I had to take my son here for a consultation, it was supposed to be a 9:30 appointment and we had to leave at 11:15 without being seen by the doctor, really poor scheduling and long delays looks like is the norm with this center, also our appointment got moved without even being informed, there is this person Sandy Z who does all the tests, she is a gem of a person who went above and beyond to help, other than her, everything else did not give me a good feeling about this place, probably the doctor needs to look into scheduling and book appointments accordingly read more

The doctors might be great but no doctor is worth a 1 hr wait. Patients should be called to be advised the doctor is running late.

Catch-22 -- If you don't already know why your eyes are in trouble, they won't see you. Apparently they're all too specialized to bother with you. But my optometrist seemed to believe it wasn't her responsibility to have a clue why my eyes were collapsing so fast and couldn't be bothered to suggest some possibilities. Twice in six months I got the same response from the receptionist at New England Eye Center -- There's nothing we can do until you see an optometrist. When I explained that my optometrist had been unable to diagnose it, I got the same response without the slightest recognition that it put me in an impossible position. read more

This place is so frustrating. Starting with the ridiculous phone tree that you have to navigate; pack a cooler because you're going to be on the phone a long time before you get a human. Also pack a cooler before you take the elevator because the elevators here probably remnants of the original Elisha Otis built in the 1800's, and you might be in there awhile. Also, pack a urostomy bag. After navigating the New England Eye Center phone tree is 10 times worse than those molecule structures you had to build in AP Chem, and yesterday I went through it 4 times and they hung up on me after I got a human being. 4 times. Yes, 4 times. Because phones are really difficult to operate apparently in the year 2015. One time I came here last summer and the A/C was broken on a 90 degree day, so it felt like the old early 90's TV show Swamp Thing. It was swampy and disgusting and I could feel the bacteria growing on me as I sat there in the waiting room. The first time I got here, nobody knew how to handle me, a "new patient". I was told to go all these different floors to register and I wanted to "quit medical treatment" before I even saw a doctor. Currently trying to deal with someone in their office named Kelly C (I'll keep her last name outta here) who apparently doesn't feel like responding to my emails as I am trying to obtain a different version of a doctor's note for light sensitivity. Everything about this place makes me feel like I'm working with a 3rd world Emerging Marketplace. read more

This is my first Yelp review but I feel compelled to write it. Overall, I would not recommend this place to a friend after my experience. While my procedure was successful, and Dr. Wu is a competent, knowledgeable, and caring surgeon with a good bedside manner, the office is extremely disorganized and inefficient. Save yourself the headache and go somewhere else. Every single appt I've had to wait at least two hours, if not three, to see the doctor. And I'm not someone who usually cares about ambiance, but the waiting area on the 9th floor is so claustrophobic and feels like a fire hazard, ten or more people jammed into a hallway, without anywhere to put your stuff, no table, no outlets, which is something you notice after 2 hours. I know it wasn't just me waiting forever, because everyone was grumbling about how they'd been there for so long. But most importantly, they kept changing the date of my surgery (4 times...first it was in a month, then in two, then back to the original month, then a day later) which got to be downright frustrating because it inconvenienced me, my employer, and my friend who was going to pick me up from my procedure. They assured me this was not ordinary, but I didn't get the sense by how they conducted business that this was an anomaly. The procedure also ended up being a full day affair out in Waltham, and while I was scheduled for early morning I didn't end up being seen till the afternoon, and no one could tell me the time of my procedure, even the hour, until 10 minutes before it was happening, so my ride was stuck waiting in the office for me for about four hours. If it is that variable when you get seen at any Lasik place, then they should definitely warn you ahead of time of the time frame. I also didn't get the sense there was any real communication between the doctors, as the optometrist (who I found to be extremely abrasive and lacking any interpersonal skills) assured me that I would only be a candidate for PRK, and then the ophthalmologist Dr. Wu told me the exact opposite an hour later; that she would only recommend Lasik. Really confusing! By the time I did get to see her, she was gratuitous and willing to answer my questions, but everything was rushed because at that point I didn't want to hold up the rest of the poor people waiting. Upon my checkup, one tech told me I would need to take a certain med for three more weeks, the doctor told me two weeks, and then the surgeon told me I could stop taking it by the end of the day! How could I get such conflicting information from one clinic??! Lastly, I got home from my check up and TLC eye center sent me what I found to be an extremely sketchy letter with a "1,000 check" inside for Lasik surgery, expiring in one month! Now, I know New England Eye Center just uses TLC's facilities (if I were to do it again I would ideally find a place that does procedures on site), but NEEC is chock full of brochures in their office urging their customers to not fall for gimmicks or cheap marketing schemes from discount laser centers, and the surgery coordinator also spent a significant amount of time warning me of places offering cheap rates and too good to be true deals. And yet, they're affiliated with one? I certainly never gave my address directly to TLC, which means that NEEC must have supplied it to TLC and allows the business to solicit their patients. This is BAD practice...perhaps even a HIPAA violation. Summary: Dr. Wu knows her stuff. It's unfortunate this center is so poorly run. read more

