Compared to brain or heart operations, of course, LASIK surgery is not particularly difficult or risky. But a negative outcome can affect your life tremendously, since the procedure involves crucial sensory organs, the eyes. Therefore, you must seek and choose your eye surgeon with the same diligence you would apply to finding a heart specialist.

The LASIK procedure is a kind of "refractive surgery," and individual doctors, clinics and even major medical centers are now advertising this specialty on television and radio, and in magazines and newspapers. Many of these ads are quite informative, contain compelling information and end with a strong pitch and a "bargain" price. But reading ads and comparing prices is just the beginning of this decision process.

Surgeons associated with academic medical centers are somewhat more likely to keep up with current information in their fields. If they are isolated in their clinics or offices, they may not have the constant exposure to new procedures and developments. Being in good standing with the leading teaching hospitals is an additional positive reference for a LASIK surgeon, while additional assurance is provided by choosing a doctor who is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, as the credentialing process is quite thorough.

The same due diligence should be applied to your research on the clinic, hospital or outpatient surgery center where the procedure is performed. You can accumulate a great deal of information from the Internet, from your own family physician and from private and governmental watchdog groups. However, it is probably best to focus your search on the doctor and then the surgery center, in that order.

For one thing, once you develop a trusting relationship with your LASIK surgeon, he or she can then inform you about the location where the procedure will take place. You can then do some research to validate the recommendation. The most valuable information you assemble will be from people and organizations with reputations for trustworthiness and honesty, and you may wish to check with the American Academy of Ophthalmology for detailed information about a particular surgeon's standing among his peers.

You should also go ahead and call the various refractive surgery centers where you live, or as far as you are willing to travel for the procedure. Many are in the yellow pages, and can easily be found with a targeted Internet search on a site like DocShop.com. The bottom line is, this is your eyesight you are dealing with and you cannot be too careful. Confirm all claims you hear or read about the LASIK surgery, or a potential surgeon, with independent sources.