Optometry Externs
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Optometry Residents
2017
2015 Optometry Externs
2015 Optometry Extern
Joey Kane. Soon to graduate , fourth year extern of the New England College of Optometry who worked with me today.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Erik Eklund of the Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today. Graduation less than 1 month away.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jeevan Hothi of the Berkeley School of Optometry worked with me today. Graduation less than 1 month away.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Chrissy Farinacci of the Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today.
Possible interest vision therapy and binocular vision, but now also considering specialty contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Shaina Nensi of the University of Waterloo School of Optometry worked with me today.
Possible interest vision therapy and binocular vision, but now also considering specialty contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Laura Panowyk of the University of Waterloo School of
Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Laura Tramontozzi of Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and possibly contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Theresa Lam of New England College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in primary eye care and possibly contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Brittany Wright of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me today. Strong interest in contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tim Wise of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rebecca Moran of New England College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Elena Martinez of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Joannie Irizarry of Inter American University of Puerto
Rico, School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Karla Negron from Inter American University of Puerto Rico,
School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Marielle Alcantara from the University of the Incarnate Word,
San Antonio Texas Rosenberg School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye
care, ocular disease, and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ranju Ganesh from Illinois College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Chrissy Farinacci of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
returned to work with me once again today. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rati Sutaria of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rachel Leland of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences School of Optometry returned to work with me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tasnim Noor of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michael Lum from my alma mater Illinois College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest primarily in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Gincy George from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest primarily in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Pamela Theofilopoulos from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest primarily in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rabia Yaqub from the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio Texas
Rosenberg School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Isis Rouphail from the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio
Texas Rosenberg School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Katie Surdoval of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me today. Primary interest is Community Health.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alycia Marotto from the Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me
today. Interest in pediatric eye care.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Natalie Schaeffer from New England College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest primarily in primary eye care and contact lenses. She was shocked to see what is possible with Orthokeratology,
gas permeable lenses and scleral lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Elena Chan from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses. She said that she believes gas permeable lenses
are underutilized and will address this upon entering practice.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Shaz Reza from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses, in particular gas permeable lenses, and ocular disease.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Gilliam Mancuso from New England College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest primarily in ocular disease and possibly contact lenses. She was interested in Orthokeratology, gas permeable
lenses and scleral lenses.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Pat Philip from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of Optometry
worked with me today. Primary interests are contact lenses and primary care. He will return upon graduation to the
northeast part of the country and is looking forward to develop a specialty contact lens fitting practice.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Elizabeth Addesi of University of Waterloo School of Optometry worked with me today.
Primary interests are Binocular Vision and Primary Care. She will return to Canada upon graduation.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Matthew Cote of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today.
Primary interests are primary care.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Pooja Agrawal of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today.
Primary interests are primary care.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michelle Cvercko of University of Waterloo School of Optometry worked with me today.
Primary interests are Binocular Vision, Vision Therapy, and Primary Care. She will return to the Toronto area of
Canada upon graduation. She was amazed at what could be accomplished with contact lenses and Orthokeratology.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jeff Fang of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today.
Primary interest is primary care. He commented about how much he was able to learn about contact lenses and cornea today.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tony Pham of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today.
Primary interest is primary care but also may pursue contact lenses. He too commented about how much he was
able to learn about contact lenses and cornea today.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Stephanie Quesada of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today.
Primary interest is primary care but also may pursue Low Vision. She will join an established practice in Panama
City upon graduation.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Brad Boyle from the Illinois College of Optometry School worked with me today.
Primary interest is primary care but also interested in contact lenses. He will return to Iowa upon graduation.
His plans are to start a private solo practice.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kelly Boland from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry School worked with
me today. Primary interest is pediatrics but is also now seeing the benefits of contact lenses and specifically
Orthokeratology for the young population. She was surprised to see the ranges possible to address with Orthokeratology
and genuinely shocked to see that Orthokeratology can be so effective at treating all ages, including Presbyopia
and even the elderly.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Emily Sikes from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry School worked with
me today. Primary interest is ocular disease but is also now interested in contact lenses and Orthokeratology. She
was surprised to see the ranges of prescriptions possible to address with Orthokeratology and the ages possible to
successfully treat with Orthokeratology. Extreme nearsightedness, farsightedness, high amounts of astigmatism, and
even multifocal needs met with Orthokeratology was brand new information for her.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Danielle Goldberg from the New England College of Optometry School worked
with me today. Primary interest is primary care.
2015 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Gaganjeet Tamber from the New England College of Optometry School worked with me today.
Primary interest is primary care.
2016 Optometry Externs
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ricky Sandhu of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of
Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, and possibly vision therapy. Upon graduation he will
return to Canada or perhaps along the west coast of the United States to practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Vanessa Chavez from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses. She will be practicing in New Mexico upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michelle Le from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease. She will be practicing in Virginia upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Laura Lin of University of Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me today.
Laura specifically was interested in learning more about specialty contact lens fitting which is why she chose this
site for her externship. I expect she will be with me several more times on her rotation. Interest in primary eye
care and contact lenses. She will be practicing in Vancouver Canada with her fiancee upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Fill Xue of University of Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me
today. Fill is specifically interested in learning more about specialty contact lens fitting and is engaged to Laura Lin,
with whom he will practice in Vancouver Canada, upon graduation. Laura was back to work with me today as well. She and
Fill are very excited to learn all they can about specialty contact lens care and are both already registered for the
VBD (Orthokeratology Academy) meeting in April, per my recommendation. Fill will be back to work with me additional days
during his rotation here. Interest in primary eye care and contact lenses.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tharanie Amarawardana of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
in Florida worked with me today. Tharanie is interested in pediatrics, Binocular Vision, and Vision Therapy. She
also has considerable interest in Orthokeratology and it's role in myopia control.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jeff Connor of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease, particularly retina,
and low vision. Upon graduation he is looking to return to California. He was a bit taken back by the complexity
of several of the cases today but he was also very excited and enthusiastic about the diagnostic process.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michelle Le of Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry
worked with me once again today, for "round two." She came in more prepared for the diverse contact lens cases we saw
today. Still, she commented on how much she learned today. It was almost overwhelming. Interest in primary eye care
and ocular disease. She will be practicing in Virginia upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jaclyn McKnight of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in primary eye care. Upon graduation she will be returning to the west coast of
Florida where she is from, to practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ilya Ginzburg of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me
today. Interest in primary eye care. Upon graduation he will be staying here in South Florida to practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Carson Woolwine of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in primary eye care but was very excited to see what can be accomplished with proper contact
lenses. Orthokeratology is much more effective in achieving great vision than he ever thought possible and the
ranges of prescriptions that Orthokeratology can be used to treat well exceeded his expectations. He also came
to understand how difficult and complex it sometimes can be to fix a toric implant that is misaligned. He is not
certain where he will be going upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jason Mann of New England College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest in ocular disease but was very excited to see what can be accomplished with proper contact lenses.
He was surprised to see how effective Orthokeratology is for the adult population including treatment for
Presbyopia with multifocal Orthokeratology. Additionally, achieving great vision with Orthokeratology were
in ranges of prescriptions that well exceeded what he thought was possible. He is a native Floridian and will
practice locally upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alexis Belanger from the University of Montreal School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary care. He was also interested in seeing how much better the results of
Orthokeratology could be when properly designed lenses are used as well as the extent of prescriptions that can
be addressed. High myopia, hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal Orthokeratology came as
surprise to him. He will be returning to Canada to practice upon graduation, joining his sister's practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Melanie Hennenfent of New England College of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease, Orthokeratology, and contact lenses.
After seeing several of my patients today she is reconsidering just how incredible Orthokeratology can
be and is considering the role contact lenses and Orthokeratology will play in her professional life.
Prior to today, she had not appreciated the tremendously important role contact lenses can play in
people's lives and in particular how their quality of life can be improved with proper contact lenses.
She will be returning to Vancouver upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Fraser Gray of Illinois College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest in primary eye care but is also rethinking the role contact lenses will play in his professional life.
He left with a strong interest to learn much more about what can be done with contact lenses and Orthokeratology.
He commented that this was both a very interesting as well as motivating day. He was taken back by the large
range of prescriptions that can be addressed with Orthokeratology while also providing very sharp stable vision.
Upon graduation, he already has a job set up in the Yukon which is where he is from originally.
2016 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Samantha Haslbeck of Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me
today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease and is looking to get into a group Optometric practice. She is
from Delaware but probably will not be returning there after graduation. She still has some time to make the
decisions regarding mode, focus, and location of practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Parveen Gill of San Antonio Texas Rosenberg School of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease. She is from Edmonton and plans on returning there
to practice but plans on staying in the United States for at least one year to develop more contact lens skills.
We saw an eleven year old girl today that was in for Orthokeratology. With a prescription higher than -9 diopters
of myopia and an acuity of finger counting (unable to see the big E on the eyechart), Parveen was shocked that not
only was this possible to treat with Orthokeratology, but after just 2 hours in the office, this little girl was
already capable of 20/60 vision without any glasses. She will give more serious thought to contact lenses and
Orthokeratology in her professional career.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nikita Desai of San Antonio Texas Rosenberg School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease. She is from Georgia and plans on
returning there to practice. We saw an eleven year old girl today that was in for Orthokeratology. With a
prescription higher than -9 diopters of myopia and an acuity of finger counting (unable to see the big E
on the eyechart), Nikita was shocked that not only was this possible to treat with Orthokeratology, but
after just 2 hours in the office, this little girl was already capable of 20/60 vision without any glasses.
She was under several misperceptions about Orthokeratology including that it is uncomfortable and only
provides fair vision. She saw the exact opposite in that this girl was adapted instantly and the immediate
vision results were beyond what she even thought possible. She is now considering Orthokeratology for
herself as well as offering this to her future patients.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Belkis Perez of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in primary eye care and ocular disease. She is from South Florida and plans on staying
here to practice. We saw an eleven year old girl today that was in for Orthokeratology. With a prescription
higher than -9 diopters of myopia and an acuity of finger counting (unable to see the big E on the eyechart),
Belkis was shocked that not only was this possible to treat with Orthokeratology, but after just 2 hours in
the office, this little girl was already capable of 20/60 vision without any glasses. She will give more
consideration to contact lenses and Orthokeratology in her professional career, especially because she is
also interested in pediatric eye care. The topic of myopia control is only continuing to grow, for this
population. It is time that we took a more active roll at preventing myopia progression in our children.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Laura Espinosa of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease, and low vision. Upon
graduation she is heading to Connecticut for a residency in ocular disease. She will then return to Florida and
hopes to work in either a hospital setting or at the VA. She still wants to understand contact lenses so that
she is aware of all the contact lens options that are available. She was a bit surprised by an Orthokeratology
patient that we saw for follow up today, because the patient's uncorrected acuity was a crisp 20/15 in each
eye. Laura did not realize that this level of vision was possible with Orthokeratology. Additionally, she was
shocked by the hyperopic presbyope that also was successfully using Orthokeratology as she didn't even know
that Orthokeratology can address hyperopia or Presbyopia.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tharanie Amarawardana of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
in Florida worked once again with me today. Tharanie is interested in pediatrics, Binocular Vision, and Vision
Therapy. She also has considerable interest in Orthokeratology and it's role in myopia control. We saw several
scleral lens patients today including a patient that had Keratoconus who has had 2 corneal transplants in one
eye and another corneal transplant in the other eye. His initial response after getting the lenses on today
was shock, filled with very colorful comments, and disbelief at how clear his vision was as well as how
comfortable the lenses were.
2016 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Karisma Govan from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with
me today. Karisma is interested in pediatrics, but also expects other subspecialty areas to interest her over
the next year. We saw several scleral lens patients today including a patient that had Keratoconus who has had
2 corneal transplants in one eye and another corneal transplant in the other eye. His initial response after
getting the lenses on today was shock, filled with very colorful comments, and disbelief at how clear his
vision was as well as how comfortable the lenses were.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ilya Ginzburg of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry was back to
work with me today. Interest in primary eye care. Upon graduation he will be staying here in South Florida to
practice. Graduation is just weeks away!
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Carson Woolwine of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry was back
to work with me today. Interest in primary eye care but was very excited to see what can be accomplished with
proper contact lenses. Today we saw the miracle of sight given back to a man who has Keratoconus with two corneal
transplants on his right eye and one corneal transplant on his left eye. He has not seen better than 20/60 in
his good left eye in 35 years. His right eye has not had any real usable vision even best corrected with glasses
for all of that time. He left the office today with 20/15 vision in his right eye and 20/20 in his left eye.
Even more impressive is that he now had proper binocular vision and saw 3D for the first time in 35 years.
