The LASIK Vision Institute

This is an open and honest review. Thank you for reading!
I tried to do my research and meet a few doctors before deciding to go with LVI. I had absolutely no problem with scheduling an evaluation, surgery, completing surgery and any subsequent follow-​up appointments.
My first appointment was very long as they are very thorough in the tests that they do. I was there for probably 2 hours or so. I found the staff to be very friendly and knowledgeable. The eye doctor, Dr. Karim (not the surgeon), is a very nice young lady who explains everything so that you understand exactly what she is saying. She has a very bubbly personality and made me feel very comfortable. I absolutely enjoyed my interaction with Dominic, Beth and Ida. They are truly the reason why I chose LVI. I asked a lot of questions and never felt like I was intruding and not once did they make me feel stupid.
I scheduled my surgery one week after my consultation. I left the office with the prescriptions that I needed to bring with the day of surgery. I was the very first surgery scheduled and I arrived bright and early with everyone ready to go. Dr. McGlothan came into the waiting area and introduced himself and explained the procedure and asked if we had any questions. He answered every single one with a smile and without hesitation. I can only describe him as a gentle giant. I immediately felt comfortable with him and trusted him whole heartedly. He knew I was nervous and did his best to calm my fears. I took the valium that was prescribed; in hindsight I probably didn’t need it. The surgery was so unbelievably quick. He explained each step and what I would be experiencing. There was no pain whatsoever. The device that they use to hold your eye open is a little uncomfortable, mainly because of the pressure but it’s only on your eye ever so briefly. It took 10 seconds to do my left eye and 8 seconds for my right. When I stood up I immediately saw much better than when I walked in. Dr. McGlothan stood up and gave me the biggest hug and said thank you for trusting me. The next few hours my eyes watered like crazy and felt scratchy but I fell asleep for about 5 hours and when I woke up I felt 100 times better. The next morning I had my 24 hour follow-​up and my vision is ²⁰⁄₂₀. I am honestly so glad I had this done and would HIGHLY recommend Dr. McGlothan to anyone who asked. It’s been a week now and I feel like I am seeing the world through a brand new set of eyes. I am wearing reading glasses (I am 50 YO) while at work mainly to keep the strain off my eyes. My distance vision is AMAZING… Could not be happier.
I will say that they schedule a LOT of people; waiting room was full, if you don’t get in first thing in the morning I imagine your wait will be much longer than mine. I am glad I got in as early as I did. If I had to wait I would probably not be very happy. But it is what it is. They aren’t the first doctor’s office to make people wait. I also think they could use a little bit more help in the reception area. Beth did a lot of running around and could use another set of hands. All in all I had a very positive experience.
OH and one more thing. They did not pressure me at all to do this. I had the financing arranged prior to walking in and their prices were very, very reasonable. The price Dominic quotes you is the price you pay. Nothing more; nothing less. I had a list of providers that I could choose from through my benefits and I received a pretty decent discount going through LVI.
Give them a try; I don’t think you will be disappointed.

I bought a groupon for my 21 year old daughter. We both were a little nervous because there have been stories of complications of Lasik surgery in general. We visited the Institute in Oakbrook, Il. The actual Lasik Vision Institution was very accommodating. I was expecting the wait time to be ridiculous because of the other reviews but it was quick to moderate for all appointments. However, the actual surgery day did take 5 hours. Do to the strong prescription strength needed to improve my daughter’s eyesight, she received the PRK surgery instead of Lasik with no additional charge. She struggled on the third because her eyes were extremely dry and itchy, but after surgery, that was explained and expected. The office was professional and clean. There were a lot of patients on every visit but every one appeared content. My daughter went back to school in Florida. Since then, she has fully recovered and been to her 1 month checkup. She was able to go to for her checkup in Jacksonville Florida with no problems. She is very happy with her procedure. We recommend The Lasik Vision Institute.

