My particular eye care interests have, over the years of practice, driven
my practice to focus on care for the irregular cornea. Early in practice
this constituted providing care for conditions like Keratoconus and Pellucids
Marginal Degeneration. Additionally, after having a corneal
transplant or some type of traumatic incident, many people would seek out my
services. The last grouping of individuals needing care that I was
providing, although small, were the people who unfortunately did not do very
well after a refractive surgical procedure. As the years have passed, I
have noticed that there has been a significant shift in the numbers of
individuals making up each of the above categories. In my practice
currently, the post refractive surgical patients comprise the largest group of
individuals for whom I provide care. Their problems range from mildly
annoying to totally debilitating. Some are bothered by glare, haloes, and
starbursts. Some have chronically irritated red eyes. Some have lost
their ability to drive. Some have lost jobs and/or careers because they no
longer can see well enough to perform the required tasks. Some are
clinically depressed. More than a few have confided in me that they have
considered suicide. Many of these people have sought care from a multitude
of doctors only to be told that there is no solution to their problems.
The combination of lost wages, lost independence and a great deal of
medical/surgical care following the initial refractive surgical procedure have
left many of these people in a financial strait jacket. Since their
problems are very involved, they require many visits and I therefore get to
know these people rather well. A common statement from almost everyone of
these individuals is something to the effect "If I had known that these types of
complications were a possibility I never would have even considered having an
elective refractive surgical procedure." This is a statement that, as
a physician, really bothers me. It means that these people were
inadequately informed prior to their choice of an elective surgery. If
you, or family or friends are seriously considering a refractive surgical
procedure, I implore you to "do your homework." before surgery. There is a
huge volume of information on the
FDA
website concerning refractive surgery. Most people do well with
the current refractive surgeries available but unfortunately the people who
do not do well can have their lives changed in ways they can't even
imagine. This information all needs to be considered before an
irreversible refractive surgical procedure is performed.
Message from Dr. Maller
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