|
|
Published : June 08, 2009 |
Author : admin
Category : LASIK | Total Views
: 360 | Rating :  
|
|
|
Patients who want LASIK laser eye surgery, but fear its rare complications, are
learning about new technology to screen them before the procedure.
Connie
McCaa, M.D., Ph.D., who has the only Pentacam HR corneal scanner in metro
Jackson, reflects this national trend in LASIK technology. A cornea and
refractive surgery specialist, McCaa is a nationally known LASIK
authority.
Anna Pickle found McCaa by following the latest technology for
vision correction.
Today, Pickle has perfect eyesight, which she feels
involved three "miracles."
The first was that Pickle had LASIK laser
treatment - at all - to correct her vision. "I'm a scary-type person. I'd been
afraid to do it," Pickle, 31, said. "I have so many friends with bad vision who
are scared to do it."
The second miracle was: "It wasn't a scary thing at
all," she said. McCaa performed her LASIK at the McCaa's LASIK Laser Eye Center
in Flowood, a Jackson suburb. "There was no fear. They talked me through it. It
was no big deal," Pickle said. "It's very fast."
The third miracle
involved science. "The fact that Dr. McCaa did correct me to 20/20 vision was
amazing. I've had horrible, horrible vision since fourth grade," the mother of
two said. "Without her machine, there's no way I could have risked having it
done."
The machine is McCaa's state-of-the-art Pentacam HR, a 3-D
scanner. For six months, McCaa has had the only one in the area.
In
McCaa's ophthalmology clinic at St. Dominic's Hospital in Jackson, the Pentacam
is used for all LASIK patients' pre-exams as well as for many cataract, lens
implant, and other refractive surgeries. It reads up to 138,000 elevation points
in the cornea (the clear layer over the front of the eye).
"The Pentacam
HR tells me whether a patient's corneas are thick enough to safely and
successfully perform LASIK," McCaa explained.
Thin corneas are one of the
most common causes of LASIK complications nationwide, although complications are
relatively rare.
McCaa said fear of LASIK is not uncommon. "It's natural
that patients like Anna, who already have poor eyesight, would fear losing their
eyesight if there are complications. But I've never had any patient lose their
sight from LASIK." McCaa has performed LASIK thousands of times.
Because
Pickle of Kosciusko was extremely nearsighted (with astigmatism), that can be
associated with thin corneas. But the Pentacam indicated Pickles' corneas were
thick enough to have LASIK safely.
Timothy Deeds, who represents Pentacam
HR manufacturer Oculus Inc. of Germany, called it "the best insurance policy you
can have. There are none in the Jackson area, still, but Dr. McCaa's. She's
certainly a step ahead. It can offer a tremendous safety level to her
patients."
Deeds noted that U.S. military hospitals now are required to
have a Pentacam HR for LASIK and other refractive surgeries.
Pickle said
two other physicians and a friend who had received LASIK encouraged her to go to
McCaa. "I became aware that Dr. McCaa has years of experience and prides herself
in staying up-to-date with the newest technology," Pickle said.
McCaa was
one of the first physicians in the country to perform LASIK. Ranked for a decade
as one of the Best Doctors in America, she has been board certified since 1983.
McCaa also is well known as a consultant surgeon for correcting other refractive
surgeon's LASIK complications.
Pickle's vision isn't the only outlook
that has changed.
"Every morning, I think about the LASIK. It's a gift,"
Pickle said. "I'm already thinking about my first summer without having glasses
or contacts and doing water sports, without worrying that my contacts will fall
out.
"For my husband, Rob, it's been an enlightening experience for him
to see my face light up - just because I'm able to see!"
For more
information on the Pentacam HR, go tohttp://www.ConnieMcCaa.com and click on
the "St. Dominic" page.
For photos, interviews or more info, contact:
Leslie Myers at Myers Ink (314) 863-1879 or MyersInk@MyersInk.net
For
more information on Dr. McCaa, LASIK or the Pentacam HR, go to
http://www.ConnieMcCaa.com
|
|
|
|
