Gotham LASIK Vision – Astoria

Got my LASIK surgery back in October 2012. The months after were amazing. It was like living in a different reality, haha. I was telling everyone how awesome it was to see things perfectly clear. The doctors were super nice and helpful. The process is so automated so it seemed pretty safe.

It’s been almost 2 years since my surgery and it was the best investment I have ever made. I don’t even remember life with glasses.
The only drawback is for the first few months, my vision did come in and out occasionally, where I couldn’t focus for a few seconds but I was told this would happen by the doctor.
I just keep my eyes lubricated and almost 2 years later it’s like i never had vision in the 500’s. LASIK is a modern day miracle.

I have to say they are top notch for the procedure. From the consultation to the procedure itself, it was a breeze and both Doctors very personable and informative. It’s also a plus that they offer a car service to take you home if you live within close proximity to the area. So far I’ve had no complains procedure wise.
BUT– getting someone on the phone, during office hours is nothing short of rocket science. The phone rings incessantly and takes you to voicemail and you wonder if this is a place of business

I purchased the deal through living social and was a little skeptical at first but once I went in for the consultation I was feeling a lot better. Dr. Menezes answered all the questions I had and she was very professional. I didn’t feel like I was getting a «deal». It’s been 6 months and I have never been happier with my vision. I’m 29 and had been wearing glasses since first grade! I highly recommend this place! Stop slacking and get it done! It will change your life! If your skeptical just come in for a consultation.

I met with Dr. Menezes for a standard eye check up and renew my contact lenses prescription. the Dr. was a true professional, courteous, helpful, unpretentious and communicative.
Dr. Menezes did the routine check with ease and helped answer my questions about the LASIK surgery. I felt quite reassured by her answers and now that I read the positive feedback she has on Unilocal,I feel compelled to do the surgery asap.
Keep up the good job!

Im giving this place 4 and half stars…
Had my Lasik done here about 3 weeks ago. I am someone who wore glasses/​contacts since I was 7. My vision was –5.75 with astigmatism in both eyes. Can I tell you how LIFE CHANGING it is to get Lasik done. HAVE NO FEAR it was so easy. This place bought the best bladeless machine money can buy. I did my research. To make the long story short my experience here was great. I am never waiting long for an appt to be seen. Procedure took less than 15 mins. Post op i felt no pain. Nothing! Just dryness… almost like it never happened!
I took half a star off because the Receptionist/​Tech is always on personal phone calls. She was on a personal phone call on her cell phone while she was prepping for my surgery. That made me feel really nervous. My bf finally said something to the doctor. To me I would never be caught dead on my cell phone in front of patients.
Other than that, I highly recommend this place.
Please feel free to ask me questions if you are nervous/​considering Lasik

I got my LASIK done here and it was a great experience. I was very nervous but the doctor put me at ease. The staff is super friendly and helpful. I would recommend this place to anyone deciding to have LASIK done.

Had my LASIK done here. Great experience and very thorough exams. I’ve sent 2 people here and recommended others.