I am reviewing my experience with the free LASIK consultation only and the practice, not the surgeons or surgery. The free LASIK consultation is about 45 min long and it's very basic (eye mapping, cornea reading, and basic vision test). The technician I had seemed ill prepared and sort of scrambling around the machines. She told me more information than she probably should have (as she is not the surgeon) about what I am a candidate for. After that 45 min exam, she stated I would be a candidate more for PRK due to my high prescription (-6.50/-6.25). I was deterred already since PRK is an older procedure with a longer recovery. The technician stated 80% of the patient population are PRK which is an obvious statistic that indicates this practice is biased towards PRK and was basically trying to convince me PRK is just as good as LASIK. The actual full consultation (requiring dilated eyes and consultations with the surgeons) that is 2-3 hours long costs $150. I just went to Boston Laser (much better experience overall) and they do the entire full consultation for free as do other places. What stood out to me: - Free consultation is misleading compared to other LASIK centers - New England Eye Center has a much greater PRK patient population than LASIK - The laser / surgeries are performed in Waltham at TLC, not in Boston - Older office / inefficient technology & EMR (I'm a healthcare tech consultant so that's the first thing I notice) I went to Boston Laser after that where I had a much better experience. read more

This place was THE BEST! Everyone, from the Doctor (Goldstein) and the staff were amazing. They were always friendly every step of the way. If you're thinking of getting the lasik surgery done, I highly recommend the Lasik institute (also known as the New England Eye Center). And how cool was it I got the Lasik surgery the same day as a Celtics player. That was awesome! read more

Going to NEEC for my PRK procedure was one of the best decisions I've ever made! Not only was the staff courteous and knowledgeable, they never made me feel out of touch with what was going on - making sure to answer any and all questions along the way. Dr. Wu has an excellent reputation and I can now see why (no pun intended) as she was always professional yet still able to have some small talk and and humor me after I coming out of the procedure (while nothing heavy, the medications are a little inebriating). My eyesight is now a crystal clear 20/20 and I can read a book without glasses, go camping and not worry about bringing saline, open my eyes underwater, and most of all be accepted into the US Air Force. Having my PRK procedure with New England Eye Center was not only easy and affordable, it legitimately improved the quality of my life. Thank you all again! read more

My husband got lasik here last month and we couldn't recommend it enough. He went on and on about how great they were in the consult appointment, the following appointment, and then the surgery. I showed up the day of the surgery to pick him up and the nurses brought me in a separate room before he was ready to go to fill me in on how he did and to warn me exactly how drugged up he was so I wouldn't be too shocked at how loopy he was. They were all great nurses and you could tell that they really cared about their patients. A week after the surgery, in the follow up appointment, my husband tested 20/15 vision after his initial test of 20/200 (something like that). He's more than thrilled with the results and this place is as good as it gets. Sidenote: 1st responders get 40% off (he's a firefighter so it wasn't as expensive as it should've been because yeah.. lasik is definitely expensive). read more

