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Posted on February 12, 2010 in EDOWs' Blog, Latest News
Eye Doctors of Washington is delighted to round out the services we provide our patients with the addition of the Facial Rejuvenation Center. Headed by Dr. Mary Catherine Fischer, an oculoplastic surgeon, EDOW is now able to offer treatments that include eyelid and eyebrow lifts, Botox Costmetic, Juvederm, and Latisse. Dr. Fischer’s in very experienced in eyelid and brow lifts. With the extensive knowledge that she has regarding the delicate tissue around the eyes and the intricate muscles of the face, Dr. Fischer is a superior doctor to choose for simple outpatient cosmetic treatments as well.
EDOW offers Botox injections for the lines that appear between the eye brows, crow’s feet, and the nasolabal folds that extend from the outside of the nostrils to the corners of the mouth. Juvederm is a permanent facial filler that is used to plump up specific areas of the face like the nasolabal folds and the lips. Latisse is an eyelash thickening product for individuals who have thin eyelashes. To set up a complimentary consultation for any of these services, please contact our office at 301-215-7100. We look forward to seeing you at your next appointment!
Posted on in EDOWs' Blog, Latest News
Did you know that cataract surgery is right up there with LASIK when it comes to giving you freedom from glasses? The quality of the lenses today have far surpassed those that were available to your parents when they had cataract surgery. With the availability of multifocal lenses like the ReSTOR and ReZoom lenses, some patients are free from glasses and contact lenses for the first time in their lives following their cataract surgery! These multifocal lenses replace the natural cloudy lenses that are removed from our patients’ eyes during cataract surgery, only these sophisticated lenses also correct our patients’ nearsightedness, farsightedness, and “old age” eyes. Many of the patients who opt for the ReSTOR or ReZoom lenses don’t even need reading glasses after surgery! The lenses are designed to bring near vision, distance vision, and everything in between into focus.
To find out if you may be a good candidate for a multifocal lens, please contact our practice at 301-215-7100. We look forward to seeing you at your next visit!
Posted on in EDOWs' Blog, Latest News
Below are some of the most common questions we get about LASIK at Eye Doctors of Washington. If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact our office.
What is LASIK?
LASIK is a laser vision correction surgery that utilizes laser energy to correct an individuals nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism. In fact, there are two lasers that are used. The Intralase creates a corneal flap in the first step of the surgery. That flap is lifted by the surgeon and the second laser, the VISX S4 CustomVue laser, actually corrects your prescription by flattening or steepening your cornea.
Am I a good candidate for LASIK?
Good candidates for LASIK are 21 years of age or older, have a stable prescription, and have no corneal abnormalities. Most people don’t know if they have corneal abnormalities, so the purpose of the complimentary LASIK consultation is to determine if your cornea is healthy for LASIK. Contact lens wearers will need to come out of their contact lenses for a period of time before their preoperative exam.
How long does it take?
The LASIK procedure takes a few minutes. Patients are in the operating suite for about 15 or 20 minutes, on average. It is cold in there to keep the lasers happy, so be sure to being a sweater.
Does it hurt?
No, it doesn’t hurt. We use topical numbing drops during the surgery so you shouldn’t feel any pain. There is some pressure associated with the creation of the corneal flap using the Intralase. If you close your eye and firmly push on your eyelid, the pressure is about the same.
I have an astigmatism. Can I still have LASIK?
Absolutely. The FDA has approved LASIK for individuals who are nearsighted, farsighted, and have astigmatism.
I have more questions. Who do I contact?
The Refractive Team at EDOW would be happy to answer any questions you have over the phone or via email. Please call 240-482-1220 or go to our contact form to send us an email. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Posted on February 4, 2010 in EDOWs' Blog
Andrew Turowski came from Poland a couple of years ago to the States looking for work to support his wife and kids back home. He began working as mechanic and, after being laid off, was eventually hired by a Polish immigrant to work on a horse farm with her high-stepping horses. After realizing just how poor his vision was, his employer decided to pay for him to have vision correction surgery. Since he was too nearsighted for LASIK, his employer ended up paying for him to have implantable contact lens (ICL) surgery. At Eye Doctors of Washington, Dr. Clinch and Dr. Kang are experts at implanting the Visian ICL. For more information about the Visian procedure, visit http://www.edow.com/refractive-procedures/implantable-contact-lens-icls/. You can read the rest of the story about Mr. Turowski at http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2010/jan/06/local/chi-health-sight-w-zone-06-jan06.
Posted on January 19, 2010 in EDOWs' Blog
While the change in cabin pressure may cause your ears to pop, it will not harm your LASIK surgery, even if you’ve had surgery that very morning. The bigger cause for concern when flying is the dry air. After LASIK, your eyes may be dry and irritated, and dry eyes are more susceptible to infection. So if you’re in a plane or going skiing in cold, dry mountain air, be sure to bring your lubricating eye drops with you. Keep those eyes moisturized and enjoy the view!
