A: With myopia past -9 in both eyes, you’re outside the range that LASIK or SMILE can safely treat. You’re left with two real options: ICL (implantable collamer lens) or LASEK.

One thing worth flagging first: in my experience treating thousands of patients with myopia over -9, about 90% turn out to have more astigmatism than their glasses prescription shows. It’s commonly missed or undercorrected by optometrists at that level of myopia, so I’ll want to re-check this carefully during your evaluation.

Here’s how the two options compare:

ICL: Costs $15,000 to $20,000 for both eyes. Recovery takes 1 to 2 days. It carries slightly more risk than LASEK, which I’ll walk you through in detail during your consultation.

LASEK: Costs $9,000 to $11,000 for both eyes. Recovery takes 4 to 5 days. It’s the lower-risk option of the two.

I’ve treated more patients with extreme prescriptions like yours than any other surgeon in the Northeast, close to 1,000 cases, which is more than every other surgeon in NYC combined.

If you move forward after your free consultation, there’s a $500 non-refundable fee to schedule your procedure. That fee covers more thorough pre-op testing, and it also gets you a direct conversation with a past patient of mine whose prescription was even worse than yours. I also set every patient up in a private, secure communication line with my office so you can reach us directly before and after your procedure, not through an answering service.

Given the complexity of your case, I’d recommend booking your consultation specifically with me rather than with another provider in the office, and doing it in person rather than by phone so I can properly evaluate your eyes. Call the office and we’ll get you scheduled.

— Dr. Chynn