I, like most people came here due to one of the deals. I also had a friend that went to another location that had a great experience. The initial consultation went fine. They were certainly understaffed, but things happen no big deal. They were nice and handled by extreme nervousness very well. I have no complaints in that.
I came to get the procedure done about a month later. (After a mixup getting the meds that might not have had anything to do with them.) I had to get a day off that overlaps with their schedule. Then got my friend to drive me. I had work the next day. But they said that’s fine. Lasek is fine next day, right? So I get there and sign most of it. There no line so o walk in to review the info immediately. Which is great. The first thing I’m told is «let me tell you about PRK.» (A different procedure.) I express my confusion since this is the first I heard about my choice changing. I am told that they decided my corona is too flat. Which would be fine. PRK seems fine with the research I’ve done since. But then I’m told the recovery is longer. I have work the next day. This is not possible for me. It was just assumed that I could come in on a Friday and be off until Monday. Some people can sure, but that’s a huge assumption. I was told the surgeon didn’t look at my file until the night before. They had this a month. I just can’t see a way that this is fair to the costumer. This was just very unprofessional and very inconsiderate to my schedule. (Not to mention what it took for me to walk in there in the first place. I’m terrified of this.)
I don’t know if someone screwed up or the system is just flawed. I am still unsure of I’ll be returning. I will update if I go through with it at this point.
Update: I did go back. It went swimmingly. The surgeon was solid since I was FREAKED OUT. And I’m not exaggerating. 3 Valium and I was still a little shaky. Nobody lost patience with me and my eyeballs weren’t damaged, which is a big plus. The wait time for the procedure was like 2 solid hours. So that is true. And they really glossed over that with me… But I’m fine with it. I had PRK. the pain was bad 2 – 3 days later, but that’s typical. Couldn’t see for a few days. Was driving a week or so later. Still have some light sensitivity and need to use eye drops when I first wake up to prevent searing pain, but that’s not too hard to do.
Last update: my visions great. A solid 20 – 15. My eyes barely get dry anymore. Light sensitivity isn’t as bad either.
Tldr: This place is set up like a factory once you get in. The staff is extremely nice so that’s fine. It’s affordable as hell and it gets the job done. Just be aware that you’ll be waiting a few hours on day of surgery and might be out several days if you end up with PRK. Also, the receptionist is the nicest girl ever. She and the surgeon are largely responsible for me changing my rating.

First off, they are on point when they say anticipate the wait times to be between 2 – 4 hours (ours was actually 5 hours!!!)Although my husband received great service and a good deal– their workflow at this place is so inefficient that the least amount of time you will wait to be seen is 2 hours. The day of the procedure for my husband, it took over 4 hours even though the actual procedure only takes about 10 minutes. The appointment was at 4pm and we didn’t leave until 9PM!!! Some of the actual staff even left before we did! If they re-​evaluated and adjusted the way they work in seeing patients so that each patient isn’t waiting for at least 2 hours, I would definitely give this place more stars.

In comparison to LASIK Plus who is a competitor of this place I had a better experience here at The vision Institute. I scheduled my appointment online and shortly after I got a phone call to confirm it and the rep was nice enough to give me the heads up that my eyes would be dilated and to bring some sunnies. This was important to me since the previous place I had checked out (LASIK Plus) failed to inform me and I had a very hard time driving home. Anyway, the vision institute was nice from the moment I walked in they explained the paperwork I had to fill out and offered me coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Again, none of that at Lasik Plus. After I was done with paper work I was quickly taken in for the exams. The technician was very nice and explained what each machine was for. Dom the consultant was also very helpful with all my questions and The Vision Institute gave me a lower price then LASIK plus. I would say based on my experience for better customer service and better price The vision institute won me over! I am looking forward to my surgery. I will update my review later on regarding the surgery and the rest of my experience. So far so good!

