Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center

If I could give them less than one star I would. I made an appointment with this doctor because my regular doctor is booked well into 2016. The nightmare began with a non-​working elevator. (A TDLR non-​compliance issue.) Then I arrived at the front desk where the receptionist was practically screaming. She really needs to lay off the caffeine or the bath salts. I couldn’t tell which one. Not only was she over the top loud, she didn’t have my insurance information correct and tried to charge me $ 120 more. It wasn’t until I told her that I would walk out that she cut her scam and agreed to the normal materials fee authorized by my insurance.
Then the technician couldn’t get my persciption straight when fitting my contacts and finally, I had to instruct the physician on how to write my perscription. If I have to tell you how to do your job, one of us in the equation is no longer necessary. Do the math.
After I secured my perscriptions in hand, I walked down the stairs, went straight to my car, called my doctor, and made an appointment for December 2016. I didn’t want to take any chances on this happening again.
Avoid Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center in Austin, Texas at all costs.

After almost 30 years of wearing contacts, I finally decided to have LASIK. That was more than two years ago. I made a point to wait this long to write this review in order to see my final outcome, and be as fair and objective as possible in reviewing this business.
Plus it would have been nearly impossible to write it during the first year post surgery while I was struggling to just keep up with my job and my life around all the many eye appointments and treatments trying to fix my post-​LASIK eyes.
People ask about my LASIK experience all the time and here’s what I tell them:
–Don’t take the decision lightly because it’s not all ease and freedom and crystal-​clear views like the ads.
–Please, I beg you, do actual research before you have LASIK surgery — whether you have it here or anywhere else.
–Do you like to gamble? What are you willing to risk? Yes, the odds are well in your favor, with supposedly 90% or more people satisfied with LASIK. But if I had fully understood what was on the line with this gamble, I would never have done it.
–This was one of the worst decisions I have ever made. Ever. Even though Mann Eye deemed me an «ideal candidate» I ended up being the 5/​8/​10% (statistics vary depending on the source) who had a bad outcome: unexplained complications, edema, severe post-​surgical pain, distorted vision for months, had to temporarily wear glasses again, now suffering chronic nerve pain and dry eye. THIS COULD BE YOU TOO. Let me stress that even in retrospect, nobody can find any reason for my problems or any reason I shouldn’t have done the surgery. Don’t let being an «ideal candidate» fool you into thinking nothing can go wrong.
–This procedure is sold to people as an easy fix, like a haircut or botox, but unlike hair that grows back and botox that wears off, when people CUT ON YOUR EYES (yes, the new technology is bladeless and better, but the laser is cutting you) there’s no going back.
But this is a review for Mann Eye, not LASIK in general, so let’s get back to that. Here are the key points:
1. Mann Eye Center is a cattle drive and a sales machine. This is their business. Before you sign up for LASIK do your research and get smart about how the industry operates. I don’t mean for this to sound snarky and I’m not saying they aren’t qualified surgeons. These are just the blunt facts. They’re doing their job, selling an elective procedure, so the business side is more akin to a cosmetic surgery center than other medical specialists. Also, this surgery center sees a HUGE # of patients, their scheduling is a mess, wait times are long, the technicians are rushed and lack people skills and compassion (don’t tell me for the 100^th time how great it is that I don’t need contacts when I am sitting in front of you with tears, pain and suffering). They also make a lot of mistakes; more than once, technicians and front desk staff have given me medical advice they should not be giving, and because that seemed weird I always ask them to check w/​the doc. Multiple times they have advised me in exact opposition of what the surgeon or corneal specialist said. All this is surely a result of the high volume of clients cycling through their system.
2. They did not prepare me whatsoever for the possibility of a bad outcome or what life is like for the small % who suffer after this. Nobody even mentioned basics like you might not be able to drive or work for a few days/​weeks or may need extra childcare. Living with chronic eye pain is impossible to explain. It is excruciating, debilitating, disruptive. It affects everything in your life. The pain endured after this surgery was worse than any I’ve experienced (compared with 3 other kinds of surgery, childbirth twice, broken bones). I could barely drive for a month, could not watch TV or movies for about 3 months b/​c they were so distorted, had poor vision for 7 months, now have chronic dry eye and nerve pain.
3. On the positive side, Mann Eye Center followed through with providing long-​term treatment and did try to resolve my problems. Some of the docs were quick and impersonal, while others were more compassionate and caring (and believe me I’ve given them plenty of chances to show it — the # of post-​surgery visits I had probably exceeded a dozen and I’ve seen 6 different docs there). For the first year, they never charged beyond the surgery fee to try to address the problems, though given the expense of the surgery and the negative results, that seems expected. Ultimately time helped more than any of their interventions, but it’s evident some of the pain and discomfort is permanent.
After 2+ years of healing and opinions from 4 other specialists not associated with Mann Eye, I’ve exhausted every kind of treatment. After 7 months of hell my sight sharpened, but ²⁰⁄₁₅ vision is no consolation for ²⁴⁄₇ discomfort and pain, and I still have halos, starbursts, floaters and many blurry days.
I wish I could undo it all and have my contacts back.