Posted on January 8, 2010 in EDOWs' Blog
Snow blindness, or ultraviolet keratitis, is essentially sunburn on the cornea that is caused by UV light that reflects off of snow or ice. It can also be caused by reflection of sunlight by sand and water, but the intensity is usually far less significant than with the glare from snow. Infrequently, snow blindness can be caused by tanning beds and directly observing a solar eclipse. Snow blindness can cause eyes to become bloodshot, watery, gritty, and swollen, and symptoms usually begin 6-12 hours after exposure.
The best way to treat mild snow blindness is by going in a dark room and placing cold compresses on the eyes. Bandages can be placed over the eyes and exposure to UV rays should be eliminated until the eyes heal. Minimizing eye movement also decreases pain. Remove contacts from eyes affected by snow blindness and avoid rubbing the eyes. Symptoms usually subside within 24-48 hours, except in extreme cases.
The best way to prevent snow blindness is to wear dark sunglasses, and it’s best if they wrap around the sides of your eyes to prevent an indirect exposure to UV rays. Be sure to wear sunglasses even when it is cloudy because UV rays still penetrate the cloud line. Snow blindness is most likely to occur in the polar regions and at very high altitudes because UV rays are more intense there.
Posted on January 5, 2010 in EDOWs' Blog
Obama’s health care reform bill may now include what has been dubbed the Bo-tax, a 5% surcharge on all elective cosmetic procedures, in order to offset the cost of health care reform. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons argues that the Bo-tax may have been designed to tax the upper echelon of society who has disposable income for cosmetic surgery, but 60% of those who actually seek cosmetic treatments make between $30,000 and $60,000 annually, and 90% of them are women.
While it’s not surprising that plastic surgeons oppose this tax, what is surprising is that the resolute feminist group, NOW (National Organization of Women), opposes this tax. NOW, which hosts an annual “Love Your Body Day” to promote natural, un-enhanced feminine beauty, opposes this bill because, it claims, it places a heavier tax burder on middle-class women. NOW says that older women are competing in the workplace and is encouraging them to seek cosmetic treatments so that they won’t be looked over by a potential employer.
Posted on December 29, 2009 in EDOWs' Blog
Dysport is a similar injectible product to Botox, but Dysport was just approved this May in the U.S. for the treatment of facial wrinkles. It’s been used with great success in Europe since 1991. Some American doctors are hesitant to use Dysport, though, because the injection is more likely to diffuse to tissue beyond the targeted treatment area. In other words, Dysport appears to be more likely to cause droopy eyelids or a “plastic” look to the face. On the other hand, some physicians have noted that Dysport tends to have an effect within 24-36 hours as opposed to Botox’s 3 days. Eye Doctors of Washington continues to offer Botox treatments to those interested in reducing the fine lines and wrinkles on their faces. For more information, please visit our webpage on Botox.
Posted on December 17, 2009 in EDOWs' Blog
The frequency of myopia among Asians and other is on the rise and appears to increase with education. A study was conducted in Singapore in 1992 to investigate the prevalence of nearsightedness (known as myopia) as one’s education increased. The findings were astonishing: Just over 15% of male subjects with little education were myopic compared to 65% of the male subjects that were university graduates. A 1994 study found that almost 87% of first year students at the University of Hong Kong were myopic. In other words, in a class of 50 college students, approximately 43 needed glasses or contacts. A separate study found that over 70% of school age children in Taiwan are nearsighted. The studies with results like these go on and on. So, can we prevent this from continuing and how do we treat it?
The speculations about the causes of increased myopia are myriad. Some think optometrists are conspiring against the public and are prescribing glasses to children unnecessarily to make money! More often, it is hypothesized that genetics, increased up-close work like video games and computers, and a decrease in the time children spent outside are contributing to the rise in the frequency and severity of myopia.
The treatment for high myopia is strong glasses, strong contact lenses, laser vision correction like LASIK, and implantable contact lens surgery like Visian. In fact, the Visian ICL was designed specifically for individuals with very high degress of nearsightedness. Because of the prevalence of myopia among the Asian population, a study that was publised earlier this year involved placing the Visian ICL in only Asian eyes. The lens that was used also corrected astigmatism. The results were very similar to the results of the FDA clinical trials: after 6 months, almost 95% of all subjects could see 20/25 or better without correction. Remember that these are high myopes who probably couldn’t even see the eye chart when they were evaluated for surgery!
So with myopia on the rise we anticipate more and more people will see out correction for their vision using the Visian ICL. For more information about the Visian ICL, call our office to schedule a complimentary consultation or visit our website.
Posted on December 15, 2009 in EDOWs' Blog
About 40,000 corneal transplants are performed each year, making it the most frequently performed transplant surgery in the world. Fewer donor corneas are available because more and more people are having laser vision correction surgery like LASIK, which makes their corneas unsuitable for transplants. Because of this shrinking pool of donors, scientists at the University of Cincinnati have attempting to create corneal tissue from umbilical stem cells to repair the damaged corneas of mice…and they’ve been successful! These stem cell transplants are only successful for corneal injuries, infections, and scarring. The scientists will begin doing the stem cell transplants on larger animals before beginning any research on humans. Some ophthalmologists are projecting that stem cell corneal transplants may one day replace cornea transplants!
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