Carson is working hard developing the skills to fit these types of lenses and is excited at the prospect of
bringing this type of care to his patients. He is not certain where he will be going upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Fraser Gray of Illinois College of Optometry worked with me again today.
Interest in primary eye care but is also rethinking the role contact lenses will play in his professional life.
He left with a strong interest to learn much more about what can be done with contact lenses and Orthokeratology.
He got to see a 14 year old boy come in today with about 20/40 vision who is having difficulty with tennis (he
plays competitively trying to play professionally - he already has sponsorship). After just 2 hours in his
Orthokeratology treatment, the boy left with overwhelming excitement over his 20/15 uncorrected vision. Fraser
is excited to offer this kind of care when he gets into practice. Upon graduation, he already has a job set up
in the Yukon which is where he is from originally.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Melanie Hennenfent of New England College of Optometry worked
again with me today. Interest in primary eye care, ocular disease, Orthokeratology, and contact lenses. She is
much more interested in learning more about Orthokeratology and specialty contact lens fitting since working
with me last time. Seeing Orthokeratology work so well and seeing the role that contact lenses can improve
someone's life was surprising and something she had not considered before working with me last time. She is
looking forward to learning all she can about specialty contact lens fitting and Orthokeratology. She will
be returning to Vancouver upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kim Nguyen of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me
today. Interest in primary eye care, contact lenses, and dry eye. She realized how much there is to learn
about contact lenses and how professionally rewarding contact lens services can be to both her and the
patients. She is looking forward to learning all she can about rigid lens fitting, specialty contact lens
fitting and Orthokeratology. She will be looking to practice in the Orlando area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jackie Li from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest in primary eye care, contact lenses, Orthokeratology and myopia control. She realized how much there is
to learn about contact lenses and how professionally rewarding contact lens services can be to both her and the
patients. She is looking forward to learning all she can about rigid lens fitting, specialty contact lens fitting
and Orthokeratology. She will be looking to return to Texas to practice upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michael Do from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me
today. Interest in primary eye care, and contact lenses. He realized how much there is to learn about contact
lenses and how professionally rewarding contact lens services can be to both him and the patients. He is looking
forward to learning all he can about rigid lens fitting, specialty contact lens fitting and Orthokeratology. He
was shocked to find out that such high myopia and high astigmatism is possible to address so effectively and
was in total disbelief that hyperopic multifocal Orthokeratology is possible at all. The lady in today explained
just how well it has been working for her over the last several years.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jessica Pappas of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in primary eye care, and contact lenses. She realized how much there is to learn about contact
lenses and how professionally rewarding contact lens services can be to both her and the patients. She is looking
forward to learning all she can about rigid lens fitting, specialty contact lens fitting and Orthokeratology. She
correctly answered quite a few tough clinical questions I posed to her on the patients that we saw today. Although
she and Michael Do were somewhat overwhelmed by the breadth of specialty contact lens care, they both did much
better than they believed they did at clinical decision making.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Natasha Terzievski of University of Waterloo School of
Optometry worked with me today. Primary interests are Primary Care. After today and seeing the application
and impact proper contact lens services can have for patients, she is more interested in learning to fit
gas permeable lenses. She will return to Canada upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bryanna Pinelli of University of Waterloo School of
Optometry worked with me today. Primary interests are Primary Care. Not only did she become
interested in learning to fit gas permeable lenses, but after being a multiple soft lens failure
herself, she is considering having me fit her into a pair of custom gas permeable lenses. If she
proceeds with her gas permeable lens fitting, we will post her progress. She will return to
Canada upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michael Do from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me again today. Interest in primary eye care, and increasing interest in contact lenses. He now
has a better understanding of the reasons behind soft contact lenses failing for him personally. He
understands that there is much to learn about contact lenses and saw once again how professionally
rewarding contact lens services can be to both him and the patients. He made some great clinical
observations today and was able to answer some tough questions that I posed to him. He is looking
forward to learning all he can about rigid lens fitting, specialty contact lens fitting and
Orthokeratology because he appreciates how much benefit there will be for him to provide these
services to his patients.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Katie Komornik from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in primary eye care, and contact lenses. Additionally she has an interest in scleral
shells for non-sighted eyes. Initially she was a bit overwhelmed by the complexity of decision making with
regard to specialty contact lens fitting but quickly rose to the challenges of required detailed observations
at the biomicroscope and clinical treatment plans. She is excited about learning all she can about rigid lens
fitting, specialty contact lens fitting and Orthokeratology and has already outlined her plan to draw on the
available resources over the remainder of her last school year.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Mariam Hermiz of University of Waterloo School of Optometry
in Toronto worked with me today. Mariam prior to today was very interested in refractive surgery. After
seeing some of the problems associated with refractive surgery and how negatively impacted some of the
people have been after their surgery, she is reconsidering her position on refractive surgery.
Orthokeratology is much more attractive to her now.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Cassandra Lasry from the University of Montreal School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in primary care and contact lenses. She was also interested in seeing how much better
the results of Orthokeratology could be when properly designed lenses are used as well as the extent of
prescriptions that can be addressed. High myopia, hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal
Orthokeratology came as surprise to her.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bernard Mamphy of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and
Health Sciences School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary eye care, and ocular
disease. After seeing the impact contact lenses can have on people's lives today, he is reconsidering
contact lenses in his professional life. He came to understand why he has done so poorly in contact
lenses for himself personally and is now eager to develop his contact lens troubleshooting skills.
Upon graduation he is looking to return to Maryland.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kristine Sam from the Arizona College of Optometry worked with me
today. Interest in primary care and contact lenses. She was very surprised to see Orthokeratology being used
for very high myopia, high astigmatism, hyperopia, and presbyopia. She previously thought Orthokeratology is
only used for low myopia, very low astigmatism, and only for kids with the intention of slowing the progression
of myopia. She is now considering Orthokeratology for herself since she has done so poorly with soft disposable
lenses for herself. Upon graduation she will return to Deland Florida.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tim Skwarok from New England College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest in primary eye care, however after today he is considering how he can start learning how to fit gas
permeable lenses and Orthokeratology. He was initially overwhelmed by the clinical questions I posed to him,
but by the end he was doing very well reasoning out the answers. He was shocked to see how effective
Orthokeratology is and the range of prescriptions that are possible to address with Orthokeratology.
He will be returning to Alberta Canada upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern David Neal from New England College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest in primary eye care, contact lenses, and sports vision. He just kept shaking his head in disbelief
upon seeing the role of gas permeable lenses and Orthokeratology and how rigid lenses could be even more
comfortable than soft lenses. He is looking forward to learning all he can about gas permeable lenses,
Orthokeratology, and specialty lenses and incorporating these services into his practice. He will be going
to North Carolina upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Trina Chan from the Illinois College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in primary care and ocular disease. She was very surprised to see Orthokeratology
being used for very high myopia, high astigmatism, hyperopia, and presbyopia. She previously thought
Orthokeratology is only used for low myopia, very low astigmatism, and only for kids with the intention
of slowing the progression of myopia. Additionally she was under the belief that Orthokeratology
provided only fair vision and was not a very effective long term correction method but saw otherwise
today. The patient in today has been in Orthokeratology for many years and maintains better than
20/20 vision. She is now considering Orthokeratology for herself since she has done so poorly with
soft disposable lenses for herself. Upon graduation she will return to Calgary Canada.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jessica Garden from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in Ocular Disease and Binocular Vision/Vision Therapy. She was initially rather overwhelmed by
some of the difficult clinical questions that I posed but she and Evelyn quickly rose to the challenge and answered
like an experienced clinician. Upon graduation she will return to New York to practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Evelyn Dearing from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in NeuroOptometry. This is a subspecialty in Optometry that is vastly underserved. Upon
graduation she is planning on doing a residency at PCO and likely working at the VA (Veterans Administration). S
he was initially rather overwhelmed by some of the difficult clinical questions that I posed but she and Jessica
quickly rose to the challenge and answered like an experienced clinician.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bernard Mamphy from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and
Health Sciences School of Optometry was back to work with me today. Interest in primary eye care, and
ocular disease, although since last working with me is considering the role contact lenses will play
in his professional career. He better understands why he has done so poorly in contact lenses for
himself personally and is now eager to develop his contact lens troubleshooting skills. Upon graduation
he is looking to return to Maryland.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kristine Sam from the Arizona College of Optometry worked once
again with me today. Interest in primary care and contact lenses. She now understands why she has done
poorly in soft lenses and is excited and motivated to develop her contact lens fitting skills. She is
considering Orthokeratology for herself since she has done so poorly with soft disposable lenses for
herself. Upon graduation she will return to Deland Florida.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Katie Komornik from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked once again with me today. Interest in primary eye care, and contact lenses. Additionally she has
an interest in scleral shells for non-sighted eyes. She was so amazed last time by what can be
accomplished with specialty contact lenses, she came back today along with Bryan Arriete, another
4th year Optometry extern, and partner both in life and future practice, to see what is possible with
contact lenses. They are both very excited about learning all they can about rigid lens fitting,
specialty contact lens fitting and Orthokeratology.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bryan Arriete from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in primary eye care, and contact lenses. He was astounded by the applications of gas
permeable lenses and just how much better they can perform when properly fit. He could not believe that not
only could they be comfortable but in fact even more comfortable than soft lenses. He is already embarking
on his quest for knowledge and experience to learn complex gas permeable lens fitting for normal corneas,
as well Keratoconus, and post surgically altered corneas. He was overwhelmed by Orthokeratology being used
for Presbyopia by providing sharp uncorrected vision at distance and near for near sighted and far sighted
people. He will go into practice with Katie Komornik upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Lili Le Minh from the University of Montreal School of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in pediatrics, myopia control, and Orthokeratology. She was interested in seeing how much
better the results of Orthokeratology could be when properly designed lenses are used as well as the extent of
prescriptions that can be addressed. High myopia, hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal
Orthokeratology came as surprise to her, as well as the wide range of ages (not just kids) that can benefit
from Orthokeratology. She will be returning to Canada to practice upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Emilie Pretto from the University of Montreal School of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in Contact Lenses, Orthokeratology, and Ocular Disease. She was interested in
seeing how much better the results of Orthokeratology could be when properly designed lenses are used as well
as the extent of prescriptions that can be addressed. High myopia, hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia
with multifocal Orthokeratology came as surprise to her, as well as the wide range of ages (not just kids)
that can benefit from Orthokeratology. She will be returning to Quebec Canada to practice upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Lang Woodmansee from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in low vision although she was very interested in how well Orthokeratology
can work for all ages and a much greater range of prescriptions than she previously thought possible. She
was able to witness a 4 Diopter myopic child begin his day today with 20/400 vision, start his
Orthokeratology program, and just 2 hours later already was seeing 20/40. She is from the South
Florida area and will stay here upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Callista Belles from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in low vision although she is still keeping an open mind as she does her
rotation sites. She was quite interested in the contact lens work we did today, including Orthokeratology.
She had no idea just how much better than glasses or contact lenses, vision provided by Orthokeratology
can work. She was shocked to see one of my Orthokeratology patients today, a 72 year old man, seeing
distance vision and near vision so well out of each eye, with his multifocal myopic Orthokeratology
treatment. In fact, she was initially baffled by how a 72 year old gentlman could possibly be seeing
so well at distance and near without the aid of any optical devices. Although originally from Michigan,
she is planning on staying in the South Florida area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nav Sodhi from New England College of Optometry worked with me today.