My eyes, my poor eyesight is no longer an issue! I can see clearly 1 day after my LASIK surgery and I am sooo happy!
I consulted 3 places in Austin, all of them telling me I am a great candidate and prices all within the same range give or take ~$ 100-​$ 200 but ultimately chose Mann Eye because I felt like the people working there as well as the facilities were much cooler and neater for the same price point! Courtney at the arboretum office quoted me$ 2500 each eye + $ 195 diagnostic fee with 5% off from my vision insurance was amazingly awesome with $ 1000 in house discount. Total was $ 3985 put on my credit card for rewards points to pay off instantly but if you don’t have the full amount to pay, they certainly can help with financing through Care Credit. I went to the Arboretum location for my initial consults but for the pre-​op, surgery and post-​op visits, they were all at the South Central location. (FYI: they’re serious about not parking anywhere in the garage with «reserved» signs posted in the parking spots there so make sure to look carefully!)
I was at a –7 in both my left and right eye with −2.50÷−1.75 astigmatism and 1 day after I can see pretty amazingly with my right eye but my left eye still being a bit fuzzy. One concern I had initially that went away was I never got to talk to Dr. Mann before the surgery but on the day of he was around and introducing himself to everyone before the surgery was to be done. They have many other doctors around to facilitate and check in on their patients progress but Dr. Mike Mann or Dr. Paul Mann with be your final surgical Doctor. Dr. Paul Mann operated on me and he let me know as a fellow Houstonian that him and his father switch off doing surgeries in Austin and Houston every other week to do them! Surgeries are done Thursday’s and Friday’s so you can rest easy through the weekend and they do 1 day post op check up on you Saturday morning when you do surgeries on Friday. I picked Friday afternoon so I could still work the morning of my surgery day.
My husband watches me get my procedure done and then drove me home so I could take a nap before my anesthesia in my eyes wore off. During the surgery I was very worried but they provide you with Valium and ibuprofen 800mg so you’ll be fine during the surgery. The first machine they move you under is the laser that makes the incision for your cornea, right then left for me. My left eye I struggled with them inserting the suction so my eyeball wouldn’t move and thus caused some minor redding to occur as my blood vessels there bruised. Then to the other laser to correct my vision and astigmatism and each eye was 24 seconds, I could smell something burning while the second laser did its work but I read about this with others so I was prepared. In the background during all this is happening, I heard the medical assistants reading numbers aloud and Dr. Mann also talking reading the metrics. After my left eye finished everyone was awesome and congratulated me on my successful operation!!! Laying down in the room was cold so I was glad that I came in long sleeves, but they provided me with a cute pink fuzzy stuffed elephant, Jenny, to hold onto and a thick blanket to cover me as well as a cushion under my knees so my legs wouldn’t be tired. They are seriously thoughtful and I appreciated every little thing. Kristin at the South Central location checked me in and beamed with smiles and regaled me with her own personal journey of going under which definitely helped me on the day of surgery feeling nervous. I know folks are wary of Mann eye being a machine and churning in and out people going in surgery and out those day but honestly you are taken care of and each patient is seen and given the amount of time necessary and they don’t rush you! No backlog so all was great!
Handing me back my glasses and my goodie bag of sunglasses to wear and all my eye drops and instructions, everything was good to go! As someone with a heavy prescription I was very worried and afraid something would go wrong but everything I had concerns about were alleviated easily and I am so happy I made this choice. I will continue to update as I continue on with my next 1 week post-​op visit and so on as they do them frequently to ensure you are healing as expected.
Oh, and enhancements and fixes will be covered up to 2 years from your surgery date so long as you make all your check in appointments which is really neat! Aside from some starbursts and light sensitivity at the moment 1 day after surgery, I am beaming with joy! It’s only going to get better from here on out and I’m so stoked!!! Ps. If you’re considering LASIK, feel free to message me and let’s chat! I did a ton of research before I made the plunge because I knew my prescription was high and I wanted to make sure this was the best choice of my life I’d have to make!
Thank you Mann Eye team for this wonderful experience and new eyes you’ve given me!