I went to bed with a red eye emitting green discharge and woke up to more of the same, yuck! What's a girl to do? I declared myself in a state of eye emergency and called my local ophthalmologist, whose answering service led me here. Other than a cranky, rude receptionist, the experience was perfect. The on-call doctor called me back within ten minutes, discussed my symptoms with me, and invited me to come in to see him as soon as I could. An hour later, I was in his office, and he was patiently tolerating my flinching dislike of having my eyes examined. The whole episode was painless, unlike the French farce that seeking emergency medical care can sometimes be and that I had anticipated. To top it off, he didn't make me feel bad for getting all worked up over what turned out to be pink eye. read more

my primary motivation for choosing neec is that i hate the typical cozy arrangement biz relationship between an optometrist and the retail eyeglass business...if you see the doctor you get massive pressure to buy your glasses then and there, despite their prices or selection. that's not a problem here, as the retail eyewear operation is three floors away. FYI: this is a big and impersonal operation, more like a visit to a hospital outpatient ward than an eye doctors. yet my exam was efficient, thorough, and professional, i.e., three stars. read more

These guys are seriously unprofessional. My left eye is 20/45 and my right eye is 20/25. I went to get tested for an enhancement and 2 of the 3 appointments to get evaluated they couldn't complete the tests. I have to take time off work to get those evaluations. The first time I was sent into the wrong waiting room, the second time the machines were down, and I had to miss a day of work because they didn't call me to reschedule. I scheduled an enhancement twice, and the first time was rescheduled due to re-verify the changes. The 2nd enhancement might have to be rescheduled because the optometrist and the surgeon didn't communicate and the optometrists blamed the surgeon for "taking vacation". I was supposed to get a test lens to verify the laser work. This is expensive lasik, at $4500 for both eyes. They waste your time, and screw up. read more

RE: Retina & cornea service. Attentive, smart & organized. Prepare to spend a long time waiting areas, that's just the way it is. Emergency cases need to be squeezed in-I was one of them in the mid 1990's & still receive care from this outstanding group of physicians and other professionals at least once a year. Was referred by local ophthalmology from a neighboring state. Grateful to still have vision. read more

I went in to the New England Eye Center after responding to an ad for Free exam and consultation for lasik surgery. As it turned out, I was not a candidate for the lasik or at least that is what I was told. I was diagnosed with cataracts and opted for a crystal lens implant to corrct my distance vision. I was charged over $200 for the "Free exam and consult". I was told to dispute it with collections agency. Wow! I thought it was incorrect as the ad said free. Meanwhile I paid the bill to Tufts and have still been getting calls from a collection agency. When I went in for the surgery at least 10 of us were lined up like cattle in a room-at least 10 of us to get the surgery done. The doctor waltzed in long after our appointment times. We were told she begins surgery at 9:30. We had all been there between 6:30 and 7:30. The same situation has occurred each visit for follow up. We all sit waiting from an hour to 2 hours for our appointment. The last appointment I had a few days ago, I waited nearly 2 hours and had to leave. On my way out, the receptionist told me to anticipate 3-4 hour appointments. That is because we have to wait for the doctor for hours! The surgery is somewhat successful. Not the results I had expected, but I guess it takes about a year to get the vision back. I would definitely go to another faciility and ask lots more questions. Red flags should have gone up after that initial "free" consult and exam. Oh, and by the way, a couple of weeks before the surgery, one of their billing people calls to ask you how you plan on paying for the lenses and wants the payment up front--nearly $6000! And they are demanding. I refer to New Englan Eye Center as the eye factory. Pay now, cry later! read more