Interest in ocular disease although after spending time with me today became much more interested in contact
lenses, and especially corneal gas permeable lenses and Orthokeratology. He was shocked to see a teenage
girl come in with 20/80 uncorrected vision begin her Orthokeratology treatment today and left the office with
20/15 uncorrected vision! He had no idea that Orthokeratology could work that well or that quickly. He is
planning on returning to Vancouver upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sandra Nassar from New England College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in ocular disease although after spending time with me today became much more interested
in contact lenses, and especially corneal gas permeable lenses and Orthokeratology. She was shocked to see a
teenage girl come in with 20/80 uncorrected vision begin her Orthokeratology treatment today and left the
office with 20/15 uncorrected vision! She had no idea that Orthokeratology could work that well or that
quickly, and is now considering Orthokeratology for her own treatment expecting it to be far superior to
her current form of optical correction - soft toric contact lenses. She is from the Pittsburgh area but
isn't certain where she will go upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Amanda Golchin from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
with me today. Strong interest in Contact Lenses. She commented that she now has an entirely different
perspective on contact lenses, Orthokeratology, corneal gas permeable lenses, and especially scleral
lenses. She said she is looking forward to come and work with me several more times. She is from the
upstate New York area but isn't certain where she will go upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Angela Arvanitogiannis from New England College of
Optometry worked with me today. Interest in ocular disease although after spending time with me today
became much more interested in contact lenses, and especially corneal gas permeable lenses and
Orthokeratology. She had several revelations regarding corneal gas permeable lenses, scleral lenses,
and Orthokeratology. She also now has an understanding as to why she has likely failed with more than
10 years of her own soft lens attempts. She is from the New York area but will likely go to the
Connecticut area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Parisa Jalalat from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me today. Interest in contact lenses and pediatrics. She had several revelations regarding
corneal gas permeable lenses, scleral lenses, and Orthokeratology. She is anxious to learn a great deal
more regarding rigid lenses as well as more sophisticated contact lens troubleshooting. She is from the
Texas area and will return there upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Livia Zaka from University of Waterloo School of Optometry in
Toronto worked with me today. Livia is interested in contact lenses and primary care. After seeing some
of the problems associated with refractive surgery and how negatively impacted some of the people have
been after their surgery, she is reconsidering her position on refractive surgery. Orthokeratology is
much more attractive to her now that she understands how effective it is, and the wide range of
prescriptions it can address. For example she had no idea that hyperopia multifocal Orthokeratology
was even possible. She will return to the Toronto area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sally Dickinson from University of Waterloo School of Optometry
in Toronto worked with me today. Sally is interested in contact lenses and pediatric care. After seeing some
of the problems associated with refractive surgery and how negatively impacted some of the people have been
after their surgery, she is reconsidering her position on refractive surgery. Orthokeratology is much more
attractive to her now that she understands how effective it is, and the wide range of prescriptions it can
address. She was shocked to find out that Orthokeratology can address very high myopia prescriptions
like -10.00 and even higher. She will return to the Nova Scotia area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jessica Kumar from University of Waterloo School of Optometry
in Toronto worked with me today. Jessica is interested in contact lenses and pediatrics. After seeing
some of the problems associated with refractive surgery and how negatively impacted some of the people
have been after their surgery, she is reconsidering her position on refractive surgery. Orthokeratology
is much more attractive to her now that she understands how effective it is, and the wide range of
prescriptions and ages it can address. She had a revelation about how important it is to observe
everything when providing clinical care because you may not realize what things can turn out to be
clinically relevant. She said that her time with me today in just a few hours was actually like several
months of education. She will return to Ottawa upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Joy Hines from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me
today. Interest in Contact Lenses, Glaucoma, and Ocular Disease. She commented that after our time
together she now realizes that she has some research to do. She is from the Maryland area but upon
graduation plans on working in the Washington DC or Virginia area.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Peter Harb from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in Contact Lenses, and Ocular Disease. He was a bit surprised to see the range of
prescriptions that are well addressed with Orthokeratology. He is from Alberta but upon graduation
plans on staying here in Florida.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Emilie Pretto from the University of Montreal School of
Optometry once again worked with me today. Interest in Contact Lenses, Orthokeratology, and Ocular
Disease. She was interested in seeing how much better the results of Orthokeratology could be when
properly designed lenses are used as well as the extent of prescriptions that can be addressed.
High myopia, hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal Orthokeratology came as
surprise to her, as well as the wide range of ages (not just kids) that can benefit from
Orthokeratology. We also had discussion on Stargardt's disease due to one of our patients today.
She will be returning to Quebec Canada to practice upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Lili Le Minh from the University of Montreal School of
Optometry once again worked with me today. Interest in pediatrics, myopia control, and Orthokeratology.
She was interested in seeing how much better the results of Orthokeratology could be when properly
designed lenses are used as well as the extent of prescriptions that can be addressed. High myopia,
hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal Orthokeratology came as surprise to her,
as well as the wide range of ages (not just kids) that can benefit from Orthokeratology. We also
discussed the fine art of properly prescribing spectacles. She will be returning to Canada to
practice upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Amanda Golchin from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
with me once again yesterday. Strong interest in Contact Lenses. She said that she found it easier this
time working with me to troubleshoot contact lens fitting problems and appropriate resolution. She
commented that she now has an entirely different perspective on contact lenses, Orthokeratology, corneal
gas permeable lenses, and especially scleral lenses. She said she is looking forward to come and work
with me several more times. She is from the upstate New York area but isn't certain where she will
go upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Emir Hadzic from Midwestern University of Arizona College
of Optometry worked with me yesterday. Interest in Ocular Disease. He did a fine job of diagnosing
the corneal sequelae from a previous herpetic infection. He also learned and became aware of the
extensive complications that can come about as the result of a refractive surgical procedure such
as LASIK. He now has an entirely different perspective on contact lenses, Orthokeratology, corneal
gas permeable lenses, and especially scleral lenses. He is not certain where he will go upon
graduation but is hoping to get a position in the VA.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Natali Iglesias from Inter American University of Puerto
Rico, School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in specialty contact lenses. She had personally
been in Orthokeratology, but only achieved fair results. After spending the day with me and now
understanding what needs to be done to customize a proper contact lens design to create the best
Orthokeratology result, she is excited to return to Orthokeratology for herself. She also came to
understand that she has a great deal to learn so that she can deliver superior contact lens services.
She is from the Tampa area but will likely practice in the South Florida area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Katie-Marie Brown from Massachusetts College of
Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in pediatrics, vision
therapy, binocular vision, myopia control, and Orthokeratology. She came to understand why she
has been largely unsuccessful personally wearing contact lenses and is now considering
Orthokeratology for herself. She is from Canada but upon graduation is planning to stay here in Florida.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Renae Reynolds from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in primary eye care, and ocular disease, and would like to work at the VA. She was surprised to find out
the wide range of prescriptions that are possible to address successfully with Orthokeratology.
Although she is from Illinois, upon graduation she is looking to practice in Connecticut.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Amanda Golchin from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
with me yet again today. Since she has such a strong interest in Contact Lenses, she immensely enjoyed
seeing the variety of complex contact lens cases today. She said that despite the previous times she
worked with me, she learned many new things today, including a much better understanding of corneal
gas permeable lenses and why they have an undeserved bad reputation for discomfort. She also gained
an entirely different perspective on understanding the data collected by corneal topography. She is
from the upstate New York area but isn't certain where she will go upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Aaron King from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in Ocular Disease. He was a bit surprised to see the range of prescriptions that are well
addressed with Orthokeratology. After today he is reconsidering the role contact lenses may play in his
professional career. He is looking forward to spending more time with me on this rotation as he felt he
learned an enormous amount today. He upon graduation will be heading to Utah to begin practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Solange Lacroix from the University of Montreal School
of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in primary care and pediatrics with a minor interest in
Contact Lenses and Orthokeratology. She was interested in seeing how much better the results of
Orthokeratology could be when properly designed lenses are used as well as the extent of prescriptions
that can be addressed. High myopia, hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal
Orthokeratology came as surprise to her, as well as the wide range of ages (not just kids) that
can benefit from Orthokeratology. She will be returning to Ontario Canada to practice upon
graduation where she already has a private practice that she will be joining.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Emir Hadzic from Midwestern University of Arizona College
of Optometry worked with me once again. Interest in Ocular Disease. He correctly identified typical
secondary problems arising from RK surgery. We also had a chance to see, diagnose, and manage a
patient with infectious keratoconjunctivitis. He has an entirely different perspective on contact
lenses, Orthokeratology, corneal gas permeable lenses, and especially scleral lenses. He is not
certain where he will go upon graduation but is hoping to get a position in the VA.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sally Dickinson from University of Waterloo School
of Optometry in Toronto worked with me once again. Sally is interested in contact lenses and
pediatric care. After seeing some of the problems associated with refractive surgery and how
negatively impacted some of the people have been after their surgery, she is reconsidering her
position on refractive surgery. We had a chance to review how I use sophisticated software to
engineer a totally customized gas permeable contact lens specifying thousands of parameters,
and how much more comfortable and improved vision can be using this technology. Orthokeratology
is much more attractive to her now that she understands how effective it is, and the wide range
of prescriptions it can address. She was shocked to find out that Orthokeratology can address
very high myopia prescriptions like -10.00 and even higher. She will return to the Nova Scotia
area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kevin Sorya from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and
Health Sciences School of Optometry worked with me today. Interest in ocular disease, although
after working with me today he told me that he has an entirely different perspective on contact
lenses. He said that he now appreciates what a positive impact contact lenses, in particular
complex rigid lenses, can have on people's lives. Although he is from Montreal, he is planning
on doing a residency next year and then going into practice in either Chicago or Los Angeles.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Amanda Khalil from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me.
She was shocked to see that her thoughts that soft lenses and particularly daily disposable lenses were
fantastic and the "latest and greatest" was totally wrong. Contrary to what she thought she saw that
corneal gas permeable lenses are not "old school" and are in fact superior, desired by patients, and
when fit properly, immediately comfortable. She said that she learned many new things including a much
better understanding of corneal gas permeable lenses and why they have an undeserved bad reputation for
discomfort. She will be practicing in the Connecticut area upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Manpreet Ghuman from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
with me. She has a strong interest in Contact Lenses. She said that she learned many new things, including
a much better understanding of corneal gas permeable lenses and why they have an undeserved bad reputation
for discomfort. She also gained an entirely different perspective on how many more people could benefit
from well fit gas permeable lenses instead of suffering with sub-optimal vision and discomfort with their
soft lenses. She is from the New Jersey area but isn't certain where she will go upon graduation.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michelle Danko from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in primary care Optometry. She was very interested in Orthokeratology and also surprised to
see the range of prescriptions that are well addressed with Orthokeratology. She upon graduation will be
returning back to the Michigan area which is where she is from originally.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jason Davis from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in primary care Optometry. He was very interested in Orthokeratology and also surprised
to see the range of prescriptions that are well addressed with Orthokeratology. He upon graduation will
be returning back to Palm City Florida which is where he is from originally. He will be joining a private
solo practice and then take over that practice.
2016 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry extern Amanda Vail from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in primary care Optometry. She is from Newfoundland but upon graduation
may stay here in Florida.
2017 Optometry Externs
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kelsey Jordan from New England College of Optometry worked with
me today. Interest in ocular disease and contact lenses. We had the opportunity to discuss and see that
in addition to the application of scleral lenses for irregular post surgical corneas, there are times that
a totally customized corneal gas permeable can be a better device and outperform a scleral lens . We also
saw the advantage that Orthokeratology can provide to the contact lens wearer suffering with dry eye
difficulties. She is from New Hampshire and will be returning to the Northeast part of the US upon
completion of a residency next year.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Courteny Stuck from New England College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in ocular disease. She is in the Navy and is not certain where she will be sent
upon graduation. She is tentitvely set to serve in San Diego but there is also a chance she will
be going to Japan.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rachel McInnis from University of Waterloo School of
Optometry in Toronto worked with me today. Rachel is interested in primary eye care. She had many
questions regarding Orthokeratology and now understands the wide range of prescriptions it can address.
She was surprised to find out that Orthokeratology can address very high myopia prescriptions
like -10.00 and even higher. She will return to Ontario upon graduation and already has a position
secured with an Optometric group practice that she will be joining.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michelle Choo from Illinois College of Optometry worked with
me today. Michelle is interested in primary eye care and contact lenses. She had many questions regarding
Orthokeratology and now understands the wide range of prescriptions it can address. She was surprised
to find out that Orthokeratology can address very high myopia prescriptions like -10.00 and even higher,
hyperopia, and even presbyopia. She will return to the Toronto area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Matthew Johnson from New England College of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in primary care and pediatrics. Despite what he was expecting, he was totally
shocked to see a first-time gas permeable lens patient have lenses put on and the patient was totally
comfortable and virtually unaware that the lenses were even on her eyes. Matthew thought it impossible
to be so comfortable with gas permeable lenses literally in a matter of minutes. We also discussed a
great deal regarding scleral lenses and their use. He is from New Hampshire and will be returning to
the Northeast part of the US upon graduation, joining a group practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jessica Sgro from University of Waterloo School of
Optometry in Toronto worked with me today. Jessica is interested in low vision, binocular
vision, and pediatrics. She had many questions regarding Orthokeratology and now understands
the wide range of prescriptions it can address. She was surprised to find out that
Orthokeratology can address very high myopia prescriptions like -10.00 and even higher, as
well as hypermetropia and even presbyopia. She is seeking a residency upon graduation and
then will return to Ontario upon residency completion. After seeing the benefits of gas
permeable lenses today, she is considering how she will incorporate them into her practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Amanda Stout from University of Waterloo School of Optometry
in Toronto worked with me today. Amanda is interested in primary care. She had many questions
regarding Orthokeratology and now understands the wide range of prescriptions it can address.