Excellent staff and Dr. Beavers is kind, knowledgable and makes you feel like family!

I had my appointment yesterday, after suddenly rescheduling it on my part. It was great.
Maryanne, in particular, struck me. She is both passionate and knowledgeable about her chosen profession — she is an eye nerd, through and through. She and the rest of the staff there are clearly in love with their jobs. It’s so refreshing to be around people who like each other and love what they do.
Do your homework before you show up. You should know already how much your laser procedure is going to cost, or ask right away. They won’t tell you from the get go, but this is standard sales practice. Don’t be put off by it. Mine is going to run me a touch under $ 4000 with zero percent financing for 18 months, which I find totally reasonable.
I’ll update later with how everything goes, but as far as my initial consultation, couldn’t be better. The energy in the office is amazing.

I had LASIK via the Mann Eye Institute about a month ago. I could not be happier. Their expertise has liberated me from the tyranny of glasses! I can see flawlessly at ²⁰⁄₁₅ (only minor starbursts are remaining, but are expected to go away). The procedure itself was totally painless, and so so easy.
They are a bit pricey, but you only get one pair of eyes. Pay the premium, get it done right! Have recommended, and would recommend again!

This was the most friendly and pleasant medical team I have ever experienced! David immediately put me at ease during check in. Garren, gave me all of my exams and took the time to explain what he was doing. Stephanie was super bubbly and made my check out a breeze! I wish all doctor’s offices were as warm and welcoming as this one. Oh and I can’t forget how nice Dr. Barker was. So kind and gentle, and he even told me to have a blessed day

I’m sitting in the office currently, 90% sure that they forgot me in one of their rooms. I booked my appointment at 10:40 and it took 30 minutes before I was seen. I had my eyes checked and am now sitting in a room again for 30 minutes (and still counting) waiting for the doctor to come and check my prescription that the tech had set up. If I had gone to LensCrafters I would have had my vision checked and a new pair of glasses in the time I wasted waiting.

The service was exemplary. The professionalism of all the staff and doctors was bar none top notch.
I received my complementary eye exam on a Monday, and was scheduled for the procedure the following Thursday.
The procedure was was flawless and I was made very comfortable through the process.

Absolutely remarkable people — from the front desk (David) to the surgeon (Dr. Luke Barker) and everyone in between! (Courtney, Maryann, Mirta, and Garren) I have never had a comparable experience in any kind of medical office, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed being there. I don’t know how a business this size keeps this consistent personal, positive vibe flowing through virtually every person you interact with, but they have mastered it. I visited both the Braker Ln. location and the Via Fortuna location and it was exactly the same both places.
I scheduled a free consultation for LASIK after hearing about a Groupon that would save me $ 1,200 on the procedure. The phone message I received from Courtney Lovins (surgical coordinator) to confirm my appointment was upbeat and personal. When I walked into the office, I was greeted by a woman who had the same super cheery and authentic tone in her voice, so I assumed it was Courtney. (Surely there wouldn’t be another person that nice at a doctor’s office, right?) Well, it WAS another cheerful person and then I met another and another. Seriously — everyone there is so down to earth and happy.
Ditching glasses and contacts is pretty exciting to start with, but these guys and gals made the whole experience a great memory. I especially loved the day of my surgery (crazy, I know!) Everyone gets pumped up about how awesome you are about to be able to see and it truly is celebrated.
I was a little nervous about the surgery itself, but mostly feeling excited. Dr. Barker asked if he could pray with me right before the surgery and for me as a Christian, that really made my day, especially because it seems that a lot of people would be worried about offending someone who doesn’t think exactly like they do. I thanked him for it and he simply said «It helps both of us.» It sure does! :)
I am so grateful to the entire team at Mann Eye at both Austin locations. I have ²⁰⁄₂₀ vision (actually slightly better than ²⁰⁄₂₀ in one eye) and it was achieved painlessly. I was able to finance the expenses with no interest for 18 months, too. I have a new view on life now, and it’s beautiful and clear!