Alright, I’ve been waiting on writing up this review for a bit now since I wanted to let things settle down and see how it all went down (pun intended). This one’s a long one but will have a bunch of detail in it, since I feel reviewing Eye Surgery is something that shouldn’t be a quick one or two paragraph write up.
I’ve had glasses pretty much my whole life (from 5 years of age until 25) and Lasik is something I had been looking into prior to coming across this place. I actually found out about them from a Living Social deal back in late March/​early April and I thought that it was an amazing price but of course opting to get surgery on ones eyes is something that should be taken very seriously. The first thing I did before deciding to get the deal was to call the office and I spoke directly with Dr. Menezes who assured me of what equipment they use along with answering all questions I had including who the surgeon would be (in my case, it was Dr. Calenda).
After our initial conversation I did some more research on the surgeon and found that he has been practicing Lasik for the better part of 2 decades in the Tri-​State area, and had good recommendations from his prior workplaces (as far as reviews of his performance are concerned). At this point I felt comfortable enough to pull the trigger on the deal and set up the consultation appointment at the office to just get all my measurements and make sure I was a candidate for the procedure.
When I made my first trip to the office for the consultation, I met directly with Dr. Menezes and I came armed with a ton of questions regarding everything from the machine they used, to how my astigmatism might affect my outcome after the procedure to even certain questions I had after looking things up online… just Google «Free Cap+ Lasik» to see what I mean. She answered and addressed each question I had and even gave me some additional information that I hadn’t known about. After all the tests were done and questions were answered it was determined that I was indeed a candidate for the IntraLase Lasik. So we set up the appointment for late April for the procedure and Dr. Menezes sent me home with a few prescriptions that I would need for both prepping for the procedure as well as what I would need once I returned home.
The day of the surgery I was ready to go and so were they! A previous reviewer mentioned they give you a quick quiz on the procedure you are getting to make sure you know all the in’s and out’s of what is going to happen both during and after Lasik (potential post-​op effects and things like that)…honestly at that point I had researched the subject to death it took me a second to fill out and for anyone else getting this done it should be the same I imagine. After that Dr. Menezes and Dr. Calenda met with me and we went downstairs to where the actual procedure is performed.
Again as stated in a previous review Dr. Calenda is very warm and re-​assuring and makes the process as quick as possible. They gave me some nerf footballs to squeeze on so I could focus on keeping my eyes trained on that laser you have to look at and he even let me know when we were halfway done… three quarters of the way done and then all done. All in all it was a very quick process with only minor discomfort and even that I would say the hardest part is being used to having those clamps setup that keep you eye open. After you get over that in my view… you’re home free as far as discomfort is concerned.
After the surgery Dr. Calenda checked my eyes out after the procedure it was time for me to go home and rest… anyone reading this who gets Lasik, make sure you go to sleep afterwards. Take a sleeping pill if you have to, once the local anesthetic wears off and your nerves catch up to what’s happened it will not feel great at all. I couldn’t fall asleep and for about 3 – 4 hours post-​op I felt a burning behind my eyes along with never ending tears during that time as well. I finally did get a 1 hour nap in and when I woke up I already felt a thousand times better and the next morning went in for my first post op apppointment.
The follow-​up appointments that the office set up for me were in the following increments: The next day post-​op; One Week post-​op; One Month post-​op; 3 Months post-​op; Six Months post-​op; and One Year post-​op. My six month appointment is in a couple of weeks.
During each appointment Dr. Menezes will ask how things are going as well see how your eyes are healing, test your vision, and answer any questions you might have as well. She is very friendly and helpful. I fully recommend Astoria Lasik Center to anyone who is serious about getting Lasik Eye Surgery. I now have ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision and it is literally the best money I have ever spent on myself.
If you’re wondering on where to go, I’d stop looking here and give them a call and setup a consultation with them to check it out for yourself!

While lasers and eyes shouldn’t go in the same sentence together, the idea of having perfect vision without glasses is kinda appealing. I considered doing LASIK for a while, mostly because I’m blind as a bat without the sonar (–7 with astigmatism). I found Astoria Medical Center on LivingSocial and called to make a consultation before doing the big jump. The building is sparkly new, with super A/​C, bright and clean, and… empty feeling. The center is a combination of a medical, dental, and LASIK practice, but I guess since they’re so new, there just weren’t many people around. I was the only person waiting during my consultation and the rest of the office was quiet.
Dr. Menezes met with me on time. She was great about explaining what would happen and what she was looking at, which made me feel at ease. She’s cheerful and chatty and let me ask all the questions I wanted. Dr. Mendez is the opthamalogist — as in she checks your eye health and prescription, but isn’t the actual surgeon. She said I was a fantastic candidate for lasik because I had really thick corneas (and therefore the procedure wouldn’t be very risky). After chatting about my options, I made an appointment for a month later to go under the laser. Although I had found the place via LivingSocial, the office, doctors, and experience reassured me that this place wasn’t going to steal my money and my kidneys, so I’d probably be safe in surgery.
Dr Bonanni is the actual surgeon. While my time with him was limited (seriously folks, we’re talking 20 minutes), he was professional, kind, and efficient. The whole surgery takes less than 10 minutes and feels a lot like being abducted by aliens. You’re awake and watching everything happening to you. They give you two stress balls to hold so you can take out your anxiety on your hands and not your face. There’s a lot of whirring and flashy lights, so it can appear rather scary. But the procedure is brief, uncomfortable, but not painful, and Dr. Bonanni talks reassuringly to you through the whole thing. Afterward, had a friend take me home (since I didn’t want walk blindly back). I slept for several hours and woke up bleary, but with ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision.
I’m still going through recuperation, waiting for my eyes to fully heal (it takes about a month to fully recover) but I feel great. The post op appointments I’ve had were brief and positive, and everything seems to be progressing just fine. I was back at work after taking a day off to recover and while my eyes felt tired the first two days, it gets remarkably better after a week.
I would recommend the Astoria LASIK Center to anyone in the area. It IS a hike to get to if you don’t live here, but the service, quality of care, staff, and friendliness are a big plus. The staff worked with me extensively to reschedule several appointments and were really good about getting to me promptly if things changed. The doctors are capable and patient. They were also great about calling me a car service to get home and are efficient on the phones. Lastly, the value was terrific!
UPDATE NINE MONTHS LATER… I’ve had a surprising number of Unilocal messages about this review and I’ll try to address some of the repeat questions here.
I’m doing great. I have had no adverse side effects or complications and I really am glad I went through the surgery. I went from –7 to ²⁰⁄₂₀ with no problems. I’ve had questions a few times about things (crying felt weird the first month) and Dr. Menezes was super about getting back to me. My apartment is also really dry in the winter, but I’ve been fine for the most part and didn’t have considerably drier eyes than in years before. I still have some halos, but unless you’re an air force pilot or midnight drag racer, it probably won’t bother you. Its kind of like being a just a bit more sensitive to lights.
The only additional fees are for the prescription meds. I was prescribed an antibiotic, a steriod, and Restatis, which promotes tear production. The antibiotic and steriod are only for the first six weeks and the Restasis is for three months. All together my meds cost around $ 150. They may also prescribe you Valium if you need the chill pill before surgery, but I didn’t need it. Taking the meds for the first month is annoying, since you have to put them in around every four hours, but they’re worth it.
The post op checkups are pretty frequent. I think it was a one week, two week, one month, three month, six month, and year appointments. They’re quick — around 15 – 20 minutes, but I appreciate the reassurance and check in. Dr Menezes is super nice and I would also recommend her as a regular opthamalogist.