She was surprised to find out that Orthokeratology can address very high myopia prescriptions
like -10.00 and even higher, as well as hypermetropia and even presbyopia. She will return to
Halifax upon graduation. Although she has not set up any practice situation, she has met with
several practices that she is considering to join.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nadine Ahmed from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
and Health Sciences School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in ocular disease. She has
applied but has not yet been matched for an Ocular Disease residency. She is from Ohio but
upon residency completion she is planning on practicing in either Atlanta or South Florida.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Summer Sayers from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in primary care Optometry. She had the chance to see rather
extreme cases of myopia, hyeropia, and keratoconus addressed incredibly well with corneal
gas permeable lenses. Despite her preconceived idea that these contact lenses are very
uncomfortable, she saw just how comfortable a well fit gas permeable lens can perform.
She now also appreciates how these lenses have been given an inappropriate reputation for
being so uncomfortable and can really serve the general population so well, and even as a
better choice in many instances than a soft lens for very routine prescriptions. She upon
graduation will be returning back to Virginia which is where she is from originally.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jonathan Ulysse from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in ocular disease, and primary care Optometry. He had the
chance to see rather extreme cases of myopia, hyeropia, and keratoconus addressed incredibly
well with corneal gas permeable lenses. Despite his preconceived idea that these contact lenses
are very uncomfortable, he saw just how comfortable a well fit gas permeable lens can perform.
He now also appreciates how these lenses have been given an inappropriate reputation for being
so uncomfortable and can really serve the general population so well, and even as a better choice
in many instances than a soft lens for very routine prescriptions. He is now reconsidering why
he has failed with his soft contact lenses in the past due to discomfort and how a gas permeable
would be a better choice to achieve contact lens comfort and success. He upon graduation will
be staying here in South Florida which is where he is from originally.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Aaron Thomas from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in primary care Optometry. We had the chance to see a
variety of Orthokeratology cases and he was very intrigued as to how to incorporate this
into a general primary care practice. We discussed that the Vision By Design meeting put
on by the AAOMC would be a great place for him to begin building his knowledge about O
rthokeratology. Although he is from Illinois, upon graduation will be looking to
practice in Columbus Ohio.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bhavisha Patel from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in ocular disease, cornea, and surgical comanagement. We
had the chance to see a variety of Orthokeratology cases. We also had the chance to discuss
many of the problems that can arise from refractive surgical procedures.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Susy Wolski from Inter American University of Puerto Rico,
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in specialty contact lenses. She had no idea that
Orthokeratology can work so well or so rapidly. She saw a lovely eight year old girl that came
into the office with 20/200 uncorrected vision, with just two hours in her custom designed
Orthokeratology lenses achieve 20/20 uncorrected vision. She found this to be nothing short of
miraculous. After spending the day with me and now understanding what needs to be done to
customize a proper contact lens design to create the best Orthokeratology result, she is excited
to learn all that she can regarding Orthokeratology. She also came to understand that she has a
great deal to learn so that she can deliver superior contact lens services. She is from the West
Palm Beach area and will likely practice in the South Florida area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Devin Wieseckel from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see the aftermath of
refractive surgery that initially provided good results (for about 10 years ) but has now left
the patient with horrible vision and has failed to achieve any resolution through any means thus
far. She has been to several expert scleral lens fitters, but was unable to wear the lenses due
to discomfort. We will be fitting a custom corneal gas permeable lens that will restore much of
the quality of her vision and life while also providing excellent wearing comfort. Devin began
to understand just how difficult and complex these situations can be to resolve. Although he is
from Wisconsin, upon graduation will be looking to practice in Atlanta Georgia in a
group MD/OD practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Charlton Butts from New England College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see the aftermath of refractive
surgery that initially provided good results (for about 10 years) but has now left the patient
with horrible vision and has failed to achieve any resolution through any means thus far. She
has been to several expert scleral lens fitters, but was unable to wear the lenses due to discomfort.
We will be fitting a custom corneal gas permeable lens that will restore much of the quality of her
vision and life while also providing excellent wearing comfort. Charlton began to understand just
how difficult and complex these situations can be to resolve. He has a strong appreciation for
need and value of specialty contact lenses, in particular, corneal gas permeable contact lenses
and is still considering following this instead of disease in his professional career path. Upon
graduation will be looking to practice in South Florida, possibly in the Lake Worth area.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Melissa Schiffer from Midwestern University
of Arizona College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Low Vision and Ocular Disease.
She did a fine job with her knowledge base of corneal transplants. She was a bit surprised
to see the benefits of corneal gas permeable lenses and how quickly they are comfortable and
is rethinking their use for the general population. We also had the chance to see several
different scleral lens fits including a custom multifocal scleral lens for a patient that is
suffering horrible vision from Radial Keratotomy, Astgmatic Keratotomy, LASIK, cataract surgery
with an implant, and retinal repair surgery that now was achieving 20/30 vision with this very
first scleral lens design. She has already been accepted to a Low Vision residency upon graduation
in a couple of months. She will practice in either Arizona or return ro Wisconsin which is where
she is from originally.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Caryn Tsao from Inter American University of
Puerto Rico, School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in primary care Optometry. She
did very well assessing a corneal gas permeable lens fit on a patient. She is still open
to learning more about specialty contact lenses and incorporating them into her practice.
She is from Maryland and will return there upon graduation to take over her parents optical store.
2017 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Van Luong from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
with me. Van is interested in contact lenses and really enjoyed seeing what can be accomplished
with custom designed scleral lenses. She had the opportunity to see the devastating aftermath
of failed refractive surgery and how custom scleral multifocals were able to bring back usable
vision while providing full day comfortable wear. She will return to the Pennsylvania area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Grace Choi from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
with me. Grace isn't yet certain what type of care she is interested in concentrating her practice
on but after spending the day with me, gas permeable lenses are appearing much more interesting.
She had the opportunity to see the devastating aftermath of failed refractive surgery and how custom
scleral multifocals were able to bring back usable vision while providing full day comfortable wear.
She will return to the New Jersey area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Alice Lim from Pennsylvania College of Optometry
worked with me. Alice is interested in contact lenses and really enjoyed seeing what can
be accomplished with custom designed scleral lenses. She had the opportunity to see the
devastating aftermath of failed refractive surgery and how custom scleral multifocals
were able to bring back usable vision while providing full day comfortable wear. She is
from the Pennsylvania area and will return there upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jamie Blavat from Illinois College of Optometry
worked with me. Jamie is interested in cornea and contact lenses. She had the opportunity
to see the devastating aftermath of failed refractive surgery and how custom scleral
multifocals were able to bring back usable vision while providing full day comfortable
wear. She also sharply diagnosed a Stargardt's patient and was amazed at how well this
fellow has adapted to the vision loss. She will return to the Wisconsin area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Grace Choi from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked
once again with me. Grace isn't yet certain what type of care she is interested in concentrating
her practice on but after spending the day with me, gas permeable lenses are appearing much more
interesting. She had the opportunity to see the devastating aftermath of failed refractive
surgery and how custom scleral multifocals were able to bring back usable vision while providing
full day comfortable wear. She also thought that the high myopia patient with -15 diopters that we
saw that day is about as high as myopia goes until we also saw the extremely high myopia patient
with -34 diopters that day. Both of these very myopic patients are enjoying comfortable clear
vision all day long with their custom corneal gas permeable lenses. We also had the opportunity
to see Orthokeratology in action containing and totally stopping myopic progression in two young
children while also providing them clear uncorrected vision all day long. Grace will return to
the New Jersey area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bonnie Rosenberg from University of the
Incarnate Word San Antonio Texas Rosenberg School of Optometry worked with me. Bonnie
is interested in ocular disease and is already set for her ocular disease residency in
New Jersey upon graduation in a couple of months. She had the opportunity to see the
devastating aftermath of failed refractive surgery and how custom scleral multifocals
were able to bring back usable vision while providing full day comfortable wear. She
also thought that the high myopia patient with -15 diopters that we saw that day is
about as high as myopia goes until we also saw the extremely high myopia patient
with -34 diopters that day. Both of these very myopic patients are enjoying comfortable
clear vision all day long with their custom corneal gas permeable lenses. We also had
the opportunity to see Orthokeratology in action containing and totally stopping myopic
progression in two young children while also providing them clear uncorrected vision
all day long. Although she is from Maryland she plans on practicing in New Jersey upon
completion of her residency.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Charlton Butts from New England College
of Optometry worked with me once again. Interest in Ocular Disease but is becoming
more interested in contact lenses. He had the chance to see the horrible results and
negative impact that radial keratotomy (RK) had on a patient's life. We will be fitting
a custom scleral gas permeable lens that will restore much of the quality of her vision
and life while also providing excellent wearing comfort. Charlton began to understand
just how difficult and complex these situations can be to resolve. He has a strong
appreciation for need and value of specialty contact lenses, in particular, corneal
gas permeable contact lenses and is still considering following this instead of disease
in his professional career path. He also astutely diagnosed a patient with Terrien's
Marginal Degeneration that has done exceptionally well with a pair of custom designed
multifocal scleral lenses for the past nine years. Upon graduation will be looking to
practice in South Florida, possibly in the Lake Worth area.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Van Phan from New England College of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Primary Care. We had a lengthy discussion clarifying the advantages that
corneal gas permeable lenses provide as compared to soft disposable lenses. She had the chance
to see the horrible results and negative impact that radial keratotomy (RK) had on a patient's
life. We will be fitting a custom scleral gas permeable lens that will restore much of the
quality of her vision and life while also providing excellent wearing comfort. Van began to
understand just how difficult and complex these situations can be to resolve. Upon graduation
she will be looking to practice in Massachusetts, which is where she is from, in
an OD group practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Grace Choi from Pennsylvania College of Optometry
worked yet again with me. Grace isn't yet certain what type of care she is interested in
concentrating her practice on but after spending these days with me she now knows that
gas permeable lenses are going to be part of her practice. She had the opportunity to see
the devastating aftermath of failed refractive surgery and how custom scleral multifocals
were able to bring back usable vision while providing full day comfortable wear. Grace now
understands just how complicated the post-surgical cornea can become and complex the
considerations are to resolve these issues while maintaining good eye health. Grace will
return to the New Jersey area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Van Luong from Pennsylvania College of Optometry
worked with me once again. Van is interested in contact lenses and really enjoyed seeing
what can be accomplished with custom designed scleral lenses. She had the opportunity to
see the devastating aftermath of failed refractive surgery and how custom scleral multifocals
were able to bring back usable vision while providing full day comfortable wear. We discussed
many of the issues that arise after radial keratotomy (RK) surgery and LASIK surgery. We also
compared standard Orthokeratology lenses with increased benefits of a totally unique custom
designed lens. She will return to the Pennsylvania area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jamie Blavat from Illinois College of Optometry
worked once again with me. Jamie is interested in cornea and contact lenses. She had the
opportunity to see the devastating aftermath of failed refractive surgery and how custom
scleral multifocals were able to bring back usable vision while providing full day comfortable
wear. She is now fascinated with corneal gas permeable lenses and has begun to understand why
so many people have an inappropriate bad experience with them. Understanding the complexities
of the cornea and being able to design and manufacture a truly proper gas permeable lens is the
key to create a very comfortable lens. She will return to the Wisconsin area upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jacqueline Zapata from Inter American University of
Puerto Rico, School of Optometry worked with me. Jacqueline is interested in Geriatric and Low
Vision eye care. She was rather shocked to see how comfortable a lady was in her gas permeable
lenses especially since I had refit her from soft contact lenses. Prior to seeing this she thought
that gas permeable lenses must be very difficult to tolerate and that no one wearing a soft contact
lens would ever be able to make that transition. She is from, and will return to the
Miami area, upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Brandon Lee from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in primary care. We had the chance to see the aftermath of refractive
surgery that left several patients with horribly distorted vision. Functional vision was brought
back to these patients with both custom corneal gas permeable lenses and custom scleral gas
permeable lenses. We also saw many Orthokeratology patients enjoying clear uncorrected vision.
One of the Orthokeratology patients was a very high myope - well over -10.00. Although he is from
Canada, upon graduation he will stay in the South Florida area to practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ryan Kazakow from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in sports vision, vision therapy, and scleral lenses.
We had the chance to see the aftermath of refractive surgery resolved with complex custom
multifocal corneal gas permeable lenses, a very advanced Orthokeratology case for high
myopia and astigmatism, and a very special contact application for a teenage girl that
suffers with microcornea making her eye appear deformed. Using a custom handpainted contact
lens to hide the deformity and provide a normal looking eye that matches her other eye has
made this girl feel wonderful about her appearance. Ryan is from Calgary Canada and already
has a position lined up with a five doctor practice, upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Karen Choi from New England College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in primary care. We had the chance to see many Orthokeratology
patients ranging from young myopia control kids to high myopia with astigmatism and
presbyopic (needing reading glasses) adults all doing well with no need for any glasses
at all. We also saw a patient that suffered very distorted vision from radial keratotomy
(RK) surgery and Lasik that now has the opportunity to function with more normal vision
thanks to the custom multifocal scleral lenses that I designed for him. She is from
Boston / New York area and will practice there upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alexa Gutierrez from New England College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in primary care. We had the chance to see many Orthokeratology
patients ranging from young myopia control kids to high myopia with astigmatism and presbyopic
(needing reading glasses) adults all doing well with no need for any glasses at all. We also saw
a patient that suffered very distorted vision from radial keratotomy (RK) surgery and Lasik that
now has the opportunity to function with more normal vision thanks to the custom multifocal
scleral lenses that I designed for him. She is from Nebraska but is not yet certain where she
will practice there upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Angela Fabiano from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in contact lenses and ocular disease. We had the chance to
see Orthokeratology patients that sparked her interest in learning more about this wonderful
treatment option. It is not just for kids and myopia control but also very effective for adults.
