Gary Kawesch, MD
San Jose Ophthalmologist
Recent answer posted by Gary Kawesch, MD
Q: Lasik for $299: is this a scam?
Yes, but the preop anesthetic costs an additional $1700... seriously though, these low-price offers are laden with fine print, and require purchase of many "extras" such as postop care. It costs more than this to do surgery, so any clinic offering these deals will not be around long. The field of refractive surgery (LASIK) is littered with the carcasses of defunct discount surgery centers which have disappeared and left patients without any aftercare. In some cases, centers have required prepayments to secure a low price, then have shut their doors and kept all these prepayments.
In LASIK, as in life, you get what you pay for.
Regarding the Nidek laser, it is an older machine but tends to give very good results. It gets a bad rap from surgeons who have never used it. Those who have, know it's a great machine and gives great results (for the right prescriptions). There is no royalty paid to the manufacturer for Nidek use, so surgeons who offer this laser are generally able to discount the price to the patient a bit (a few hundred dollars per eye). Plenty of great surgeons offer the Nidek. I use it to this day, along with the "latest and greatest" lasers such as the Allegretto Wavelight and the Bausch & Lomb Zyoptix.
| Board certification | |
| Education | Undergraduate: B.S. degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, 1984 Medical School: Doctor of Medicine degree, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine Honors: Alpha Omega Alpha, Lazar Medical Scholarship, California Community Fund Scholarship, Thornton Medical Scholarship, UCLA Alumni Association Scholarship, and the Adams-Baxter-Dongray Scholarship, 1988 |
| Post-medical school training | Internship Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, CA, 1988-1989 Residency: Ophthalmology, Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 1992 |
| Aesthetic medicine experience | 18 years (post-medical training) |
| Medical or professional license | CA |
| Requesting an appointment with Gary Kawesch, MD using RealSelf.com is free & confidential. Consultation fee: Free Eye Exam when mentioning Realself.com | |
| Location | Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley 606 Saratoga Avenue 606 Saratoga Avenue San Jose, CA United StatesView map |
| Additional Office Locations | Pleasanton Office/Surgery Center Laser Eye Center of the East Bay 5790 Stoneridge Mall Road Pleasanton, CA 94588 |