Patient Archives - Dr. Azman Reviews

The early days of PRK, LASIK and Laser Vision Correction.

The primary reason that I would recommend someone to Azman Eye Care is because I believe that both Dr. Thomas Azman and Dr. Irwin Azman always have the patient‘s best interest at heart. Although they are often busy with their daily schedules, they always take the time to fully explain their diagnosis together with the corresponding options that are available.

In my particular case, rather than rush into LASIK laser surgery, Dr Azman was willing to wait until I was completely ready and had spent several months experimenting with contact lenses to determine my optimum binocular vision. When I was ready (late ‘90s), Dr Azman suggested that I have the surgery in Canada because the technology there was not yet available in the U.S. And, Dr. Tom personally escorted me on the trip to provide both pre and post-operative care. Now, that’s what I call customer service!

In another case, a friend of mine had received consultation from another laser surgery provider and was ready to have surgery. Because she had a history of vision difficulties, I suggested that she visit Dr Tom Azman at Azman Eye Care to receive a second opinion prior to having surgery. As a result, she learned that she had dry eye syndrome, and was advised not to proceed with the surgery. Today, she is grateful that she reconsidered her original decision.

I think the best compliment that I can give to both Dr. Tom Azman and Dr. Irwin Azman is that they are men of integrity; and as a patient, you can feel confident trusting them with the care of your eyes.

-Bob W. Timonium, Maryland

“You get what you pay for.”

First, I have been wearing contact lenses since I was 20, twenty years. They were quite new then, and I have to say not very comfortable. I experienced a great deal of discomfort and could not keep a pair for long due to protein deposits. It got to the point that I only wore my contact lenses on special occasions. I could not possibly wear them daily. Dr Irwin Azman never gave up though, as new lenses hit the market, they hit my eyes!! We finally found lenses that were not only comfortable, but also affordable. I grant you that technology had a good bit to do with acquiring lenses that were compatible with my eyes, however, if Dr Irwin Azman were not a leader in the contact lens market, you would not have been able to continue recommending lenses until I was comfortable! This is what I have discovered about other eye care facilities that “claim” to specialize in contact lenses. I hear the same complaint over and over from individuals wearing contacts. Burning eyes, red eyes, uncomfortable eyes, itching eyes, blurry vision. The list goes on. I know when I refer Azman Eye Care to a friend or acquaintance, these problems will be resolved. Many times people do not take my recommendation, they refuse to believe any one can help them. I know Azman Eye Care does not just sell contact lenses, the patient must come in for follow up visits. This is a very important part of the lens compatibility. It is the only way of detecting a problem before it turns into a serious issue. Azman Eye Care includes all of this in their sale of the contact lens and the yearly maintenance; therefore, the patient is encouraged to take care of their eyes. I believe this is what is so different about Azman Eye Care and other contact lens facilities. They want to sell lenses for as cheap as possible, their is no regard for the patient and their eyes, only the sale of the product. Since follow up eye care is not included in the price, their is no incentive for the patient to return. This leads to poor eye care, all the problems I previously mentioned. You know what they say, “You get what you pay for.”

-Debbie M. Baltimore, Maryland

Life with contact lenses

I have been wearing contact lenses for approximately eleven years. My first contact lens experiences were with a Dr. in College Park, Maryland. The Dr provided excellent car. Additionally, he and his staff spent a great deal of time working with me as I initially had some difficulty putting lenses in my eye. After seeing the Dr in College Park for approximately two years, I was enticed by the advertisements of America’s Best Contact Lenses in Rockville, Maryland. Although I was certainly not dissatisfied with the Dr. at the time I did not see any reason not save several hundred dollars a year at America’s Best. For over seven years, I visited America’s Best for eye care. At each appointment, the waiting room was packed with more patients than you could imagine. The large number of patients meant that the optometrist was often running over an hour behind schedule. Once I finally was able to get in to see the doctor, the actual examination rarely lasted more than five minutes. However, for six years I wore extended wear lenses I received from America’s Best without any problems. In the Spring of 1992, my contact lenses began to irritate my eyes. I called America’s Best to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. I was then asked if I was a new patient or an existing patient. Once they realized I was an existing patient (that had already paid and was not going to bring in any new revenue), the earliest appointment available was several weeks away. At that appointment, the optometrist took a quick look at my eyes and told me I had GPC. He then instructed me to give my eyes three months rest from contact lenses and to then schedule another appointment. This appointment, where I was told I had a disease in my eyes may have lasted ten minutes, rather than the typical five minutes. After three months of not wearing contact lenses, I returned to America’s Best for a follow-up visit. At that appointment, I was told that my GPC condition had not improved and that I should forget about wearing contact lenses. At this point, a co-worker that had experienced similar problems recommended Dr Irwin Azman to me. After my initial visit, I followed Dr Azman’s recommendation of using eye drops and cold compresses for approximately two weeks. Since then, I have had very few problems wearing disposable lenses for the past three years. I am probably spending more for eye care each year with your practice than the total I spent over seven years at America’s Best. However, I believe Dr Irwin Azman took more time with me at each of my visits than the total time an optometrist spent with me during the seven years I went to America’s Best. In summary, two items distinguish Azman Eye Care and Dr Irwin Azman from America’s Best. First, you spend adequate time with each patient to accurately diagnose problems. I always feel like an individual at Azman Eye Care, rather than feeling like I am on an eye care assembly line. Second, Azman Eye Care appears to offer a wide variety of solutions to eye problems, rather than using a one size fits all approach to eye care. Dr Irwin Azman has taken a significant amount of time during each of my appointments, discussing various options I have and helping me determine what will work best for me. I appreciate the high quality eye care I have received for the past three years.