She understood quickly how complicated prescribing contact lenses and spectacles can be and
said that this lesson was very informative. We also saw how horrible a result can occur from
multiple refractive surgical procedures and more normal visual function as well as the
incapacitating dry eye could be addressed with a custom scleral lens. Although she is from
Toronto Canada she is not certain where she will practice upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Brij Patel from University of Waterloo School of
Optometry in Toronto worked with me. Brij is interested in specialty contact lenses and
Binocular Vision. We had the chance to see high myopia addressed with Orthokeratology,
several children having their myopia controlled with Orthokeratology, and some post Lasik
patients that have suffered many problems now resolved with corneal and scleral gas
permeable lenses. He is from Toronto Canada and will return there to practice upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Supan Parikh from Waterloo School of Optometry in
Toronto worked with me. Supan is interested in contact lenses and Low Vision. We had the chance
to see high myopia addressed with Orthokeratology, several children having their myopia controlled
with Orthokeratology, and some post Lasik patients that have suffered many problems now resolved
with corneal and scleral gas permeable lenses. He is from Toronto Canada and will return there
to practice upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Marina Abdalla from Nova Southeastern College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in Pediatrics, and Vision Therapy. We had the chance to
see the aftermath of refractive surgery causing binocular vision disfunction leading to
unrelenting headaches. Through the use of well fit gas permeable lenses, the binocular
vision disfunction is resolving and overall visual performance has improved. This will
lead to alleviation of the headaches. Although Marina is from here in South Florida,
she is not certain where she will practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Fernando Elias from New England College of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in Specialty Contact Lenses, Ocular Disease, and Low Vision.
He was surprised to see binocular vision problems leading to unrelenting headaches result from
an apparently good result from Lasik. He is from Miami but is not yet certain where he will
practice upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Laudy El-Howayek from Inter American University of
Puerto Rico, School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in ocular disease. She had no idea that
Orthokeratology would work so well to address both myopia and presbyopia yet we saw a 75 year old
lady that I have maintained success with Orthokeratology for the past 21 years. We also saw a
few advanced Keratoconus patients doing well with both corneal gas permeable lenses and scleral
gas permeable lenses. She will be returning to Canada upon graduation and intends on opening a
private practice in Quebec.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kyle Koubec from Illinois College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in ocular disease and family practice. He had no idea that
Orthokeratology would work so well to address both myopia and presbyopia yet we saw
a 75 year old lady that I have maintained success with Orthokeratology for the past
21 years. We also saw a few advanced Keratoconus patients doing well with both corneal
gas permeable lenses and scleral gas permeable lenses. He will be returning to Cleveland
Ohio upon graduation and will be joining an group Optometry/Ophthalmology practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Danielle McCaffrey from Nova Southeastern
College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see
several Orthokeratology patients along with problems created by Lasik and a poor result
from a toric implanted intraocular lens. Gas permeable lenses provides resolution to these
issues while allowing more normal visual function. Danielle is from New York and plans on
returning to New York and going into private practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Pam Chang from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Primary Care Optometry. We had the chance to see several Orthokeratology
patients along with problems created by Lasik and a poor result from a toric implanted intraocular
lens. Gas permeable lenses provides resolution to these issues while allowing more normal visual
function. She is planning on resolving her own contact lens problems by having me refit her into
Orthokeratology. Pam is from Brazil but plans on moving to California and going into private practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Amanda Atallah from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Primary Care Optometry. We had the chance to see several Orthokeratology
patients along with a gentleman with a corneal disease called Terrien's Marginal Degeneration. Although
this disease has caused extensive visual distortion that best corrects with spectacles to only 20/400,
he has benefited from custom Scleral Multifocal contact lenses that provide him 20/20 vision and the
ability to read the smallest of print. Amanda was surprised to find out the wide range of prescriptions
that can be addressed with Orthokeratology. Amanda is from Toronto Canada but is not yet certain where
she will practice after she graduates.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Isabella Roma from Illinois College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Primary Care Optometry. She is also interested in geriatric care.
We had the chance to see several Orthokeratology patients along with a gentleman with a corneal
disease called Terrien's Marginal Degeneration. Although this disease has caused extensive visual
distortion that best corrects with spectacles to only 20/400, he has benefited from custom Scleral
Multifocal contact lenses that provide him 20/20 vision and the ability to read the smallest of
print. Isabella is from Maryland and upon graduation will return to that area.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ioan Ciocotisan from Pennsylvania College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Primary Care Optometry. We had the chance to see several Orthokeratology
patients along with physician with a corneal disease called Keratoconus, a very high myope that gave
up on his soft lenses due to constant redness and poor vision and went into very comfortable corneal
gas permeable multifocal lenses, and a woman who has failed miserably in soft lenses due to discomfort
go into Hyperopic Multifocal Orthokeratology that in just 2 hours in the office gave good uncorrected
vision at distance and near. She also commented that the gas permeable lenses were much more comfortable
than the soft lenses. Ioan is from New Jersey and upon graduation will return to the tristate area.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Allie Kaminek from Pennsylvania College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in NeuroOptometry. We had the chance to see several Orthokeratology patients
along with physician with a corneal disease called Keratoconus, a very high myope that gave up on his
soft lenses due to constant redness and poor vision and went into very comfortable corneal gas permeable
multifocal lenses, and a woman who has failed miserably in soft lenses due to discomfort go into Hyperopic
Multifocal Orthokeratology that in just 2 hours in the office gave good uncorrected vision at distance and
near. She also commented that the gas permeable lenses were much more comfortable than the soft lenses.
Allie is from New Jersey and upon graduation will return to that area or perhaps Philadelphia.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Daniel O'Dowd from New England College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Primary Care but is also interested in contact lenses and being an
Orthokeratology patient himself for more than a dozen years, specifically interested in
Orthokeratology. He was very surprised to see the extensive range of prescriptions that can
be well addressed with Orthokeratology, including Multifocal Orthokeratology for both myopia
and hyperopia. He had the chance to see the poor results that Lasik had on a patient's life.
This patient is now successfully wearing custom Multifocal Scleral lenses to provide a more
normal quality of life. We also had the chance to see two patients each with an eye disfigurement
that are wearing custom hand painted lenses to provide a totally normal appearance. He is from
North Carolina but upon graduation will be looking to practice in South Florida.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jules Shelton from New England College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Primary Care and contact lenses. She was very surprised to see the
extensive range of prescriptions that can be well addressed with Orthokeratology, including
Multifocal Orthokeratology for both myopia and hyperopia. She had the chance to see the poor
results that Lasik had on a patient's life. This patient is now successfully wearing custom
Multifocal Scleral lenses to provide a more normal quality of life. We also had the chance
to see two patients each with an eye disfigurement that are wearing custom hand painted lenses
to provide a totally normal appearance. She is from New York but upon graduation isn't certain
yet where she will practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Yehia Jadayel from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with
me. Yehia hasn't yet decided what he is primarily interested and spending time with me certainly
sparked his interest in contact lenses. We had the chance to see high myopia addressed with
Orthokeratology, extremely high myopia addressed with customized corneal gas permeable lenses,
and several children having their myopia controlled with Orthokeratology. He is from Ottawa Canada
and will return there to practice upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Grace Ramos from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in Primary Care and Pediatrics. We had the chance to see a very
high farsighted prescription (+19.00 diopters) as well as a very high nearsighted prescription
(-34.00 diopters) equally well addressed with gas permeable contact lenses. We also saw a woman
whom has failed in every contact lens option she has tried due to dryness, now successfully be fit
into a pair of custom scleral multifocal contact lenses. Grace had no idea that Orthokeratology
would work so well to address both hyperopia and presbyopia. Grace is from Puerto Rico but is
possibly going to practice in Georgia upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kelsey Sterk from Midwestern University Arizona School of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see a very high farsighted prescription
(+19.00 diopters) as well as a very high nearsighted prescription (-34.00 diopters) equally well
addressed with gas permeable contact lenses. We also saw a woman whom has failed in every contact
lens option she has tried due to dryness, now successfully be fit into a pair of custom scleral
multifocal contact lenses. Kelsey had no idea that Orthokeratology would work so well to address
both hyperopia and presbyopia. Kelsey is from Iowa but is possibly going to practice in Arizona
upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Melanie Hong from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see the aftermath of cataract surgery that left two
patients very unhappy now functioning much better with custom gas permeable multifocal contact lenses.
We also saw Orthokeratology patients enjoying clear uncorrected vision. One of the Orthokeratology
patients was in custom multifocal myopic Orthokeratology. We also saw a physician suffering with
advanced Keratoconus doing very well in his custom multifocal gas permeable contact lenses. Melanie
came to understand why in this case the corneal gas permeable contact lens was a much better choice
than scleral contact lenses. Upon graduation she will return to Montreal Canada where she is
from, to practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Swati Kumar from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see very diverse applications of rigid corneal
and scleral contact lenses. We saw Keratoconus, post refractive surgical ectasia, and a wide
distribution of prescriptions and ages all addressed very successfully with Orthokeratology.
Swati was surprised to find out that Hyperopic Multifocal Orthokeratology was even possible
much less how many years that I have providing this treatment. We spoke with one patient that
had failed miserably over the course of 5 years with several different doctors in every contact
lens that was tried. Despite all of these failures, and the fact that she suffers with Sjogrens
Syndrome, she has been exceptionally successful with her Hyperopic Multifocal Orthokeratology.
She is from Chicago but upon graduation isn't certain yet where she will practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Evelyn Zhang from University of Waterloo School of Optometry worked with
me. Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see very diverse applications of rigid corneal
and scleral contact lenses. We saw Keratoconus, post refractive surgical ectasia, and a wide distribution
of prescriptions and ages all addressed very successfully with Orthokeratology. Evelyn was surprised to
find out that Hyperopic Multifocal Orthokeratology was even possible much less how many years that I
have providing this treatment. We spoke with one patient that had failed miserably over the course of
5 years with several different doctors in every contact lens that was tried. Despite all of these
failures, and the fact that she suffers with Sjogrens Syndrome, she has been exceptionally successful
with her Hyperopic Multifocal Orthokeratology. Evelyn was also surprised by the fact that I was able
to diagnose her personal difficulties with contact lenses without even examining her. She is now
considering being refit with a much better contact lens option. She is from Ontario but upon
graduation will practice in either Ontario or Alberta.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ioan Ciocotisan from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Primary Care Optometry. We had the chance to see a physician with a corneal disease called Keratoconus
who is now doing very well with a custom Multifocal corneal gas permeable contact lens. We also saw a
gentleman that had been referred a couple of years ago because his left eye never achieved vision better
than 20/80 even with the best glasses prescription. He was also dealing with Presbyopia. He was fit with
custom Multifocal Orthokeratology lenses to normalize the irregularity of his left eye. He, for the past
two years has enjoyed 20/25 uncorrected vision in his left eye while also being able to read clearly in
both eyes. He commented his vision has never been better and he can't believe that he need not wear
anything to help his vision all day long. Ioan is from New Jersey and upon graduation will return
to the tristate area.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Allie Kaminek from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in NeuroOptometry. We had the chance to see a physician with a corneal disease called
Keratoconus, who is now doing very well with a custom Multifocal corneal gas permeable contact lens.
We also a young man that traveled from South Korea because he has been totally disabled visually
from the poor results of his LASIK procedure. He exhausted all the resources locally and after
seeing many physicians with many different treatments, he has still been unable to function. With
custom Scleral contact lenses he is now functioning normally once again. Allie is from New Jersey
and upon graduation will return to that area or perhaps Philadelphia.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Yehia Jadayel from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Yehia hasn't yet decided what he is primarily interested and spending time with me certainly sparked his
interest in contact lenses. We had the chance to see high myopia addressed with Orthokeratology, Hyperopic
with extremely high astigmatism addressed with customized corneal gas permeable lenses, and a few children
having their myopia controlled with Orthokeratology. He is from Ottawa Canada and will return there to
practice upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kelsey Sterk from Midwestern University Arizona School of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see a very nice lady that traveled in from
California with the hope of bringing back some level of normal visual function. She has had radial
keratotomy and astigmatic keratotomy surgery that provided good vision for about 20 years. When vision
became poor, she had LASIK surgery and did fairly well, until she developed cataracts in each eye. After
cataract surgery she lost her functional vision and it was not possible to improve the vision through any
means attempted. She failed with everything, including several contact lens options such as Scleral lenses,
at improving her vision and became totally dependent on friends' helping her get through daily activities.