For the past 20 years on and off I have used New England Eye Center for my eye care. Earlier this year I started the process for ICL surgery. The consultation was the best experience I have had. The team (who work with Dr. Wu and Dr. Stejna) from the technicians, the assistants and eye doctors and the financial consultant were very professional, personable an informative. What I most appreciate is their honesty of the expected outcome due to my advance myopia. The outcome has been great, I am able to see without eye glasses or contact lenses, and no longer nervous about driving at night. My right eye required a second surgery (PRK) due to my condition, however I was made aware of the possibility from the beginning of the process. From the consultation through the whole process I know the team had my best interest and if I was not a good candidate for the surgery I would have been made aware. I have recommended the Eye Center to family and friends who are also interested in eye surgery. If you are looking to have corrective eye surgery done I recommend the New Eye England Eye Center for their quality of service and professionalism. read more

The doctors are good, the medical staff is wonderful, but everyone seems overworked and out of sorts. The waiting times are this side of ridiculous. Plan on two and more likely three hours for what will amount to fifteen minutes with the doctor. Be prepared to sit in a cold waiting room with no TV, no magazines -- bring something to occupy yourself. The poor traffic and scheduling is a built-in here, and falls over into even trying to make an appointment. Plan on a phone call being put on hold and waiting for ten to fifteen minutes, getting cut off and having to go through it all again. This place needs serious help in management and customer service and shrugs it all by claiming their doctors are the best and brightest. But they too are overworked, and overbooked because they all have at least one side practice. read more

When I first visit the facility, Dr. Stejna was very nice and informative. She did thorough eye exam and inform me of all the problems. My second visit wasn't that great. The lady that took pictures of my eyes and did a second eye exam didn't seem that knowledgeable. She didn't know how to operate the machine to take the pictures and she didn't even know how to use the Phoropter. I was pretty sure that she was a student/intern. To be honest, I feel like the information and picture from the 2nd exam was inaccurate. During the 2nd visit, I met Dr. Wu. She was very nice and informative. She provide a background of the eye structure and how it works. She inform me of the possible complication and results. She answered all the questions I had. I felt very comfortable with her. The only bad thing for this facility is that they do no offer lifetime enhancement. NEEC only offer 1 year check up and enhancement with the cost of the procedure. If anything happens after 1 yr, they will charge you 50% of the normal fee. This made me hesitant of following through with my laser vision surgery. I felt that NEEC did not have the confident to back up their services. I expected more from NEEC. Other places that provide laser vision correction offer lifetime enhancement as part of their package. read more

I am sure no one will care but I will post anyway. Typical elitists; "we care, blah, blah, not like the rest". Typical hospital environment. They treat patients like animals to be herded, mismanage patient information, first appointment first person barked because I was late, wrong appointment scheduling 2nd & 3rd appointments, wrong floors, must pay for parking after waiting hours to see the "brilliant doctor"; that is what everyone said but I still don't know. Lots of important looking people in white coats walking around shuffling folders and papers. This was my second appointment with the expert. Something serious; I guess. I left after being shuffled around and waiting hours. I was half blinded by dilation but I had to work; sight or half sight. I am poor, going blind and haven't been able to see a doctor for a long time; still haven't. When poor we can't expect much help. My first appointment started off of the wrong foot when the receptionist barked at me for being 14 minutes late and said " people who are 15 minutes late are not allow to see the doctor." So, that was not me. I was 14 minutes late; and who goes to a doctors appointment on time? They are never on time so why should we be on time? Oh, yeah, they are more important than the patient. Forgot. I just got a letter for the "third" appointment with another "expert" that may take "several hours". Is the doctor going to see me for several hours or will I be sitting with the herd. I probably can't wait that long. Laughable if it wasn't so sad, they also asked for my patient information and medical history for the third time. Efficiency too; not. Information privacy is a joke too; like any hospital though. I am sure everyone in the general area knows my name, address, phone number, doctors names, past appointments and treatments and more; all was announced quite clearly when signing in. They tout "innovation"; but same old, same old. They are there to better their careers; research and fame and such. So, I am out about 5-7 hours of pay, parking fees, useless new glasses and I haven't seen anyone yet who tell what is wrong. The lower the people on the totem pole, the better to service; except for the barker. Blindness may be inevitable and less painful than the service; but who cares. read more

