St Louis Eye Surgery & Laser Center

I can’t say enough about how wonderful my experience was. Yesterday I had PRK done by Dr Schell and from the moment I walked in the door I knew I was in good hands. I arrived to my appointment a few minutes early (my appointment was at 7am) and to my surprise the waiting room was already full. To me this only means that it was a very good place as it was very popular. I would be more nervous if it was empty. Never once did I feel like I was being treated like cattle (try flying southwest NOW that’s what it feels like to be herded like cattle) the lady at the front desk was very kind and welcoming and I barely sat down before I was called to the back. I was assisted by Toni to start my tests before the procedure and she is just wonderful. She was so patient answering my questions and helped calm my shaky nerves. Moments later Dr Schell arrived and talked through my last minute concerns (note to readers DO NOT read blog posts about PRK the night before your procedure. My experience was NOTHING as they described) I never felt rushed or that I was a bother with all of my questions and before I knew it I was comfortable in the chair and we were almost done with the procedure. Toni was so kind making me feel very comfortable she had a blanket ready and tension squeeze balls and her and Dr Schell explained everything as it was happening so I knew exactly what to expect. Including counting down the seconds as the laser was zapping away. Literally minutes later I was sporting some very fashionable glasses and headed home. Dear readers please ignore the other reviews, everyone is entitled to their opinion but after my experience yesterday I can’t imagine anyone being treated any differently. Im especially cautious of my eyes (as I’m sure you’ve gathered from reading this) and I wouldn’t trust my little peepers with anyone else!
*side note I’m typing this the morning after my procedure and while my vision is still a little blurry it’s nothing compared to the nightmare blog posts I read about horrible pain and unbearable recovery time. Take it from me this was well worth it.

Do not go here. It is a racket. They have incompetent and arrogant staff who treat patients as though they are problematic and wrong if they ask a question. They also deal in volume — the large waiting room is packed with patients. I came with mother for her cataract surgery. She was told by insurance that she would pay nothing as she had already paid $ 2500 in advance. When we arrived, the very hostile receptionist demanded we pay $ 82 before the surgery although they told my mother at he pre-​op consultation not to bring anything but id and insurance card. The receptionist was extremely rude when we asked for clarification of the bill. They also said no surgery would be performed unless the $ 82 was paid beforehand, which we found ridiculous because a bill could be sent. Upon payment, the receptionist wrote out a receipt from a little receipt book you buy from Walmart and refused to provide us with a detailed receipt with a billing code — which we need for insurance. After that, we waited for almost another two hours before my mother could see the doctor. It is an unprofessional outfit that is concerned about money and the comfort of the staff — and could care less about the patient. Patients are stuffed like cattle in the waiting room and yelled at like bad children should they disobey the blonde receptionists.

This is the worst eye surgery center I have ever been to. From the moment we arrived it was a complete nightmare! I’m sorry Walmart would’ve given us better service. Don’t waste your time or money dealing with people that could care less about patient care services. Where is your MANAGEMENT? Just plan on waiting 2 hours before getting into surgery & a spike in your blood pressure! Not to mention giving job interviews in their café. are you kidding me? It’s hard enough to just interview and doing it in a noisy café is so unprofessional!

As art-​fair booths are to vendors, so surgery-​center suites are to medical professionals, or so it seems to me as I look at the variety of practices and services housed in this place. I don’t know much about the economics of medicine, but imagine that it must be financially efficient to run specialized services out of buildings external to main medical centers. So, if you have a good relationship with your care provider, you’ll probably like this place, and if you don’t, you won’t. Functioning as the chauffeur for Therese H.‘s procedure, I found the STL ESC conveniently located, with parking a short walk from the door, good signage and bathrooms, and comfortable seating. There was a café near the front door, but I didn’t try it, because John H. in a surgery center feels like an Eloi in the cave of the Morlocks. I was wired enough, no caffeine necessary!

Why go to an eye medical /​surgical office when Walmart or Target provide the same services. We came here for a professional opinion and did not get it. It was suggested by the office I try SLU or Wash U. for professional services. Waste of time and money.