Lasik Vision USA's laser eye-surgery center in Kenwood could resume operations as early as Monday, company officials said Friday.

        The busy center had canceled eye surgeries last week after its eye surgeon walked off the job. Doctors had not been paid since December, and the center's ownership had changed.

        Patients will see higher prices when it reopens, at least $500 more for both eyes, said Ghassan Bazari, chief operating officer of ICON Laser Eye Centers Inc., which recently acquired a controlling interest in Lasik Vision Corp.

        Both companies are based in Canada and trade on the Canadian Venture Stock Exchange.

        Lasik Vision had been offering laser surgeries to correct vision problems for as low as $499 per eye — about half the price of its lowest-priced competitor in the Cincinnati area.

        “Our normal price is about $750 an eye, and we plan to stop discounting our normal price,” Mr. Bazari said.

        The low prices attracted hundreds of new customers to the center, at 7840 Montgomery Road, but the company owed its 75 doctors back pay totaling $4 million, which led to the work stoppage.

        Mr. Bazari told the Enquirer that some doctors have returned to work, although he did not say how many.

        He said ICON is still trying to reach a settlement with the Lasik surgeon in Cincinnati, but expects to resolve the dispute soon.

        “We're hoping the surgeon will be back on Monday, and then we'll start calling patients back and rescheduling appointments in Cincinnati,” Mr. Bazari said.

        The earliest scheduled appointment would be April 15, he said.

        Despite Lasik Vision's troubles, Mr. Bazari said, ICON has no plans to close its Kenwood center.

        “The plan is to close centers in markets where we have duplicate centers between ICON and Lasik Vision, and Cincinnati is not one of those markets,” he said.

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