For most of its history, Des Moines had no dedicated vision correction practice. Patients who wanted access to the full range of modern procedures — not just the one or two a general ophthalmology office happened to offer — had to travel out of state. Dr. Drew Dickson, co-founder and refractive surgeon at Modern Vision Centers (MVC) in West Des Moines, sat down with WHO13 Hello, Iowa! ahead of the practice’s one-year anniversary to explain how MVC changed that, what the practice offers, and what patients can realistically expect.
What qualifications do Modern Vision Centers vision correction surgeons offer in Des Moines?
Dr. Drew Dickson is the only surgeon in Iowa certified by the World College of Refractive Surgery and Visual Sciences — a credential held by fewer than 3.33% of refractive surgeons in the United States. His co-founder, Dr. Brandon Menke, is a fellowship-trained ophthalmologist who has completed thousands of cataract surgeries and serves as a Navy Reserve officer. Both are Iowa natives who returned specifically to build Modern Vision Centers and offer a full range of vision correction procedures to Iowa-residents. “It’s been fun for us, again, just both being Iowa natives, to come back and be able to help people of our great state see better,” Dr. Dickson says. In the practice’s first year in West Des Moines, the two surgeons helped hundreds of patients get out of glasses and contacts across the full range of procedures they offer.
What are my options if LASIK is not right for me in Des Moines?
Modern Vision Centers offers all seven modern vision correction procedures, which means patients who have been told LASIK is not a fit have real alternatives available in Des Moines. Dr. Dickson organizes the options into two categories. Corneal procedures — LASIK, PRK, and SMILE — reshape the cornea using laser technology. SMILE is a newer approach that skips the flap LASIK creates, making it a stronger option for patients with dry eye concerns or active lifestyles. Lens-based procedures — EVO ICL, Refractive Lens Exchange, and refractive cataract surgery — work by replacing or supplementing the eye’s natural lens rather than altering the cornea. EVO ICL is designed for patients with thin corneas or high prescriptions outside the laser correction range. RLE replaces the natural lens before cataracts develop, correcting vision at multiple distances and eliminating future cataract risk simultaneously. “Sometimes patients don’t have all the options available to them,” Dr. Dickson explains, “and that can lead them to pushing the limits of getting different sorts of procedures done that maybe aren’t the best option.” Having all seven available in one practice changes that dynamic entirely.
What should I expect at my first vision correction consultation in Des Moines?
Every new patient at Modern Vision Centers — whether coming in for a surgical evaluation or a routine checkup — receives the EyeAnalysis before seeing a physician. The evaluation runs approximately 10 diagnostic tests covering the front to back of the eye. “The value to us is we want to know as much about your eyes as we can if we’re going to make a good decision for you,” he says. Every patient who moves forward to a procedure discussion also meets directly with the surgeon who would perform it — not a coordinator, not a counselor. That surgeon conversation is standard. The physical environment is designed to feel nothing like a typical medical office. Dr. Dickson describes the design concept as a cross between an Apple Store and a spa — front desk staff there to greet not answering phones, fresh-baked cookies available daily, coffee and espresso on hand, and no extended wait times. Patients start diagnostic testing immediately after check-in.
How fast is recovery from vision correction surgery?
Recovery speed varies by procedure, but many Modern Vision Centers patients notice meaningful improvement the same day. Dr. Dickson describes one of the more immediate examples from the practice’s first year: cataract patients who could not count fingers in front of their face before surgery reading the clock on the wall minutes after the procedure. For LASIK and SMILE patients, functional vision typically arrives by the following morning. “Those are usually really rewarding moments for us and validation of what we do,” Dr. Dickson says. The full overview of procedure-specific recovery timelines is covered at mvcvision.com, where each of the seven procedures includes candidacy and recovery detail.
Why did Modern Vision Centers choose Des Moines?
Before Modern Vision Centers opened, Iowa had no dedicated vision correction practice offering the full range of modern procedures. Dr. Dickson and Dr. Menke identified that gap directly. “We recognized that there was a void of modern vision correction options for patients,” Dr. Dickson says. Both surgeons are Iowa natives with personal ties to the region, and both saw the absence of a full-service practice as a problem their training equipped them to solve.
If you have been considering vision correction in Des Moines and want to know which of the seven procedures fits your eyes, the EyeAnalysis at Modern Vision Centers is where to get started. Schedule on our website or call 515-674-2020.
Hello, Iowa! Full Interview Transcript
Host: What you see is not always what you get. You have the option to correct your vision with modern procedures best for you and your eyesight. Drew Dickson, cataract and refractive surgeon and chief executive officer for Modern Vision Centers, is here now to share more about vision correction ahead of your upcoming 1-year anniversary. Congratulations!