I’ve been putting off Lasik surgery for years because I was just too afraid to do it. I did a consultation with Dr. Menezes and she curbed a lot of my fears and concerns. Of course, those thoughts didnt go away completely, afterall its our eyes we’re talking about here! She answered all of my questions and then some. Went step by step with what I needed to do to prep for the surgery, went step by step with what was going to happen during the surgery, and went step by step with post surgery procedures as well. She sent me home with material to read over so that I could be well-​educated. The more you know about something, the less apprehension. My surgery was scheduled in 2 weeks for Feb 9. Dr. Calenda is the doc that actually does the Lasik surgery. He felt my nervousness and was very gentle and detailed. He went into even more detail as to what will happen in the surgery. And from what I remember, he had a very mellow voice as he talked me through the procedure. He would say stuff like «youre going to feel pressure on your eye. Just stare at the green light. Dont blink, youre doing just fine. Ok, youre half way there. Ok, ¾ of the way there. Ok, you are done. Good job.» Let me tell you, his mellow voice and knowledge put me at ease. As much ease as you can get when youre doing a big thing like this. Anyway, Ever since then, my life has improved! No more contacts or glasses, no cleaning them everynight, no nothing. I am done with them for good! Thank the Lord! 20+ years of doing that. I dont miss it at all. I went from –6.5 in both eyes and Im ²⁰⁄₂₀ now and I feel like the shackles have come off!
If youve been thinking about doing Lasik — do it! I had all the same concerns as everyone else — too afraid, too this, too that. This is wayyy worth it! And to do it at a top notch facility with the latest technology and super clean building — even better
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A+ for Dr. Menezes and Dr. Calenda! A+ for Keenya (spelling? oops) and Chachi! All professional, yet very personable, sweet and accommodating! Im recommending everyone I know to them.

I have worn contact lenses or glasses for the last 15 years of my life. I have always wanted to get lasik surgery due to the fact that I was basically blind (–7.5 in both eyes) without my contacts. I stumbled upon Astoria Lasik and couldnt be any happier that I did. From the receptionists to the doctors, the staff is unbelievably friendly, helpful and reassuring; attributes that are invaluable when you are having a procedure done on your eyes. I never once had a problem with reaching Dr. Menezes so that she could answer any one of my numerous, sometimes repetitive, questions.
About 2 months after the surgery I am still 20/​20, I cannot describe what that feels like. This was the best money I have ever spent in my life and Im happy I did it here at Astoria Lasik. I went for consultations at other offices within Manhattan and they didnt come close to the level of customer service I received here.
Dr. Calenda and Dr. Menezes were both incredible. They both pay close attention to every detail involved, including Dr. Calenda giving you a quiz prior to surgery so that he is 100% sure he is using the correct specification.
I would give more stars if I could.