I had a PRK procedure done on my dominant eye in the spring of 2013. It is now the summer of 2015 as I write this review. I am extremely disappointed with my results and the professionalism of this business. When I went into my consultation, I explained that I am an engineer and that I do a lot of work on the computer. I explained that my problem was with close-up computer work, reading, etc. I had astigmatism but I was told that my vision was a lot better than the average person who elected for corrective eye surgery. My vision is now 20/20 at distance, but is terrible up close (anything closer than 10 feet or so). I get headaches and experience fatigue doing computer work and reading because my left eye (my non-dominant eye, which is terrible) has a lot more clarity at arms length than the eye that was "corrected." The staff acknowledged that I still had astigmatism in the corrected eye, but at the next followup exam, told me that I was past the date in which I was eligible. Thanks. To make matters worse, I have walked out of my two latest appointments due to the staff making me wait while they tried to juggle multiple patients. This place is like a cash machine just like many private universities are diploma factories. They will take you in for a followup exam, then tell you that they are putting dilating drops in your eye, which take time to work. In reality, it takes 5-10 minutes to kick in (you can tell when things get bright and blurry). Second to last visit I waited one hour waiting for the "final step" in my exam while the optometrist saw other patients. I walked out. I also walked out after the last visit last week because I was sitting there for 45 minutes. If they arent going to do a touch-up, then I am wasting my time anyways. I would NOT recommend this place. If you are here, you are doing research on potential eye centers. I hope this saves you from future struggles. read more

I had iLASIK surgery at NEEC in August of 2008, and could not have had a better experience! I am grateful to Dr. Goldstein and Dr. Stejna who were so thorough and attentive to my questions going into the procedure. I woke up the next day with 20/15 vision and still have the same vision today. I recommend LASIK to everyone that has contacts or glasses as a great way to return to normalcy. It was the best feeling when I renewed my driver's license the following July and passed the eye test without hesitation. read more

If you are looking for a great surgeon, great staff and great results,go see Dr. Helen Wu. She offers more than Lasik and you don't feel rushed through the process! read more

I had Visian ICL surgery here with Dr Wu and the rest of the staff. The people: First off let me say that I found everyone to be very caring and professional. I trust that they are in it for the patients and not the money as opposed to some of the glitzier eye surgery places seem to focus a lot of their energy on appearances. (which you probably end up paying extra for...) The facilities: The actual surgery happens at a shared facility in Waltham that almost off the area eye surgeons use so it's not like there's a difference if you choose a different doctor. It's almost assembly line like. 5 or so people beside each other in the prep area. Separated by curtains. But I guess it keeps costs down. Person next to me was freaking out a little bit. I was okay with it but I could see if you were nervous to begin with and you got this other guy freaking out beside you it might be a little contagious. All the pre-surgery stuff had to be done at the Boston office which can be a little inconvenient if you don't live or work in the city. Not the newest or most state of the art place but I wasn't bothered by it. There are occasional Saturday appointments available to that made things easier. The good thing is that some of the followup visit can be handled at satellite offices (Wellesley for me). The results: I'm at like 20/40 now with a little halo/double images at night. When I put in a contact lens that only has astigmatism correction that goes away and I have 20/20. Explanation from the doctors: I had astigmatism before the surgery but because my vision was so bad it was such a small contribution to my poor vision that it didn't cause halos or double images. The surgery corrected the near sightedness (spherical?) so now the astigmatism (cylindrical?) is more apparent. This was told to me after I brought up the issue in my followup visits. Would have been nice to know PRIOR to the surgery! Post surgery PRK touchup is actually included in the cost of the procedure but I chose not to do this because one of the supposed benefits of ICL is that they don't need to disturb the surface of the eye. Also, arranging rides, vacation days, etc for another surgery was not worth it. So basically my vision is good but not as good as with contacts before surgery unless I wear contacts for astigmatism. I was -9.00 and .75 astigmatism prior. For something like half a year after the surgery things felt like they were a little bruised. Focusing on things very close up seemed to strain the my eye or something. Hard to describe the sensation. Maybe 'bruised' isn't the best word.... It's gone away now. So it seems like the doctors did the best that could be expected given how my eyes were and the available ICL. Had I known all this prior to the surgery, I probably would have waited for the toric ICL to be FDA approved. It's been in other countries for several years now, just not in the US. Although I've been told that my minimal astigmatism may not have qualified for the toric lens since it's meant for people with much more. Cost: I found NEEC to be about half the cost of some of the other places. Not sure how the other places justify this. Dr Wu has performed a lot of these surgeries and is a prof at Tufts Med School. Not sure what else you would want. If you go somewhere else, make sure that you ask the doctor how many of these surgeries they've done. The answer might be none even though they're offering it! 4 stars because there's always room for improvement and I have no other point of reference for this type of experience. p.s. You can park in the garage but if you're not going to be there too long and want to save some money, there's a lot of metered spots around too. read more