who likes going to the doctor? not me. but I don’t mind coming here! Garren was the best and eased my doctor anxiety. sure it was just an eye exam– but he made it awesome. thanks garren!

Went in for a routine eye exam and was helped by Garren. He was very courteous and very helpful. Great experience.

Just wonderful. Elderly Mom came to live with me, and has all kinds of eye issues. Her physical therapist recommended Dr. Barker. I called, and the next day we had an appt.
EVERYONE at this place is so personable. Actually, the whole feeling of the place is warm and accessible. And the doctors were very kind, and the techs and… well…everyone was so nice. There is an air of confidence and assuredness that I found very encouraging. They were so thorough I made an appt. for myself, too.
5 solid stars, more if I could.

Just needed a routine eye exam. The experience was great MaryAnn and David, got me taken care of very quickly. Everyone went above and beyond to make this a smooth and painless appointment. I would recommend Mann Eye to anyone.

Superb customer service. I felt very safe and well prepared. They fixed my vision with Lasix to PERFECT in less than 11 min. No pain! Fabulous staff and physicians. Highly recommend.
There seems to be a rumor that you have to wait a year after first evaluation, but that’s not true. I went in for my first evaluation on a Monday and had my procedure that week.
High grade and up to date machines. Financing options allow 18 months no interest. Sweet deals!
I can’t believe I didn’t do this sooner. It is so wonderful to have done something nice for myself. Now I can actually appreciate the high definition television on my HDTV, and I won’t have to sit in the front row at Broadway shows or movie theaters.

Called to schedule a consultation and learn more about $ 400 per eye offer on Unilocal.The girl who took my call sounded very disengaged and quickly told me that they charge $ 2,600 PER EYE. I asked her about Unilocal offer for $ 400 per eye and she said it was either wrong or an old promotion.
I was going to call back to see if I could talk to somebody else, but decided I wouldn’t want to trust them with my only pair of eyes based in this first impression.

A musical and beautiful staff. The place was very clean and appointment was serviced timely. Very patient with the diagnosis and providing information about follow ups

Highly Recommended.
Maryann was very helpful and thorough and Stephanie at the front desk was very nice as well.

I had a great experience with the Mann Eye Institute on Braker! I went in for a checkup and to get new lenses and frames. I arrived 15 minutes late since I originally went to a different office and the receptionist was very sweet and assured me it was no problem.
I’ve never had so much fun during an eye exam than I did with Maryann who is not only hilarious but did a great job making me feel comfortable during the eye exam. I have a strange anxiety about the lens comparisons («which is clearer, 1 or 2?») and Maryann was very patient with me. When testing for glaucoma and testing my pupils, she was very thorough and quick which made the whole process painless. Dr. Beavers is a very nice guy and even sang a song during the examination which added to the fun yet professional atmosphere of the office. Maryann gave me the right amount of grief when she caught me taking selfies in the different frames in the lobby. Before my eyes were completely dilated, they let me explore the frames with the help of Stephanie. Stephanie is very stylish and instantly knew what frames would look good on me and compliment my style. She gave me some great advice for finding the right fit that I’ve somehow never been told in the last 13 years of wearing glasses. They used an I-​pad to take photos of me in the different frames, make comparisons, and measure pupil distances which made the experience better than any I’ve experienced before
I definitely suggest going to Mann Eye Institute on Braker for your next eye exam!

It’s been 17 days after lasik from here and I highly recommend it.
My eyes would get a little dry, but you’re suppose to put in the lubricating drops if that happens. Every person’s eyes are different, I had a great experience though.
No regrets and I had a week check up after lasik, I tested ²⁰⁄₁₅ out of BOTH eyes! woohoo!!!