I should give you a little background on me before I give my review. I was born with a ton of spinal issues and have had numerous surgeries on my back. My spine is fused from my tailbone to my c2 cervical vertebrae. Which means that I can only bend at the hips and I cannot twist or move my spine because it has titanium rods going down my back and I can only turn my head slightly which means that I need all of my peripheral vision because I can only turn so far during a surgery a few years ago my nerve was damaged and I have had to go on disability. And I have had years to consider if I was willing to risk my one major source of amusement which are my eyes. I’ve never been able to wear contacts as they always dried out my eyes so I have been stuck in glasses ever since I was in the fourth grade. I am now 29.
Now for the review I received a 20% off coupon in my inbox and I clicked to set up a free evaluation to even see if I qualify for it and I went in thinking I was just wasting their time and that because I wanted it so very bad. So my mom and I go in and it’s not too busy but there was a long wait time but that’s because they take you to different tests and an actual eye exam. My mom and I had about a million questions. Julie the office manager came out first and took us back into her office and we discussed why this was sooo important to me to get lasik. she took her time and explained the difference between lasik and prk and which I had never heard of. Those are the two methods they use. After answering our questions she lead us back to the lobby and after a while a tech came and got me to start the texting portion to see if I qualified for either surgery. And the tech answered more questions which we thought if and they didn’t have that awful air puff test other optometrists used so that was nice. Then they brought us back into the lobby for a few minutes and then we saw the optometrist and she preformed a vision test and dialated my eyes. She then examined me… turns out m6 cornea was just slightly too thin so I didn’t qualify for lasik. But it turns out I was a candidate for prk! so we were both super thrilled and she was nice and explained more in depth about prk making sure all of my questions were fully answered and then they took us back to the waiting room when reality hit me and all I could think about was «how the bloody h*ll» I was going to afford this but then Julie the office manager came out and we went into her large office and we sat down and we discussed all the financing options and I told her about my financial situation and she helped me qualify for financing. And if I were to schedule the upcoming Easter weekend she helped me even more than I thought was possible! So even though Easter was at my house and I couldn’t drive my mom and I decided that she offered too much of a discount to pass it up my surgery was all set up for Saturday April 4^th.
During the week I received a call from Beth the super nice receptionist, saying that they were opening earlier on Saturday and if I wanted to come in at 8 and I said yes because waiting in their waiting room for 2 – 4 hours with all the paperwork, payment and the time to let the valium kick it can take that long which is hard on my body. So I filled out the paperwork prior to arrival which saved me some time and had one eye responded for a better image. And I paid Dominic who told me to take my valium brought me back into a mini waiting room where I put my hair away in some head protective net and put booties over you shows to keep the room sterile. He also gave me a little care package of nice wrap around glasses and the night shields you have to wear for two weeks at night to prevent you from rubbing your eyes. (which I still did the first day luckily not so hard I dislodge the contact bandage so I now have to sleep with socks on my hands lol) After a few moments they were ready for the man a head of me and I just laid back and tried to relax. From the operating room I hear this loud clinking noises of the laser and he was escorted out and then it was my turn and they handled me a bear in a cubs Jersey which I had to smile at. The nurses told me to take out any extra nerves I may have on him. But due to the valium I was fine. They had me lay on the table and they positioned me how they needed me and he explained some things to me and while covering one eye he told me to focus on the red light and they completely numbed my eye. He proceeded to work on each eye and in no time I was done! I had to go back to the office on Easter Sunday for a quick check to and tomorrow I get my contacts out. My vision improves daily and it’s incredible! Thank you so very much Dr mcgloclan!
All those negative reviews make me sad because I had such a great experience! That office was wonderful!

