The LASIK Vision Institute

Nothing but a scam. The website asked for my "closest" location, which was Eau Claire Wisconsin. I scheduled my "free" consult, and was then called on the phone by a representative from their Brookfield office, where it was explained to me that the "free" consult was only an information session with one of their assistants, who would then refer me to the surgeon (for a non-refundable $300 fee), who would then determine whether or not they would do the procedure. I was then informed that if I went through with the procedure, I would have to travel down to Brookfield Wisconsin, which is FOUR HOURS AWAY from their Eau Claire office. I asked them why I would bother going eight hours round trip to Brookfield (Milwaukee), when they have a closer facility in Minneapolis, which is only 90 minutes from me. She said that if I had my exam in Eau Claire, I HAD to go to Brookfield (in the same state). (And as far as I can remember, nothing on the website indicated that the procedure would be conducted anywhere else other than their Eau Claire office.) I told her right away to just cancel the appointment. This place is just a scam, a way to get you in the door by luring you in with "free" consults and "local" surgery, when neither is true.

I can't recommend Dr. Ireland at the Lasik Vision Institute in Brookfield enough. I was extremely nervous before the procedure and he was very calm and reassuring, giving me a comforting squeeze on the shoulder in pre-op and walking me through slowing down my breathing before we got started. During the procedure he and the staff were very attentive, adding more anesthetic drops as I mentioned I still had some feeling in my left eye as they were putting the suction ring on, and walking me through everything as it happened ("Ok, now here's where everything should be getting dark... Here's where it gets all blurry... Etc"). I had no pain at all during the surgery. He made sure to answer all of my questions afterwards before sending me on my way, and the next morning at my follow up with Dr. Smith, as I was just about to leave, Dr. Ireland poked his head out the door and said "Psst, Kara! Can you see me?" It was great that he remembered me - from reading other reviews I felt like I might be treated like just a number. Not the case, at least not so far. I've had experiences with other doctors that were not as friendly and caring, so Dr. Ireland definitely made my lasik experience easy and special.