Luthra Rajiv, MD

Dr. Luthra is such a wonderful person and most importantly for this review an extremely talented physician. If you are considering Epi-​LASIK with him please read this review as I hope it will help you to know what to expect and to truly trust Dr. Luthra through the recovery process. I can’t imagine trusting anyone with your eyes other than Dr. Luthra. I came to him the first time about 3 years after I had LASIK performed by a surgeon in a different state in 2010. I had bad halos following my surgery and came for a consultation on whether or not I was a candidate for an enhancement. At that time he was honest with me and said a surgery was not indicated at the time. He treated my dry eye which did help with the halos. 2 years later my halos became worse and I was having trouble reading powerpoint presentations in lecture. I felt very unsafe driving at night and so I stopped completely. I am in my last year of medical school and am training to be a surgeon so I went to Dr. Luthra again for advice about whether or not a procedure would help. Given that my astigmatism had become worse, he said I was now a candidate for Epi-​LASIK. This is a much safer procedure to perform on someone who had LASIK before and he also thought it would help to address some of the blurriness and halos that were bothering me. Given the great rapport he had built with me and his excellent credentials, I immediately trusted him to have this procedure. He warned me that Epi-​LASIK is had a longer recovery time and that your vision would be blurred for 7 – 10 days. I knew the risks going into the procedure. The scheduling of the procedure, getting measurements done, etc. was very smooth. I showed up for the procedure and he reviewed my case with me again, checked my vision one last time, reviewed the plan for recovery, and made sure I was appropriately relaxed for the procedure. The procedure was painless — there was just some significant pressure which I was warned about prior to and during the procedure. He walked me through the procedure as he performed it which for me was nice. Post op day #1 he saw me promptly and said everything was looking great. Post op day #3 my vision became worse and it was a bit scary. I also had a bit of pain. He immediately saw me in the office and assured me this is part of the recovery process because the old epithelium must naturally fall off and the new epithelium must grow in which can take as many as 25 cycles. The one eye also had a significant abrasion over my field of vision which is a normal, but unfortunate, short-​term outcome from the procedure itself. He put bandage contact lenses on both of the eyes which helped immensely with the pain. I was reassured and told to come in the following week. I had to get back to work and noticed my vision was getting even worse. It was so bad I could barely read my computer screen. Post op day #5 on a Sunday I texted Dr. Luthra because I was feeling very anxious. He offered to meet me in the office and just wanted to make sure everything was fine. Deep down I knew this was part of the process, but it was just scary not having your vision that you are used to. He was so kind in the office, even early on a Sunday morning, took a look and said that he could see where the new epithelium was growing back and that my vision was worse because the old epithelium was still there and right over my field of vision. I was reassured that there was not a problem and that only time was going to be the solution. I again went to see him Post op day #7 because I was about to go on vacation. My vision was stable, but still very bad. There was no way I could drive and I could barely read the computer. Miraculously on the evening of Post op day #8 I could tell my vision was starting to improve. I felt comfortable enough to go on my trip. By Post op day #10 my vision was back to normal. I am now #24 days out from my surgery and extremely pleased with my result. My halos have vastly improved and I no longer need a prescription (I have ²⁰⁄₂₀). Everything is much more crisp and I think that every day it will continue to get even a little bit better. Even being a medical person, it’s scary when your vision is not there. Despite being told it will take time, you will still panic. Dr. Luthra’s continued reassurance helped me get through the recovery period without losing my sanity. If I were to have the procedure again I would make sure I had a full 7 days recovery away from work in the case that you don’t heal rapidly in the first 3 days — which I know some people do. Surgeons can’t predict how your body will respond, but they can continue to reassure you that there are not any major problems and that this is part of the normal healing process. If you listen to Dr. Luthra, take your drops as prescribed and attend your follow-​up appointments I know that he can get you to an outcome you will be pleased with — just be patient! He trained with the best and now is the best!

Dr. Luthra has been my eye doctor for about 5 years, and he was my late father’s doctor. He’s as smart as he is reassuring, and treats patients like family members. I see him for both regular checkups, and he recently solved a nuisance problem that I’d had with dry eyes that I’d thought was just one of those things that was genetic or came with aging. That solution came in the form a procedure called punctal plugs – which initially sounded intimidating but it was painless and fast – an identical feeling to having eyedrops put in. Additionally, every staff member at the practice (Columbia Eye Associates) is terrific. I have BCBS insurance (Carefirst in Dc) and have never had a problem getting reimbursed for services there.