I was impressed with my first visit, I walked in, filled out the paperwork and was taken straight back for evaluation testing.
I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision before I said «yes, schedule me.» I emailed back and forth a few times to also try and fit the surgery into my busy schedule.
Settled on a date, and was asked to come back in for re-​scans (they wanted my contacts to be out for 7 days to ensure accuracy). I came in for my appointment and waited an hour.
I asked what time I needed to be there for surgery (did I need to be early?) and was told just come at your appointment time. I gave the exact address of the Walgreens pharmacy to call my prescriptions into.
Received a phone call day before surgery to go over procedures. Was told to take the antibiotic drops the night before and the morning of. Ok, did anyone call my prescription in? «I’ll make sure that is done if it hasn’t been yet». Was told to be in 45 minutes before my appointment to do my re-​scans. What re-​scans, I did this yesterday? They didn’t see the re-​scans in my chart. They went and found them.
I called back with a few more basic questions (hey, what type of surgery do you have me down for?). I was told this would be discussed with the surgeon right before the surgery. Hmm. I’d want to be a little more prepared but that’s me. I was told to be there at 2:45 to fill out my paperwork. I told her I already had re-​scans and she said «no no no, you need to come in early to fill out all of the paperwork.» Two people cannot get their stories straight.
Stopped by Walgreens to pick up prescriptions … guess what? No one called them in. Walgreens has this nice system where they can also check if the prescription is called into another location. No prescription at any Walgreens. I called the Oak Brook center directly this morning and asked where my prescriptions were. «Oh, I must have called it into the wrong location. Where do you want me to call them into and I’ll do that right now.» Hang on, wasn’t I supposed to have drops last night and drops this morning??? «No, it will be fine don’t worry about it.»
There is no way in H*LL I am trusting my vision to a company who cannot pull their heads out and get things straight. If you choose to go with this company I send you many prayers and lots of luck that they do not screw up your vision.

This place is horrible! Regret every penny and every minute wasted here! Just finished my second surgery to correct the first one that made my vision worse than what I had to begin with. Still unsure if they fixed it the second time. They just keep telling me «give it a few months». I started out near sighted and ended up far sided!!! Are you f@&#ing serious?!!
This place is a burn and turn factory. No concern for patients, just want your money. Oh, and apparently appointment times are pointless. I’ve waited over 2 hours on several occasions. Except for 1, the consultation … I got right to the front if the line for that! Only so they can get paid. After that you’re stuck.
Also, this is the only review I’ve ever written on Unilocal!But what else was I going to do in the waiting room of this racquet they call the LASIK Institute?

I must first start off by saying I have worn glasses and/​or contacts since I was about 9 or 10. I have played numerous amounts of sports growing up and went to college with 2 different athletic scholarships. Needless to say having these optical difficulties always posed a problem. I have always thought about having the procedure but like many of the people considering it I was hesitant. But my desire to see the clock when I wake up without help or be able to swim in the pool and see started to outweigh my fears.
Okay so to the review. I consider myself to be very diligent and I went to over 10 different locations gathering information and checking out the facilities. Lasik Vision Institute was one of only two or three that made me feel comfortable with everything. The entire staff explained everything in detail. I was one of the people that would call back with other questions after visiting another office. And I never felt like I was inconveniencing any of them. THANK YOU JULIA.
On the day of the surgery the office was crowded but I expected it to be that way. They informed me that the surgery itself was only 10 – 15 minutes (which was probably even a little less) but to expect to be in the office for 2 – 3 hours. I believe I was in the office for less than 2 hours. But that could just be me being so excited about being able to see. Upon meeting the Dr. I was pleasantly surprised by his overall demeanor. And his patience when others had questions was uncanny. The procedure was so easy and the teddy bear to hold was a nice touch. When the Dr. finished I sat up and saw the analog clock on the wall for the first time in my memorable life. Thank You DR. JONATHAN MCGLOTHAN M.D.I was so excited i could help but cry and give everyone in the room a hug.
Now I know I may be a little premature in writing this being I only had the surgery 4 days ago, but if my eyes dont improve past this point I would still be extremely satisfied and would do it again. Like the facility informs you your vision will fluctuate but I CAN SEE. FYI~~~~~~the second and third day are rough. I had PRK. Definitely try and schedule this around some time off because for me driving is out of the question. I am very sensitive to the light. This may not be the case for LASIK but PRK definitely, but everyone is different. When I went in for my day after evaluation she said ²⁰⁄₂₀ so I am in love. At this present moment I have a hazy effect to my vision sort of like wearing old contacts. But the burning and itchy is gone for the moment.
SO… long story short I love them. If you are considering laser surgery definitely get a consultation from them. They are looking out for your best interest. I will try to remember to post something in another week or so.

