Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center Official Blog

Implanting a tiny plastic lens inside the eye is the standard procedure for correcting cataracts and is also used for correcting the vision in people who are nearsighted, farsighted, and have astigmatism. How did the idea of using a plastic lens implant get started ?

In World War II, some British fighter pilots were wounded in their eyes by plastic fragments from their airplane canopy. Harold Ridley, one of the eye surgeons who treated them, and continued to care for them after the war, recognized that this plastic material that remained in the eye was not rejected by the body as a ‘foreign object’. It was just serendipity that the material was a medically pure grade of plastic, and perfectly suited for use as a lens that could be implanted inside the eye.

Ridley performed the first lens implant surgery on November 29, 1949. This radical idea of putting a lens inside the eye was not completely accepted by the ophthalmology profession until 25 years later. Today, lens implant surgery is the most common operation done. Not just the most common eye operation, but the most common operation done in the United States and in the world. Ridley lived to see his truly visionary idea vindicated. He received many international awards and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000. (The actor Sean Connery was knighted at the same ceremony.)

At Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center, we have been using lens implants since 1972 – the first in Arizona. We do over 10,000 lens implant procedures each year, making us one of the leading eye surgery centers in the United States.

Dr. Jordan Graff is a board certified ophthalmologist who specializes in diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous. After receiving his Bachelor’s of Science and premedical training at Brigham Young University, Dr. Graff graduated magna cum laude with his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, Irvine and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) medical honor society. Dr. Graff then relocated to Iowa where he completed an internship in Internal Medicine as well as residency at the prestigious Ophthalmology Department of the University of Iowa. Thereafter, he decided to stay at Iowa to complete an additional two years of subspecialty training in vitreoretinal surgery where he was awarded the Heed Foundation Fellowship award.

Dr. Graff speaks fluent Spanish. His interests include the latest microsurgical treatments for diabetes, macular scarring and distortion, and complex retinal detachment repair.

Please join us in welcoming Jordan Graff, MD to our Retina Team of Expert Surgeons that include Brian Horsman, MD and Suhail Alam, MD. He joins us with outstanding experience and we are very excited about the opportunity to personally introduce him to you.

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:

Facebook – www.facebook.com/bdpec
Twitter – www.twitter.com/GoodEyesAZ
YouTube – www.youtube.com/bdpec
RSS Feed – http://blog.goodeyes.com/feed/

Please login become a fan, meet our surgeons, talk to our patients and get comfortable with your life changing decision to restore your vision!

If you have any suggestions on additional website portals that you find engaging, please contact us at http://goodeyes.com/contact-us.asp.