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loupes
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Andrew_Doan
Ophthalmology, Aerospace Medicine, Eye Pathology
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You can search for inexpensive loupes on shopping.yahoo.com
Try eBay too.
http://search.shopping.yahoo.com/se...9115,w:search,v:0?is=1&p=surgical+loupes&did=
http://www.designsforvision.com/
Try eBay too.
http://search.shopping.yahoo.com/se...9115,w:search,v:0?is=1&p=surgical+loupes&did=
http://www.designsforvision.com/
They are EXPENSIVE, huh?
Believe me, I have been looking ALL over the place going on 4 weeks now and have found NO used binocular loupes. Several months ago I did see a pair of Heine C series loupes on ebay, but none have popped up since.
What I was able to find out though was that the least expensive NEW loupes are the Oculus Easy Loupe 2.5x (about $309 resident price) and Heine C series 2.3x ($315 resident price). The other brands and models are going to be $400+ to the super nice ones for over $1000. 😱
I think one could end up wating forever for used loupes to show up on ebay or universal ophthalmic or etc. I really thought some might show up since it is July and there are new grads that might be upgrading or unloading their loupes.
I have come to terms with the thought that I have to bite the bullet and get a new pair. At least my Lombart rep will give me a 30 day trial to make sure I got the best ones for me.
Believe me, I have been looking ALL over the place going on 4 weeks now and have found NO used binocular loupes. Several months ago I did see a pair of Heine C series loupes on ebay, but none have popped up since.
What I was able to find out though was that the least expensive NEW loupes are the Oculus Easy Loupe 2.5x (about $309 resident price) and Heine C series 2.3x ($315 resident price). The other brands and models are going to be $400+ to the super nice ones for over $1000. 😱
I think one could end up wating forever for used loupes to show up on ebay or universal ophthalmic or etc. I really thought some might show up since it is July and there are new grads that might be upgrading or unloading their loupes.
I have come to terms with the thought that I have to bite the bullet and get a new pair. At least my Lombart rep will give me a 30 day trial to make sure I got the best ones for me.
OphthoBean said:
which loupes did you end up getting?
After doing days of research, me and my fellow resident bought loupes from this website www.med-lite.com since it was the cheapest for a cool looking pair of loupes.
We didn't want to buy a 1000 dollar pair from surgitel etc since we are not going into plastics.
The 2.5x 21 inch working distance loupes with designer frames are very light, cool and nice.
Cost was close to 250 for loupes with a case - good deal. Optics are good quality, field of view is ok too.
Good option if you want to save money and are not going into plastics.
We didn't want to buy a 1000 dollar pair from surgitel etc since we are not going into plastics.
The 2.5x 21 inch working distance loupes with designer frames are very light, cool and nice.
Cost was close to 250 for loupes with a case - good deal. Optics are good quality, field of view is ok too.
Good option if you want to save money and are not going into plastics.
Keep in mind that loupes are useful for subspecialties beyond oculoplastics. Scleral passes in strabismus and scleral buckle prodecures are much easier with them, though admittedly not absolutely necessary. Having tried every major brand of loupes, my opinion is that Designs for Vision are the best. Our optical shop shares this opinion, and they have the benefit of 30+ years of experience servicing the ophthalmologists, ENT, vascular surgeons, and plastics guys(among others) within the Texas medical center. My considerations, in decreasing order of importance, are: optics, comfort, durability(i.e. construction and materials), support for repairs, carrying case(may seem silly, but I plan to use these for 10+ years--have you noticed the lens cases of your senior residents lately?), and eye protection(less of an issue for eye cases, but nonetheless...). I did not like models that had flip-up lenses (more opportunity for wear and breakage). Likewise, when the telescope portion was not in-the-lens, I felt that it was too easy to shift one or both loupes out of my visual axis. Plus, I don't typically need to flip my loupes out of the way during an eye case. Having said that, one of my ENT friends has Keelers, and has been happy with them over 3 years.
As far as the process of acquiring them, the typical routes are through a retail channel (e.g. an optical shop) or direct from the company. In the latter method, they may send out a rep to measure you. The price is typically slightly better. The downside is that if there is a problem, YOU have to deal with them directly. Some of my co-residents have done this, and the process is a pain, to say the very least. My bias is to go through a retail channel.
Finally, keep in mind that some people negotiate loupes into a sort of 'signing bonus' when signing their first contract.
Just my humble opinion; feel free to ignore!
As far as the process of acquiring them, the typical routes are through a retail channel (e.g. an optical shop) or direct from the company. In the latter method, they may send out a rep to measure you. The price is typically slightly better. The downside is that if there is a problem, YOU have to deal with them directly. Some of my co-residents have done this, and the process is a pain, to say the very least. My bias is to go through a retail channel.
Finally, keep in mind that some people negotiate loupes into a sort of 'signing bonus' when signing their first contract.
Just my humble opinion; feel free to ignore!