She is now wearing some custom Scleral lenses that have been able to bring back much of her vision. It
appears that she will be independent once again with the help of these very special lenses. Kelsey is
from Iowa but is possibly going to practice in Arizona upon graduation.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Poonam Agrawal from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Pediatric Care and Vision Therapy. We had the chance to see the aftermath of cataract surgery
done after LASIK that left a woman visually disabled. She is now doing well with custom Scleral contact
lenses that she is able to wear comfortably for her entire day. We also saw a patient with Keratoconus
doing very well in custom Multifocal corneal gas permeable lenses. Poonam commented that the application
and the fact that gas permeable lenses are so incredibly versatile and comfortable, came as a complete
shock, and is now rethinking their uses for when she begins practice. She is from Canada but upon
graduation wants to start practice in Pennsylvania.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Levi Varghesi from MCPHS University (Massachusetts) worked with me. Interest
in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see a patient that had LASIK, was fairly satisfied with his vision,
but has been totally debilitated by headaches since the LASIK procedure. There are many possible causes for
these symptoms, but this patient's symptoms have been relieved with custom Scleral contact lenses. Levi was
surprised to see how comfortable corneal gas permeable lenses can be and now understands that these lenses
can really supply superior benefit to many people in the general population. They need not be reserved only
for people with irregular corneas, like Keratoconus. He is from Florida and upon graduation plans on
returning to the Lakeland area of Florida to practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rodrigo Aristizabal from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see several Orthokeratology patients today.
Prior to today, Rodrigo believed Orthokeratology had very limited prescriptions that it could address.
He now understands why he was taught such limited applications and saw just how Orthokeratology can
address very high prescriptions both for myopia and hyperopia. Even how it can address Presbyopia. We
also saw how Scleral lenses were able to bring back more normal vision when dealing with Keratoconus
and also post LASIK ectasia. He is now much more interested in fitting gas permeable contact lenses. He
is from Florida and upon graduation will stay here in Florida to practice with his mother in Hialeah.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nageena Parasher from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care and Low Vision. We had the chance to see several Orthokeratology patients including
a highly myopic child with very high astigmatism, Hyperopic Presbyopic gentleman, young woman in her early
20s, and a man in his late 20s, all doing very well with their Orthokeratology results. We also saw a woman
that has failed to achieve good vision and comfortable wear with contact lenses after more than a year of
trying countless contact lens options. She is now doing well with custom Scleral Multifocal contact lenses
that she is able to wear comfortably for her entire day. We also saw a young man that has had a devastating
result from LASIK now have his life restored to him with custom Scleral contact lenses. She is from Tampa
Florida and upon graduation plans to return there but she may first do a residency.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Micheline Rajha from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see a nice lady wearing custom gas permeable Multifocal
contact lenses to address her myopia of -10D and her Presbyopia. Micheline was surprised to see someone
with such high myopia and to learn that this lady was refit into these gas permeable lenses after being
a successful soft lens wearer for about 3 decades. She had thought it impossible due to the reputation
that gas permeable lenses are uncomfortable yet this lady had no discomfort at all with her gas permeable
contact lenses. We also saw a young man that has been very successful with Orthokeratology for the past
15 years and was looking forward to learning much more about Orthokeratology. Micheline is from
Pennsylvania and upon graduation will return to that area to practice.
2017 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Il Kim from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see a nice lady wearing custom gas permeable
Multifocal contact lenses to address her myopia of -10D and her Presbyopia. Il was surprised
to see someone with such high myopia and to learn that this lady was refit into these gas
permeable lenses after being a successful soft lens wearer for about 3 decades. He had thought
it impossible due to the reputation that gas permeable lenses are uncomfortable yet this lady
had no discomfort at all with her gas permeable contact lenses. We also saw a young man that
has been very successful with Orthokeratology for the past 15 years and was looking forward
to learning much more about Orthokeratology. He is also now rethinking his contact lens options.
Il is from Maryland and upon graduation is considering a Contact Lens residency. He is not
certain where he will practice.
2017 Optometry Residents
2017 Optometry Resident
Dr. Samantha Rao is the Nova Southeastern College of Optometry Cornea and
Contact Lens Resident and she came to work with me. She was primarily interested in learning
about the Wave contact lens design system. She was both impressed and amazed by how efficient
and complex lenses can be designed utilizing the Wave technology. Wave allows lens design to
include features that are not possible to achieve through any other means. Multi focal optics,
front and back toricity, rotational asymmetric surfaces, and decentered zones are all possible
in corneal and scleral designs.
2017 Optometry Resident
Dr. Calista Ming is the Nova Southeastern College of Optometry Cornea and
Contact Lens Resident and she came to work with me. She was primarily interested in learning
about the Wave contact lens design system and specialty contact lenses. She was amazed by how
well a Wave lens can be contoured to fit even the most irregularly shaped corneas to create a
harmonious relationship between the back of the lens and the front of the cornea. Wave allows
lens design to include features that are not possible to achieve through any other means.
Multifocal optics, front and back toricity, rotational asymmetric surfaces, and decentered zones
are all possible in corneal and scleral designs. Upon finishing her residency in a few weeks she
will relocate to the Los Angeles area to practice.
2018 Optometry Externs
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Hope Vinogradov from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Pediatrics and possibly Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see several post
refractive surgical patients including post LASIK and post RK ( Radial Keratotomy). After the examinations,
one young LASIK patient was going to be fit into custom Scleral lenses to address the aberrated vision and
the very compromised tear film. The next LASIK patient was going to be fit into custom Scleral Multifocal
lenses to address the aberrated vision, the painfully dry eyes, and the Presbyopia. The very nice lady
suffering from high Hyperopic Astigmatism and Presbyopia all after her RK surgery is being fit into custom
Multifocal gas permeable contacts. Hope is from Kentucky and upon graduation is hopefully going to be in a
Pediatrics residency. After that she plans on practicing in Tennessee.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Stacey Flynt from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses and Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see very diverse applications of rigid corneal
and scleral contact lenses. We saw post refractive surgical ectasia, and a wide distribution of
prescriptions and ages all addressed very successfully with custom corneal and Scleral gas permeable lenses.
Stacey and her fellow extern correctly devised a troubleshooting solution to a Multifocal problem. Stacey
is from upstate New York and plans on staying in the Northeast after hopefully getting an ocular disease residency.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Patricia Yassa from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see very diverse applications of rigid corneal
and scleral contact lenses. We saw post refractive surgical ectasia, and a wide distribution of
prescriptions and ages all addressed very successfully with custom corneal and Scleral gas
permeable lenses. Patricia and her fellow extern correctly devised a troubleshooting solution
to a Multifocal problem. Patricia is from Canada and upon graduation isn't sure where she would like to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Joel Trinidad from University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio Texas
Rosenberg School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a gentleman that
has a corneal transplant that has a very irregular surface while also being a " proud" graft. Proud
grafts can be very challenging to fit a lens on because the central portion of the cornea is bulging
so far forward. Without a contact lens the vision in this eye is very distorted and therefore provides
no usable vision. Many contact lens attempts from several different doctors have all failed. All of
the corneal gas permeable lenses tried so far all fall off of his eye. The Scleral lenses already tried
all failed because they fog within 30 minutes of being put on the eye. Dr. Maller designed a custom
gas permeable lens that not only stays on his eye comfortably and successfully for 14 hours per day
but also provides 20/ 25 vision. Joel was surprised to see a corneal gas permeable lens perform so well.
Joel is from Texas and plans on staying in the Texas after hopefully getting a residency in Ocular Disease.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kim Hsiao from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease and Community Health. We saw a gentleman that has a corneal transplant
that has a very irregular surface while also being a " proud" graft. Proud grafts can be very
challenging to fit a lens on because the central portion of the cornea is bulging so far forward.
Without a contact lens the vision in this eye is very distorted and therefore provides no usable
vision. Many contact lens attempts from several different doctors have all failed. All of the
corneal gas permeable lenses tried so far all fall off of his eye. The Scleral lenses already
tried all failed because they fog within 30 minutes of being put on the eye. Dr. Maller designed
a custom gas permeable lens that not only stays on his eye comfortably and successfully for 14
hours per day but also provides 20/ 25 vision. Kim was surprised to see a corneal gas permeable
lens perform so well. Kim is from Kansas and plans on staying in the Massachusetts area after graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Zachary Walburg from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw many Orthokeratology patients. Young kids that were in
Orthokeratology to arrest the progression of myopia along with adults with high astigmatism and
Presbyopia using Orthokeratology as their form of vision correction so no vision appliances are
needed for any of their daily activities. We also saw a young woman with Keratoconus that has
been wearing soft toric lenses that have only provided rather poor vision and stressed her corneas
for oxygen. With her first view through her new custom designed gas permeable lenses she became
very excited because her vision was so clear. She was also expecting to be somewhat uncomfortable
because of all she had heard about gas permeable lenses. She commented that she was surprised how
comfortable the lenses were right from the start. Zachary is from Florida and upon graduation
will be in an Ocular Disease residency. He is not certain where he will practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sabina Oboukova from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw many Orthokeratology
patients. Young kids that were in Orthokeratology to arrest the progression of myopia along with
adults with high astigmatism and Presbyopia using Orthokeratology as their form of vision correction
so no vision appliances are needed for any of their daily activities. We also saw a young woman with
Keratoconus that has been wearing soft toric lenses that have only provided rather poor vision and
stressed her corneas for oxygen. With her first view through her new custom designed gas permeable
lenses she became very excited because her vision was so clear. She was also expecting to be somewhat
uncomfortable because of all she had heard about gas permeable lenses. She commented that she was
surprised how comfortable the lenses were right from the start. Sabina is from Kazakhstan and upon
graduation is considering an Ocular Disease residency. She will practice in either New York or Florida.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jack Abraham from University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio Texas Rosenberg
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Primary Care, Ocular Disease, and Contact Lenses. We saw a
very nice young woman with Keratoconus that has been seeing poorly with her soft toric contact lenses.
Additionally, the soft lenses were causing oxygen deprivation problems for her corneas and causing blood
vessels to grow into her corneas. She now has been refit into a custom corneal gas permeable contact lens
that provides her great comfort, much improved vision, and a much healthier situation for her corneas
because they now get a much better supply of oxygen. Jack is from California but plans to stay in Texas.
He may do a residency upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Dana Smart from University of Waterloo School of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw several Orthokeratology patients ranging in age from 8 to 69. In
addition to the wonderful benefit Orthokeratology offers to control myopia progression, it became very
clear that this is effective vision correction for those that don't want to wear spectacles or contact
lenses. Even when reading glasses are needed, Orthokeratology can eliminate the need for the reading
glasses too. It even acts as an effective treatment for dry eye. Dana was surprised to find out the
range of prescriptions that can successfully be addressed with Orthokeratology including Hyperopic
Multifocal Orthokeratology even being possible much less how many years that I have providing this
treatment. We also saw the aftermath of how negatively refractive surgery can impact someone, and
how their quality of life can suffer. This particular woman had traveled from Idaho to see Dr. Maller
because none of the doctors locally could find and provide any functional solution to her vision problems
so that she would have usable vision, allowing her a visually non-handicapped life. She failed with all
of the contact lenses that were tried, including corneal gas permeable lenses and several Scleral lenses.