Drew Dickson, MD: Yeah, thank you. It’s exciting. It’s hard to believe that it’s almost been a year already of helping people in Des Moines and across the state see better. So we’re really excited for that.
Host: And we’ve gotten to visit Modern Vision Centers in West Des Moines. Tell us about why it was so important for you to open a clinic here.
Dr. Dickson: Yeah, so myself and Dr. Brandon Menke, who are the two owners, we’re both Iowa natives. He grew up in Des Moines, I grew up in northern Iowa, but came to Des Moines a lot. And we recognized that there was a void of modern vision correction options for patients. Before we started, there wasn’t a dedicated Vision Correction Center. We wanted to bring that to Des Moines to be able to offer the people of Des Moines and across the state different options. We know that there are 7 different vision correction procedures, but not everyone offers those. And so sometimes patients don’t have all the options available to them, and that can lead them to being, you know, pushing the limits of getting different sorts of procedures done that maybe aren’t the best option. We wanted to come in and kind of fill that void and be able to provide a great experience to our patients.
Host: And you’ve talked about those options with us before. And I think you even said it could be a bit of an alphabet soup. But you’re really good about walking people through what’s best for them.
Dr. Dickson: Yes, totally. There’s, you know, depending on your age, your prescription, lots of different variables, there are different things we can do. We can do certain procedures that are focused on the surface of the eye, things that people have heard of like LASIK or PRK, but there’s also SMILE, which is kind of a newer form of LASIK. And then, there are lens-based options. So, you know, things like refractive lens exchange, ICL surgery. We do cataract surgery in a way that we can get people out of glasses too. So lots of different options for people depending on what is best for them.
Host: How has your first year been like in West Des Moines?
Dr. Dickson: It’s been awesome. It’s always validating to see patients actually coming in and getting their vision fixed. We had all these grand ideas of what it could be and it’s nice to see that happening. We’ve already been able to help hundreds of people see their best and get out of glasses and contacts. We’ve had a lot of great experiences, you know, people coming in who can’t see because of cataracts and are seeing better a few minutes later to people who can’t see their hands in front of their face that we’re doing LASIK or ICL or SMILE on that are seeing better. It’s been really fun to do that. It’s been fun for us, again, just both being Iowa natives to come back and be able to help people of our great state see better.
Host: And you said a few minutes later, so people can notice a difference that quickly?
Dr. Dickson: Depending on the type of procedure that we do, certain procedures procedures have quicker recoveries, but a lot of times for like if someone has an advanced cataract, sometimes they’re not even able to count fingers in front of their face, and then we’re removing that and a few minutes later can, you know, read the clock against the wall sort of thing. Those are usually really rewarding moments for us and validation of what we do and really fun for us.
Host: Well, you have a beautiful place in West Des Moines. Walk us through what people can experience.
Dr. Dickson: Hopefully when people walk into their office, our goal is that they’re going to think they’re not actually in a doctor’s office because we’ve—
Host: It’s kind of spa-like.
Dr. Dickson: Yeah, and I think everyone to some level has been in those offices where it kind of feels cold and unwelcoming. We wanted to go against the status quo of that. You’re going to walk in, we were kind of going for a cross between like an Apple Store, very high-tech, latest technology, and a spa. Very relaxing, inviting environment as well. People will be greeted by someone at our front desk who’s not on a phone. They’re there to check you in, make sure you’re comfortable. We’ll offer you fresh-baked cookies that we have every day. We have coffee, espresso, cold beverages. We really want people to feel welcomed. We also really value people’s time. We want to try to make every moment they’re in our office intentional and not waiting for an hour or two to see the doctor. After people have checked in, we’ll typically start doing their testing, what we call our EyeAnalysis, where we walk people through about 10 different tests that are looking at everything from the front to back of their eye. Once they’re through that, they’ll meet one of our doctors and have their examination to check the prescription. Every patient is able to meet with their surgeon, too. I think that’s really important if we’re talking about doing some sort of procedure to give patients that option and let them talk to their surgeon ahead of time to talk about the best plan for them.
Host: And is that EyeAnalysis— is that for anyone, like anyone who just has eyes?
Dr. Dickson: Any new patient that comes in, whether it’s for a surgical consultation or just kind of a routine checkup, will get that EyeAnalysis. We’ve actually run the numbers on that, and it’s somewhere around, like, $500 to $600 worth of testing—
Host: Wow!
Dr. Dickson: …that we’re doing for that. That’s not billed any higher than a regular eye exam. But I think the value to us is we want to know as much about your eyes as we can if we’re going to make a good decision for you. For us, it’s always about figuring it out first and foremost if patients are good surgical candidates, and then if they are, which of those 7 options that we do is going to be best for them.
Host: Well, thank you so much for being here. Congratulations again, one year coming up. Very exciting.
Dr. Dickson: Yes, thanks for having me. Always great to be here.