It’s just so freeing you’re able to just get up and go places without having to think “Oh, do I have contacts? Do I have a solution? Do I have backup glasses? What if I lose one or it falls out?” All the stuff that you’ve got to think of when you’re actually having to take care of your eyes in a different manner right instead of just waking up and seeing. It can change your day to day life so drastically.”
Taylor – “So what would you tell someone to think about if they’re considering LASIK but they’re worried about the cost or long-term?”
Dr. Barker – “If you can add up the cost of glasses, contacts, all the supplies you need and the risk involved with wearing contacts they’re not benign at all. The cost is equivalent, sometimes even cheaper depending on the type of frames and stuff you’re getting, and the technology now has improved even more so than when I had surgery. Now we have Contoura Topo-guided LASIK, things like that just make it where you can have better vision than even I have.”
Taylor – “A lot has changed in nine years, I’m sure. Tell us a bit about Mann Eye and that technology that continues to grow and how you guys use that at your office.”
Dr. Barker – “We have always tried to be on the forefront of technology that’s been proven so that’s one thing that we have now the Contoura laser, it is able to give us the quality of vision that’s really unsurpassed. Quantity reading (20/20) is one thing; quality of vision, day and night, that’s what the newer technology can give us and Contoura is the newest on the market that’s been proven to give that so we offer that now at Mann Eye.”
Taylor – “We were talking about how you can do this and it can improve your active lifestyle, I think we have photos of you enjoying an active lifestyle.”
Dr. Barker – “I try to get outdoors as much as possible with my sons and a few of our activities have been you know going to Barton Springs, going on the boat, wakeboarding, wake surfing, hiking, biking all kinds of good stuff.”
Taylor – “You’re more active in a weekend than I have been in two years, that’s impressive but LASIK makes all that a lot easier for you now. So how do we find you and plan our next visit to Mann Eye?”
Dr. Barker – “Manneye.com is one way. 1-800-MY-VISION. We have two locations in Austin: one in the Arboretum one in Barton Creek.”
Taylor – “You make it real convenient for Austinites everywhere! Thank you so much for being here and there’s that info you needed on the screen.”