Dr. Mahanti is a specialist in refractive surgery. He is on of seventeen surgeons in the world and the only surgeon in Arizona to have studied in an extensive one-on-one fellowship setting with J. Charles Casebeer, M.D. Dr. Casebeer is considered by many to be the "father" of modern Radial Keratotomy Surgery. Dr. Casebeer also helped to introduce LASIK to American eye surgeons. Because of his unique background and experience in refractive surgery, Dr. Mahanti has served as a consultant to other surgeons in the United States with surgical problems and has had patients travel from other states and even other countries to seek his opinion. Dr. Mahanti is one of the first surgeons in Arizona to perform LASIK with an FDA approved laser and was a founder of the first LASIK center using an FDA approved laser in Arizona. He seeks to educate patients regarding realistic expectations with refractive surgery. He will do all he can to obtain the best result possible for each patient, as each patient is unique. Unlike many clinics, he is here to personally care for you before, during and after your surgery. Next to you, no one cares more about your results than Dr. Mahanti. This commitment to quality has earned our office an excellent reputation in our medical community, such that many local physicians and their spouses have chosen Dr. Mahanti for Laser Refractive Surgery. He also understands refractive surgery from a patient's perspective. Dr. Mahanti has undergone refractive surgery in both eyes and enjoys excellent vision without glasses or contacts.

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Quality and Convenience

A private practice owned and operated by the surgeon who will be caring for you is much different than a corporate entity or extension of a chain store. You are treated as a unique individual, having specific vision goals and requirements. Dr. Mahanti and his experienced team will assess your needs and expectations and will only perform surgery once they are satisfied with your testing results. Your outcome and happiness in the end is of utmost importance. Because of our Flagstaff location, you will always be greeted by a member of Dr. Mahanti's team, and they will follow you from the beginning of the process. Your initial consultation, complete exam, surgery and post operative care will all be done locally. No need to take the time and expense to drive to Phoenix!  If you have any questions or concerns, you will reach knowledgeable staff members that have ready access to your patient file and Dr. Mahanti's ear.

At our facility there are never any hidden costs or fees. Some advertised prices you may see do not include the cost of many integral parts of the procedure. Our package includes your initial consultation, complete eye exam and measurements, one year of post operative care, retreatments up to one year postoperatively, and usually the medications necessary postoperatively. Our focus is on bringing our patients to their best potential vision. Procedures are done at a comfortable pace for the patient and our staff, not rushed to add "another sale to the books".

Many discount laser centers have a commissioned staff eager to "close the deal" and then attempt to "upsell" the patient to some other program. Additionally they take a one size fits all approach to refractive surgery. That is they only offer lasik surgery and will not recommend or discuss other procedures that may be more appropriate for a particular patient. Finally, the quality of pre operative screening has been poor with some discount centers. The quality of the measurements that go into the laser's computer matter greatly to outcomes. Remember the term GIGO (garbage in garbage out) that applies to computers. We regularly have patients that require up to 5 pre operative visits to get the consistent, quality measurements on the eyes that are going to have surgery. We prefer to be very thorough and exacting, and not to allow any of our decisions to be dictated by financial issues.

Patients must be a minimum of 18-21 years old (depending on the nature of their refractive error). You must also fit within the treatment range of the laser which encompasses most, but not all, corrections.

In Flagstaff we are currently using the Technolas 217z Zyoptix. It has the ability to perform custom corneal treatments and has advanced eye tracking. Dr. Mahanti is also certified and has extensive experience using the VISX Star CustomVue, the Autonomous LadarWave, and the LaserSight LSX.

If you are wearing soft contacts they need to be out for at least two weeks before your evaluation exam and two weeks before your surgery. If you are wearing hard or gas permeable contact lenses they need to be out for at least three weeks prior to your exam and surgery. If you have little or no astigmatism we can try and get you into soft lenses for this three week period.

Hard and gas permeable lenses reshape the cornea, and even a soft lens can alter the shape by causing swelling. Leaving them out helps your cornea return to its most natural shape. By waiting this period of time, or even longer, we try to assure that we will get the most accurate results from your exam, which has a direct effect on the accuracy of your surgery. The goal is to get the best measurements for your vision correction.

Dr. Mahanti routinely performs surgery on both eyes at the same setting. On the occasion that one eye is done at a time, this is often personal patient preference. It may depend, however, on the procedure you're having. It is possible that at the time of surgery Dr. Mahanti will choose to not proceed with the second eye.

You will be at the laser center for an hour on the day of surgery. The surgery itself takes about 5-10 minutes for each eye. Prior to surgery, you may have a small dose of Valium to relax you if you wish. The medication takes about 20 minutes to work. Following surgery, there will be a review of post-operative instructions and you will be asked to go home to sleep.

There is little pain associated with the modern refractive procedures. Your eyes are numbed before the surgery with anesthetic eye drops. During the surgery, you may feel a small lid support holding the eye open and pressure from the suction ring during the creation of the flap. Most patients do not report this as being painful. The laser portion of the surgery is painless. The anesthetic drops continue to numb the eyes for about 20-30 minutes after surgery. Once the anesthetic drops wear off, your eyes will burn and water for about 6 hours. Usually Tylenol and going to sleep will allow the eyes to heal well. Extra pain pills and sleeping pills can be given if necessary.

Laser Refractive Surgery involves creating a thin flap in the cornea and delivering a laser treatment from an FDA approved excimer laser beneath it. The success rate in the creation of the flap in our practice is 99%. If there is anything abnormal about the flap, the surgery is stopped and can be attempted again in three months. The other critical part of the procedure is the laser application. The laser must be properly programmed, aligned and the patient must hold his attention on a blinking target light during the application. The consent form for surgery provides a more complete discussion of complications. Fortunately in experienced hands truly bad results are uncommon.

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National statistics indicate that in patients with nearsightedness up to 14 diopters, 95% will be capable of passing the drivers license test after surgery. The statistics also indicate that around 50% of these same patients will be 20/20 or better after surgery. Since these statistics cover a very wide range of nearsightedness and some very severe degrees of correction, patients with more normal prescriptions will usually expect to have better initial results. Most patients who achieve 20/25 or better vision are extremely happy with the procedure. In our center the rate of 20/25 or better vision is greater than 90%. This includes the very high degrees of nearsightedness.

Insurance companies, for the most part, still look at Laser Refractive Surgery as cosmetic in nature. Because of this, they do not cover the procedure. However, many people do have a flex-plan available with their workplace, which provides pretax dollars you can use for your surgery. We also have a finance plan available for our patients if desired. The IRS considers Laser Refractive Surgery as reconstructive and eligible as a medical expense deduction.

If you are under the age of 40 you should not have any problems seeing up close after surgery. Most people in their middle to late 40's naturally have trouble seeing up close and need to use store-bought readers or bifocals to read small print. The need for prescription reading correction will occur to most patients regardless if they have Laser Refractive Surgery. Patients over the age of 50 may also have more difficulty with arms length or intermediate range vision.

Most patients experience intermittent mild irritation for several days after the surgery. The vision can fluctuate from day to day, and it also may be different in each eye. This imbalance can be annoying in the early post-operative period. There are some patients whose vision takes several weeks to improve to its maximal level. Dryness in the eye can be exacerbated by the surgery, requiring the frequent use of drops for a period of time. There are also some patients that will need to use lubricating eye drops for a prolonged period of time. Glare and light sensitivity can also occur. Night driving can be more difficult after surgery. Rarely the use of night driving glasses is required. These side effects usually resolve within several months.