Independent Clinic verification in progress Medical review pending Updated
Choosing a surgeon is the decision that carries the most weight, and the one with the least reliable public information. This page explains how to verify a surgeon properly, and lists practitioners whose details we have confirmed against a primary source.
Volume, seniority and reputation are not the same as surgical outcome. A busy surgeon is not automatically a better one, and a modest online presence is not evidence of a worse one. The things that genuinely matter: how they handle a case that does not go to plan, whether they will decline to operate: only appear in a conversation.
Use this page to check credentials, then use the questions below in the consultation.
A surgeon appears here only after we have read their entry on the DHA register and recorded the date we did it. The profile then shows the licence number we saw, the clinics whose details we have separately verified, the procedures the surgeon says they perform, and the languages the consultation can be held in.
That takes time, and we would rather the directory be incomplete than wrong. A rating, a ranking or a plausible-sounding list of credentials would fill the space, and every one of them would be a claim a reader cannot check.
This takes about five minutes per surgeon, and it is the highest-value five minutes in the whole process.
Every unverified credential on a directory page reads as an endorsement, whether or not it was meant as one. Fabricated or borrowed credentials are common enough in medical directories that a reader has no way to tell the checked from the unchecked, so we publish only what we have checked, and leave the rest visibly blank.
Print this page and take it with you. Write the answers in the space next to each question while they are fresh: they are difficult to recall accurately afterwards, and you may want to compare answers between two clinics.
Your measurements
Suitability
The surgeon
The procedure
Afterwards
Your ticks are saved in this browser only. Nothing is sent to us, and we do not ask for medical details.
Important: These questions are designed to help you evaluate a provider. They are not a substitute for clinical advice, and the answers should be interpreted by a qualified ophthalmologist.
Verify the surgeon’s licence and qualifications through the relevant register, ask how many lenticule extractions they have performed and how often they do them, ask what they do when a case does not go to plan, and pay attention to whether they are willing to tell you that surgery is not right for you.
Volume is not the same as quality, but a very low volume is a legitimate question. So is whether the person who assesses you is the same person who operates: in some clinics the assessment is done by a different practitioner from the one who performs the treatment.
Sources Dubai Health Authority
Ask which platform is installed and who operates it, what your corneal measurements are, how many of these procedures the surgeon performs and what their own revision rate is, exactly what the quote includes, who handles follow-up and out of hours care, and what the policy is if you need an enhancement.
There is a printable checklist of these questions available on this site. Take it to the appointment rather than trying to remember them under time pressure.
You may be considered if you are an adult with a stable prescription, short-sightedness or astigmatism within the range the platform and surgeon treat, a cornea of adequate thickness and normal shape, and a healthy ocular surface. Only a full ophthalmic assessment can determine whether that applies to you.
Factors that commonly rule refractive surgery out include an unstable prescription, keratoconus or suspicious corneal topography, significant dry eye, active eye disease, certain autoimmune conditions, and pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Eligibility is not a yes-or-no test that produces the same answer everywhere. Different surgeons have different thresholds, and some are willing to operate in marginal cases where others are not. You are entitled to ask about that.
Sources StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
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