Dr. Maller has already designed a pair of custom corneal gas permeable lenses that she is wearing comfortably
for the entire day while providing good vision. Dana is from Canada and upon graduation will practice in Ontario.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Hilary Moores from University of Waterloo School of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in everything right now and after spending time with Dr. Maller, found contact lenses very
intriguing. We saw several Orthokeratology patients ranging in age from 8 to 69. In addition to the wonderful
benefit Orthokeratology offers to control myopia progression, it became very clear that this is effective
vision correction for those that don't want to wear spectacles or contact lenses. Even when reading glasses
are needed, Orthokeratology can eliminate the need for the reading glasses too. It even acts as an effective
treatment for dry eye. Hilary was surprised to find out the range of prescriptions that can successfully be
addressed with Orthokeratology including Hyperopic Multifocal Orthokeratology even being possible much less
how many years that I have providing this treatment. We also saw the aftermath of how negatively refractive
surgery can impact someone, and how their quality of life can suffer. This particular woman had traveled from
Idaho to see Dr. Maller because none of the doctors locally could find and provide any functional solution to
her vision problems so that she would have usable vision, allowing her a visually non-handicapped life. She
failed with all of the contact lenses that were tried, including corneal gas permeable lenses and several
Scleral lenses. Dr. Maller has already designed a pair of custom corneal gas permeable lenses that she is
wearing comfortably for the entire day while providing good vision. Hilary is from Canada and upon graduation
will practice in Newfoundland.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Erin Walsh from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see several post refractive surgical patients including
post LASIK and post RK ( Radial Keratotomy) patients all suffering with various vision problems that
cannot be resolved with glasses. After the examinations, one of the dry eye visually distorted RK patients
was going to be fit into custom corneal gas permeable lenses to address the aberrated vision and the
very compromised tear film. Another very nice lady suffering from high Hyperopic Astigmatism and Presbyopia
all after her RK surgery is being fit into custom Multifocal gas permeable contacts. We then saw a woman
with a very large eye turn that cosmetically bothers her. A custom hand painted contact lens is being worn
to make the eyes appear straight. No one looking at her would have any idea that her eye is so dramatically
turned. We also saw Orthokeratology for the older population. A man about 60 years old and a woman that is
75 years old were both doing very well using myopic Multifocal Orthokeratology to provide great uncorrected
vision all day long. Erin is from North Carolina and upon graduation isn't certain where she would like to
practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Henry Gates from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see several post refractive surgical patients including
post LASIK and post RK ( Radial Keratotomy) patients all suffering with various vision problems that
cannot be resolved with glasses. After the examinations, one of the dry eye visually distorted RK patients
was going to be fit into custom corneal gas permeable lenses to address the aberrated vision and the very
compromised tear film. Another very nice lady suffering from high Hyperopic Astigmatism and Presbyopia all
after her RK surgery is being fit into custom Multifocal gas permeable contacts. We then saw a woman with
a very large eye turn that cosmetically bothers her. A custom hand painted contact lens is being worn to
make the eyes appear straight. No one looking at her would have any idea that her eye is so dramatically
turned. We also saw Orthokeratology for the older population. A man about 60 years old and a woman that is
75 years old were both doing very well using myopic Multifocal Orthokeratology to provide great uncorrected
vision all day long. Henry is from upstate New York and upon graduation will be serving in the Army for at
least 3 years. After his service he isn't certain where he would like to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Mike Molino from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see a post refractive surgical patient post RK
(Radial Keratotomy) suffering with vision problems that cannot be resolved with glasses. She had
tried but failed miserably with Scleral lenses due to corneal swelling along with other associated
issues. She was told by her local doctors that she needed to have corneal transplants done because
there is nothing more that could be done for her. She did not want such an invasive surgery unless
there truly was no other options. She traveled across the country to see Dr. Maller. Dr. Maller
designed a pair of totally custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses that she is wearing comfortably
and very successfully for all of her waking hours and has said that these lenses have given her, both
her vision and her life back. Mike was surprised at the problems that refractive surgery created, that
Scleral lenses could fail so dramatically, and that a custom gas permeable could perform so wonderfully.
Mike is from Pennsylvania but upon graduation would like to practice in the Miami area.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alayna Larsen from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Pediatrics, Binocular Vision, and Myopia Control. We had the chance to see a post refractive
surgical patient post RK (Radial Keratotomy) suffering with vision problems that cannot be resolved
with glasses. She had tried but failed miserably with Scleral lenses due to corneal swelling along with
other associated issues. She was told by her local doctors that she needed to have corneal transplants
done because there is nothing more that could be done for her. She did not want such an invasive surgery
unless there truly was no other options. She traveled across the country to see Dr. Maller. Dr. Maller
designed a pair of totally custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses that she is wearing comfortably
and very successfully for all of her waking hours and has said that these lenses have given her, both
her vision and her life back. Alayna was surprised at the problems that refractive surgery created, that
Scleral lenses could fail so dramatically, and that a custom gas permeable could perform so wonderfully.
Alayna is from Michigan and upon graduation may do a Pediatrics residency. She would like to practice in
the Southeast part of the country.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alayna Larsen from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me again.
Interest in Pediatrics, Binocular Vision, and Myopia Control. We saw a diverse group of patients today.
Post LASIK, Myopia Control for a very myopic boy, Keratoconus, Pellucids Marginal Degeneration, very high
myopic Presbyope, Post Hyperopic LASIK, and Post RK were part of the types of cases we worked with today.
We saw the Pellucids patient wearing a custom corneal Multifocal gas permeable lens on one eye and a custom
Scleral Multifocal lens on the other eye. The Keratoconus young woman was just refit from soft toric lenses
into custom corneal gas permeable lenses and she is so much more pleased now. Interestingly, the reason for
the switch to gas permeable lenses was not primarily for vision (although that is vastly improved) but rather
because the soft lenses were stressing her corneas and causing blood vessels to grow into her corneas.
The young boy travels about 5 hours to see Dr. Maller for his custom Orthokeratology myopia control. He is
already almost -7.00 with 2.00D of astigmatism and failed to achieve usable vision with his previous
Orthokeratology attempts. He now maintains good useable uncorrected vision and has not progressed in myopia
at all since starting his Orthokeratology treatment. Alayna is from Michigan and upon graduation may do a
Pediatrics residency. She would like to practice in the Southeast part of the country.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sabina Oboukova from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me again. Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a diverse group of patients
today. Post LASIK, Myopia Control for a very myopic boy, Keratoconus, Pellucids Marginal Degeneration,
very high myopic Presbyope, Post Hyperopic LASIK, and Post RK were part of the types of cases we worked
with today. We saw the Pellucids patient wearing a custom corneal Multifocal gas permeable lens on one
eye and a custom Scleral Multifocal lens on the other eye. The Keratoconus young woman was just refit
from soft toric lenses into custom corneal gas permeable lenses and she is so much more pleased now.
Interestingly, the reason for the switch to gas permeable lenses was not primarily for vision (although
that is vastly improved) but rather because the soft lenses were stressing her corneas and causing blood
vessels to grow into her corneas. The young boy travels about 5 hours to see Dr. Maller for his custom
Orthokeratology myopia control. He is already almost -7.00 with 2.00D of astigmatism and failed to achieve
usable vision with his previous Orthokeratology attempts. He now maintains good useable uncorrected vision
and has not progressed in myopia at all since starting his Orthokeratology treatment. Sabina is from
Kazakhstan and upon graduation may do an Ocular Disease residency. She would like to practice in
either New York or Florida.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Joel Trinidad from University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio Texas
Rosenberg School of Optometry worked with me again. Interest in Ocular Disease although he had a bit
more interest in Contact Lenses this time. Joel commented that he had never seen an Orthokeratology
case so he was very excited that we saw 5 Orthokeratology patients. Myopia Control for 2 kids, 2 adult
Orthokeratology patients (one that had high astigmatism), and 1 fellow in Multifocal Orthokeratology
that addresses his high myopia, astigmatism, and his reading prescription (Presbyopia). Joel did not
know that Orthokeratology was this effective or that it could be used to treat such a range of prescriptions.
Joel is from Texas and plans on staying in the Texas. He has decided since his previous time with me
not to do a residency in Ocular Disease.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michelle Jhagroo from Inter American University of Puerto Rico,
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Contact Lenses. We saw a very diverse population
of contact lens patients. A man with corneal transplants in each eye in custom corneal gas
permeable lenses, a Keratoconus man also in custom corneal gas permeable lenses, a 9.50D myope
in custom Orthokeratology, a post-LASIK woman in a custom Multifocal Scleral Lens, a post-RK woman
in custom Multifocal corneal gas permeable lenses, and a gentleman that had had multiple corneal
transplants in each eye now in a custom corneal gas permeable lens on one eye and a custom Scleral
Lens on the other. Michelle was very excited to see how these wonderful complex contact lenses
were able to provide vision and an improved quality of life since spectacles will not work for
any of these patients. Michelle is from South Florida and plans on returning here upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Natalia Boroday from the University of Montreal School of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in Ocular Disease with a minor interest in Contact Lenses and Orthokeratology. We
saw patients suffering the aftermath of horrible vision from refractive surgery along with significantly
compromised tear film being helped with custom Scleral lenses. She was fascinated by the level of
customisation that is possible for rigid gas permeable lenses in both corneal and Scleral designs. She
also now understands that although corneal rigid lenses have a reputation of being uncomfortable, this
level of customisation to create a truly proper fitting lens can make these lenses very comfortable. She
was interested in seeing how much better the results of Orthokeratology could be when properly designed
lenses are used as well as the extent of prescriptions that can be addressed. High myopia, hyperopia,
high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal Orthokeratology came as surprise to her, as well as the
wide range of ages (not just kids) that can benefit from Orthokeratology. She is from Montreal Canada
and will be returning to there to practice upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Olivia Caldareri from the University of Montreal School of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in Primary Care with an interest in Contact Lenses and Orthokeratology. We saw
patients suffering the aftermath of horrible vision from refractive surgery along with significantly
compromised tear film being helped with custom Scleral lenses. She was fascinated by the level of
customisation that is possible for rigid gas permeable lenses in both corneal and Scleral designs. She
also now understands that although corneal rigid lenses have a reputation of being uncomfortable, this
level of customisation to create a truly proper fitting lens can make these lenses very comfortable.
She was interested in seeing how much better the results of Orthokeratology could be when properly
designed lenses are used as well as the extent of prescriptions that can be addressed. High myopia,
hyperopia, high astigmatism, and Presbyopia with multifocal Orthokeratology came as surprise to her,
as well as the wide range of ages (not just kids) that can benefit from Orthokeratology. She is from
Montreal Canada and will be returning to there to practice upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jack Abraham from University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio Texas Rosenberg
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Primary Care, Ocular Disease, and Contact Lenses. We saw a
diverse population of patients today including several patients with Keratoconus, patients with serious
complications from refractive surgery, and some Orthokeratology patients. He was surprised to see how
comfortable and how much better a custom rigid corneal gas permeable contact lens can outperform a Scleral
contact lens in both vision and comfort. Jack is from California but plans to stay in Texas. He may do a
residency upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Mike Caruso from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses. We saw a diverse population of patients today including several patients with
Keratoconus, patients with serious complications from refractive surgery, and some Orthokeratology
patients. He was surprised to see how comfortable and how much better a custom rigid corneal gas permeable
contact lens can outperform a Scleral contact lens in both vision and comfort. Mike is from Connecticut
but isn't yet certain where he will practice. He is hoping to do a Contact Lens residency upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nikita Aneja from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses and Cornea. We saw a woman that has very high myopia and cataracts. She had been fit
into gas permeable lenses prior to coming to Dr. Maller. Unfortunately those contact lenses only
provided 20/200 vision in each eye. With vision this poor, she was now going to lose her driver's
license. Dr. Maller was able to design a pair of custom gas permeable lenses that brought her vision
to 20/50 in each eye which is good enough to retain her driver's license. She however felt a slight
irritation from one of the lenses. Much to Nikita's surprise, Dr. Maller took that contact lens, manually
adjusted it with special modification equipment, and placed the lens back on the patient's eye. She
immediately reported that the lens was now totally comfortable. Nikita is from Virginia and upon
graduation will be doing a Contact Lens and Cornea Residency at the University of Virginia.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Biant Brar from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in
Ocular Disease. We saw a woman that has very high myopia and cataracts. She had been fit into gas
permeable lenses prior to coming to Dr. Maller. Unfortunately those contact lenses only provided 20/200
vision in each eye. With vision this poor, she was now going to lose her driver's license. Dr. Maller was
able to design a pair of custom gas permeable lenses that brought her vision to 20/50 in each eye which
is good enough to retain her driver's license. She however felt a slight irritation from one of the lenses.
Much to Biant's surprise, Dr. Maller took that contact lens, manually adjusted it with special modification
equipment, and placed the lens back on the patient's eye. She immediately reported that the lens was now
totally comfortable. Biant is from Toronto and upon graduation will be doing an Ocular Disease Residency
at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in New York. He isn't certain where he will practice after his residency.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Lauren Yoon from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Ocular Disease. We saw a few Orthokeratology patients (kids and adults), post LASIK patients being
helped by custom Scleral Multifocal contact lenses, and a man that has had his life disrupted by Keratoconus.
After seeing the applications of contact lenses for these people, and particularly Orthokeratology to address
something like Dry Eye, all came as a revelation to Lauren and she now has an appreciation for the positive
impact that contact lenses can provide. Upon graduation Lauren will be doing an Ocular Disease Residency at
the VA in Grand Rapids Michigan and will stay in Michigan after the Residency, which is where she is from.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Erin Walsh from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see a few post RK (Radial Keratotomy) patients suffering
with various vision problems that cannot be resolved with glasses. One gentleman commented how his custom
gas permeable contact lenses have given him back his life. We also saw Keratoconus and Pellucids Marginal
Degeneration. These were addressed with custom corneal and Scleral gas permeable lenses very effectively.