I purposely waited few months before writing this review, just so I could give an accurate description of my overall experience and the final results of the surgery. I am happy to say that my vision is better than ²⁰⁄₂₀. I was nearsighted before and literally could not function without my super-​thick glasses or contacts.
I had the PRK surgery in June. There was some discomfort for the first few days after the surgery, but after that I have had no pain and no need for glasses or contacts.
They only do the actual procedure a few times each month, so on the day of my procedure the office was very crowded. None-​the-​less, they seemed to keep things in order and provided everyone with accurate wait times, based on your scheduled appointment time. Overall, the staff seemed to be very attentive, I did not have a long wait time and the doctors were all very knowledgeable.
I returned to the office a few times for follow-​ups after the PRK procedure and everyone was still very polite and there was very little wait time.
It seems that they are certainly able to adjust the total price that you will pay, but it is also based on the type of procedure that you have. I used Care Credit to cover the costs and was very happy to receive 24 months with no interest.
As a person that has relied on glasses/​contacts since I was 10, the results of this procedure leave me at a loss for words. No more visits to the optometrist, no more expensive glasses, no more worrying about sleeping in my contacts, simply put — life is much better. Given the other reviews for this location, I can certainly understand your hesitation in visiting this specific location. However, you should not let that discourage you from looking into the procedure and make your own decision on where you actually go.

I’m not sure why there are bad reviews on here. This place is very accommodating, informative, and has done over 950 thousand procedures. I just had my PRK procedure performed and it was a breeze. As for the $ 299 an eye, it’s not likely if you have a bad prescription. They were willing to work with me on a price I felt comfortable with. I highly recommend this place.

It makes me sad that people had such negative experiences with this place. Yes, I did see $ 299/​eye… which I knew was impossible. I paid $ 2300 for both eyes. And my surgery took 3 minutes, wait time was 30 minutes for the surgery. I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes to get into an appointment and the staff is very friendly. I am going in for my 6^th month check up tomorrow, and feel awesome. I had PRK done, the more intense surgery and it went smoother than I could have hoped for. My biggest complaint is trying to get ahold of the office, as most of the numbers are for a corporate office who knows where. So specifics like prescription refills and questions pertaining to my specific office were very difficult to get answers for. However, don’t be discouraged by the other reviews. It is a very good cost, nice people. despite how spammy it can come off as.

… well after getting a spam mail, «starting at $ 299 an eye», I went in for an evaluation. I had considered this, as since my cataract surgery I’ve needed bifocals, which I hate! I could deal with cheaters for reading but this bullshit of loosing my close up vision since cataract surgery sucks. I’ve worn glasses since I was in the first grade and have an astigmatism. I’ve always liked glasses for safety with my profession but since retirement I hate them.
I wasn’t sure I was a candidate and was looking for a quick evaluation. Two hours later they offered a huge discount. My other cataract Dr. had offered custom lens for $ 1300 an eye but wasn’t looking to spend that much when I had the procedure in January. I could get the PRK procedure done here for under $ 1000 for both eyes! (Limited time offer, normally $ 1300 an eye.)
After the evaluation I found out I couldn’t do Lasik but was a candidate for PRK. I read all about the procedure on-​line and got light headed and almost passed out. The cataract surgery was hell for me and wasn’t sure I could go through that again so soon.
I also talked to more people and found out many have had terrible luck with Lasik surgery. (Even found out my brother had it done and it was a big waste of money, as he still needs glasses.)
I think someone must have been behind on their boat payment and they needed to get some procedures in before the end of the month. They seemed thorough with their evaluation, just wish they would have told me up front it takes two hours, not 45 min. like I was told over the phone and again when I arrived.

This place takes 7 hours to complete a surgery. A complete waste of time. Don’t come here. They ordered pizza to pacify the guests. Trashy.