I had refractive surgery at NEEC just the past Jan. Everything was explained, planned well, also got paper instructions about even the smallest details. Of course now I can see without my glasses, and I can go swim and go near the ocean without worrying getting a pink eye from wearing contact lens or run in other people's feet in the swimming pool because I'm not wearing corrective lens. read more

I had vision correction surgery at the New England eye center in October. I am very happy with results. Dr. Wu and her team gave best treatment ever. I can see and read with using glasses or contacts. I could be happier and I have referred all my family and friends to this great place.. Come to New England eye center. read more

I had Lasik done a while ago and had a great experience. The surgery itself took around 10 minutes and I could see even better than the doctor's pre-op prediction. Although I'm still in the early recovery stage and my vision has been fluctuating somewhat, I'd definitely recommend to anyone who's a suitable candidate. read more

Dr. Wu is an expert. I only wish I hadn't waited until my 40s to get this done at NEEC! All the money saved on contacts, solutions, time spent taking them in and out; redness from having them in. Now, I am fresh and clear and can see perfectly from the moment I wake until bed! Thanks, NEEC! read more

Update - met with Dr. Wu who discussed options and I chose cataract surgery with Symfony lens to replace mine. Dr. Wu is easy to talk with and explains well. I had the first eye done, and wow! What an improvement. But to the point, the surgery site (Surgi-site in Waltham) was great, everyone was professional and personable, from the receptionist to the post-op nurse. In and out within 3 hours. Follow-up the next day was a little slow, but because it went so well Dr. Wu okayed moving the date up for the 2nd eye, if an opening was available. The office made it happen, and my 2nd eye was done the next week. Again, a great experience at the surgery center. For NEEC, the receptionists in both Dr. Wu's area and the clinic area (where you go for the day after surgery check) we very pleasant and helpful. My experience with NEEC has been very positive, from the first contact to the surgery results (I am no longer wearing glasses, we'll see how good the vision gets in the next month). The 2nd surgery follow-up appt went very well and thorough. Great people, great doctor, great surgery. Don't think you'd go wrong here. read more

The doctors here seem to be high caliber, but my ongoing gripe is that they want to dilate my eyes every time I'm there for an exam. I'm blonde with blue eyes that are VERY sensitive to light -- I wear sunglasses on cloudy days -- and in the past, eye doctors have provided me with drops that reverse the dilation drops. This allows me to both read and go outside after an eye exam without waiting for two hours for my pupils to normalize. But NEEC does not offer these reverse-dilation drops. I have asked for them every time I've been examined there, and the doctors just shrug and say no, they don't have them. WELL THEN GET THEM!!! I really struggle to see how any medical practice can refuse to provide their patients with something to make the examination more comfortable, and instead force them to get home or back to the office while in pain from the light and unable to see clearly. I refuse to allow them to dilate my eyes without these drops, and they refuse to supply these drops, so I will be finding another eye doctor. read more