We understand that technology makes a difference and pride ourselves on providing the latest medical advancements in eye care to our patients. Recently we decided that our technology does not just apply to medical devices and surgical techniques but our patients also benefit from multimedia education online and accessibility. In turn, Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center has created an online network of educational videos, chat rooms, and social sites that allow patients to learn about our procedures, stay informed on the latest advancements and to interact with our surgeons and each other in the privacy of their own home. We are proud to announce the following new portals:
Dr. Barnet: When the patients come in for LASIK surgery itself they are going to be here for about two, two and a half hours all together. LASIK is really a two step procedure. The first step is making a very thin flap on the cornea. And then treating the corneal tissue that’s underneath that. The procedure is generally painless and patients are able to without glasses when they leave the operating room.
For surgery day, the patient would be given a medication to relax them something like valium. We wait about 15 or 20 minutes for that to work make sure everyone’s a little bit mellow because some people are nervous of course. The patient is then brought into the LASIK room but there are two main steps to the LASIK. Making the flap which we use a laser with the Intralase currently and the second step is to use the Wavelight laser to treat the prescription. So the first step, making the flap, takes 45 seconds and then going to the Wavelight laser there is no discomfort at all in doing the treatment. So it’s a very simple procedure for most people, they are here probably a hour and a half to two hours leaving here a little bit blurry on the day of surgery but by the next morning most everyone is very pleased with their vision.
First and foremost we use only the best lasers that are available today. We have had a chance and multiple opportunities to test everything that is out there on the market. We have also been really quite privileged to be involved in FDA studies to determine right up front which are the best laser platforms out there so we have decided that the Allegretto Wave Light Laser is by far and away the best. It treats the cornea in the most physiologic way. It treats the tissues in the most normal way so that afterwards patients notice far less glare and halos than they might with other lasers.
Dr. Rivera: Implantable Contact Lens is really a new innovation that we were fortunate enough to be a part of in its very early stages here in the United States. We were one of the FDA trial sites for the ICL. What this is is an implantable lens that goes into the eye with the patients prescription in it so instead of having to remove tissue as we do with LASIK the ICL simply adds the prescription to the patients eye. The way the procedure works we make a tiny little opening into the cornea. The ICL goes into the eye into the space where the patient can’t feel anything they don’t know it’s there. But it’s interesting that minute the implant goes in the patient already starts to see. So as we are operating you can tell when the patient’s vision comes into focus. They actually start moving their eyes around under the microscope because for the first time in many, many years in most cases they are able to actually see. The ICL stays in their eye their whole life. It can be exchanged or removed. It is just an excellent procedure.
Dr. Barnet: For the patient we do ICL surgery is done under local anesthesia. We do use an intravenous line to give the patient sedation during the procedure. But the patient is awake and the eye is anesthetized just by using eye drops. The patient comes into the operating room where we dilate their eyes which is the most time spent with the surgery. Then we operate on one eye first inserting the ICL then the patient relaxes while we set up the operating room with a new sterile set up so the two eyes are done as two separate operations. Then the patient has the second eye operated on. Each eye takes about 20 minutes to do. And then when the patient is feeling well, which is usually a few minutes later, they can get up and they can see and they can go home and carry on with a normal day.
Dr. Perkins: The ICL is not visible to anyone. It’s even really hard for an eye doctor to see under magnification. There is no cosmetic issue with the ICL at all. Most patients can see immediately after the surgery. It may not be 20/20 a minute after surgery but almost everyone can sit up immediately after the ICL’s are put in and say “Oh my god my vision is so much better” and by the next morning almost everyone has been 20/20. It’s an incredible procedure.
Dr. Perkins: There are 3 different implants that we use that are available that are called presbyopic, some people call them specialty, premium, or lifestyle implants. They are all different names. But they clearly have an advantage over the standard implant. The standard implant select our patient seek either in the distance or at near but not both. And what the specialty implant do they allow our patients to see at least two of three distances. And what I mean by that is we consider there are three different areas of vision: Near Vision, Intermediate Vision (like the computer), and Distance Vision. And these specialty implants can treat at least two of them and sometimes all three ranges of vision. And there are three different implants that are available for us to use: the ReStor Lens, the ReZoom Lens, and the Crystal Lens. And each of them has their advantages and disadvantages. And really it depends on the person’s job or lifestyle or what their hobbies are. Knowing those things about a person help us to guide the patient to what we think the best lens would be for them.
Dr. Rivera: With a refractive lensectomy our goal is to get the patient out of glasses. Our goal is not to have them use anything for distance and as little as possible for near. We implant a lens implant that gives them beautiful vision, distance vision and in many cases distance and near vision and this is permanent. Lasts your whole life.