We also saw a very complex Orthokeratology case for an adult man with Myopia, very high astigmatism, and
Presbyopia. This type of prescription is typically thought of as impossible to correct with Orthokeratology
but with a totally customised design even this prescription is possible. Erin is from North Carolina and
upon graduation will be practicing in Columbia South Carolina.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Henry Gates from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see a few post RK (Radial Keratotomy) patients suffering
with various vision problems that cannot be resolved with glasses. One gentleman commented how his custom
gas permeable contact lenses have given him back his life. We also saw Keratoconus and Pellucids Marginal
Degeneration. These were addressed with custom corneal and Scleral gas permeable lenses very effectively.
We also saw a very complex Orthokeratology case for an adult man with Myopia, very high astigmatism, and
Presbyopia. This type of prescription is typically thought of as impossible to correct with Orthokeratology
but with a totally customised design even this prescription is possible. Henry is from upstate New York and
upon graduation will be serving in the Army for at least 3 years. His posting upon graduation will be in
Columbia South Carolina.
2018 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Michelle Choy from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Binocular Vision. We had the chance to see the horrible vision problems that can come
from radial keratotomy (RK) surgery. Glasses are not capable of providing any functional vision due
to the severely distorted corneas, but now this police officer can function with more normal vision
with his custom gas permeable Multifocal contact lenses. We also saw a woman that had asked to have
her eye removed because the unrelenting pain, from pathologically dry eye secondary to acoustic
neuroma surgery causing facial paralysis and the inability to blink, had taken over her life. This
woman has now been pain free since being fit into a custom Scleral Multifocal lens that also provides
her restored vision as an added benefit. She suffered in pain for 6 years prior to finding Dr. Maller
because no one had suggested a Scleral Lens as a solution. This Scleral Lens has given this woman her
life back. Michelle is from California and upon graduation will return to that area to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Hany Azcuy from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see the horrible vision problems that
can come from radial keratotomy (RK) surgery. Glasses are not capable of providing any functional vision
due to the severely distorted corneas, but now this police officer can function with more normal vision
with his custom gas permeable Multifocal contact lenses. We also saw a woman that had asked to have her
eye removed because the unrelenting pain, from pathologically dry eye secondary to acoustic neuroma
surgery causing facial paralysis and the inability to blink, had taken over her life. This woman has now
been pain free since being fit into a custom Scleral Multifocal lens that also provides her restored vision
as an added benefit. She suffered in pain for 6 years prior to finding Dr. Maller because no one had
suggested a Scleral Lens as a solution. This Scleral Lens has given this woman her life back. Hany is from
Cuba and upon graduation plans to stay here in Florida to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Biant Brar from New England College of Optometry worked with me once
again. Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a woman that has extremely high myopia (over 30 diopters).
Her previous gas permeable lenses were only providing 20/70 vision, and were not fitting very well
causing difficulty wearing the lenses all day. Her eyes were continuously red. She is now wearing
custom gas permeable lenses comfortably all day (16-18 hours) , no redness, and her vision is 20/30.
We also saw another woman, 56 years old, being fit into custom Multifocal myopic Orthokeratology.
She came in with uncorrected vision of 20/80. After just 2 hours of treatment with the lenses, she
was 20/15 in the distance and able to read the smallest print (J1) at near, all without the need for
glasses or contact lenses. Biant is from Toronto and upon graduation will be doing an Ocular Disease
Residency at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in New York. He isn't certain where he will practice after his residency.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nikita Aneja from New England College of Optometry worked with me once again.
Interest in Contact Lenses and Cornea. We saw a woman that has extremely high myopia (over 30 diopters).
Her previous gas permeable lenses were only providing 20/70 vision, and were not fitting very well causing
difficulty wearing the lenses all day. Her eyes were continuously red. She is now wearing custom gas permeable
lenses comfortably all day (16-18 hours) , no redness, and her vision is 20/30. We also saw another woman,
56 years old, being fit into custom Multifocal myopic Orthokeratology. She came in with uncorrected vision
of 20/80. After just 2 hours of treatment with the lenses, she was 20/15 in the distance and able to read
the smallest print (J1) at near, all without the need for glasses or contact lenses. Nikita is from Virginia
and upon graduation will be doing a Contact Lens and Cornea Residency at the University of Virginia.
2018 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Shetal Patel from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see the horrible vision problems that can come from LASIK surgery
on a gentleman that traveled from Colorado to see Dr. Maller. Glasses are not capable of providing any
functional vision due to the severely distorted corneas. Dr. Maller had relieved the vision problems with
custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses. He has been successfully wearing these custom designed lenses
and enjoying more normal vision for the past 13 years. We also saw a woman that suffers with Amyloidosis.
Despite failing many attempts at wearing Scleral lenses she traveled to see Dr. Maller about 18 months ago.
Dr. Maller designed a pair of totally customised Scleral Lens Multifocals that she has been successfully
wearing for the past 18 months. She wears them for her entire day comfortably and is in fact more uncomfortable
when the lenses are not being worn. She achieves 20/15 vision in the distance while also being able to read
the smallest print at near. Shetal is from Florida but upon graduation isn't certain where she would like
to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Third year Optometry Extern Melissa Poon from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Ocular Disease and Low Vision. We had the chance to see the horrible vision problems that can come
from LASIK surgery on a gentleman that traveled from Colorado to see Dr. Maller. Glasses are not capable
of providing any functional vision due to the severely distorted corneas. Dr. Maller had relieved the
vision problems with custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses. He has been successfully wearing these
custom designed lenses and enjoying more normal vision for the past 13 years. We also saw a woman that
suffers with Amyloidosis. Despite failing many attempts at wearing Scleral lenses she traveled to see
Dr. Maller about 18 months ago. Dr. Maller designed a pair of totally customised Scleral Lens Multifocals
that she has been successfully wearing for the past 18 months. She wears them for her entire day
comfortably and is in fact more uncomfortable when the lenses are not being worn. She achieves 20/15
vision in the distance while also being able to read the smallest print at near. Melissa is from Toronto
and upon graduation will return there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Adam Jeary from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the opportunity to see an 84 year old gentleman that has Keratoconus,
4 corneal transplants, and Intraocular lens implants looking for better vision than his glasses can
provide. Dr. Maller fit one eye (the eye with 3 transplants) into a custom corneal gas permeable
contact lens and the other eye with 1 transplant into a custom Scleral contact lens. The eye with
the corneal lens has 20/25+ vision. The eye with the Scleral Lens can get to 20/40 vision. He is
delighted with the wonderful vision he is able to have with his contact lenses. He also reports that
both lenses are very comfortable to wear. We also saw a woman that has uncorrected vision of 20/50.
She also needs glasses for near both for work (she is an aesthetician) and reading. After 2 hours of
her Multifocal myopic Orthokeratology treatment in the office, she had 20/15 uncorrected vision for
distance and could read all of the small print up close. Adam is from Cambridge Ontario and will return
there to practice upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michael Farr from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Pediatrics. We had the opportunity to see an 84 year old gentleman that has Keratoconus,
4 corneal transplants, and Intraocular lens implants looking for better vision than his glasses can
provide. Dr. Maller fit one eye (the eye with 3 transplants) into a custom corneal gas permeable contact
lens and the other eye with 1 transplant into a custom Scleral contact lens. The eye with the corneal
lens has 20/25+ vision. The eye with the Scleral Lens can get to 20/40 vision. He is delighted with the
wonderful vision he is able to have with his contact lenses. He also reports that both lenses are very
comfortable to wear. We also saw a woman that has uncorrected vision of 20/50. She also needs glasses
for near both for work (she is an aesthetician) and reading. After 2 hours of her Multifocal myopic
Orthokeratology treatment in the office, she had 20/15 uncorrected vision for distance and could read
all of the small print up close. Michael is from Richmond Hill Ontario and will return there to practice
upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Steffani Tiomno from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in
Pediatrics and Binocular Vision. We saw a gentleman that had been fit into soft toric contact lenses elsewhere. He
was unhappy with his vision because these contact lenses did not correct his high astigmatism very well nor was he
able to read easily due to Presbyopia (he is 51 years old). As bad as his vision was with these contact lenses though,
his main complaint was that they were uncomfortable, limiting his wearing time to a maximum of 10 hours. Furthermore,
there would be times that the lenses would leave his eyes so sore, he was unable to wear them at all the following
day. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom corneal gas permeable Multifocal contact lenses for him. Dr. Maller asked
him how he was doing now and he said that with these lenses he is now seeing excellent at far and near. The surprise
for Steffani came a few minutes later when he volunteered (unsolicited) the comment that these rigid lenses are
just so much more comfortable than those soft lenses had been and he wears them 16 hours/day, everyday, and they
feel so good he doesn't even know that they are on. Steffani is from South Florida and upon graduation plans on practicing here.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Stephanie Mclellan from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a gentleman that had been fit into soft toric contact lenses elsewhere.
He was unhappy with his vision because these contact lenses did not correct his high astigmatism very well
nor was he able to read easily due to Presbyopia (he is 51 years old). As bad as his vision was with these
contact lenses though, his main complaint was that they were uncomfortable, limiting his wearing time to a
maximum of 10 hours. Furthermore, there would be times that the lenses would leave his eyes so sore, he was
unable to wear them at all the following day. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom corneal gas permeable
Multifocal contact lenses for him. Dr. Maller asked him how he was doing now and he said that with these
lenses he is now seeing excellent at far and near. The surprise for Stephanie came a few minutes later when
he volunteered (unsolicited) the comment that these rigid lenses are just so much more comfortable than those
soft lenses had been and he wears them 16 hours/day, everyday, and they feel so good he doesn't even know
that they are on. Stephanie is from London Ontario, Canada and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Cristelle Buisse from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a few complex Multifocal Orthokeratology patients. She was a little surprised
to find out that not only is Orthokeratology not just for myopia control, but in fact it is a good form of vision
correction for a very extensive range of prescriptions, including high Astigmatism, Hypermetropia, and Presbyopia.
Orthokeratology is an excellent alternative to spectacles and traditional contact lens wear for all ages and in
particular for people suffering with dry eye. Cristelle is from Winnipeg Canada but upon graduation is not certain
where she will practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rachna Patel from University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio Texas Rosenberg
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Pediatrics and Primary Care. We saw a few complex Multifocal
Orthokeratology patients. She was a little surprised to find out that not only is Orthokeratology not just
for myopia control, but in fact it is a good form of vision correction for a very extensive range of
prescriptions, including high Astigmatism, Hypermetropia, and Presbyopia. Orthokeratology is an excellent
alternative to spectacles and traditional contact lens wear for all ages and in particular for people
suffering with dry eye. Rachna is from Illinois.and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tanya Pakzad from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Vision Therapy and Contact Lenses. We saw a gentleman that had been fit into soft toric
contact lenses elsewhere. He was unhappy with his vision because these contact lenses did not correct
his high astigmatism very well nor was he able to read easily due to Presbyopia (he is 51 years old).
As bad as his vision was with these contact lenses though, his main complaint was that they were
uncomfortable, limiting his wearing time to a maximum of 10 hours. Furthermore, there would be times
that the lenses would leave his eyes so sore, he was unable to wear them at all the following day. Dr.
Maller designed a pair of custom corneal gas permeable Multifocal contact lenses for him. Dr. Maller
asked him how he was doing now and he said that with these lenses he is now seeing excellent at far and
near. He commented how much more comfortable his rigid gas permeable lenses are than the soft lenses he
was wearing. He wears his rigid lenses 16 hours/day, everyday, and they feel so good he doesn't even
know that they are on. We saw a helicopter pilot that had her unaided vision improved to 20/15 while in
the office with Orthokeratology. She is in Multifocal myopic Orthokeratology so that she can see 20/15
while being provided reading vision so that she can read, while also seeing all of the gauges in the cockpit.
We also saw a gentleman that traveled from North Carolina for Dr. Maller to design and fit a custom Multifocal
Scleral contact lens that restored 20/15 vision along with reading vision to an eye that had a traumatic
injury leaving the cornea scarred and distorted with 20/100 vision with the best prescription spectacles.
Tanya is from Maryland and upon graduation plans on returning there or perhaps will remain in Florida to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Olivia Ricci from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Pediatrics and Binocular Vision. We saw a gentleman that had been fit into soft toric contact
lenses elsewhere. He was unhappy with his vision because these contact lenses did not correct his high
astigmatism very well nor was he able to read easily due to Presbyopia (he is 51 years old). As bad as his
vision was with these contact lenses though, his main complaint was that they were uncomfortable, limiting
his wearing time to a maximum of 10 hours. Furthermore, there would be times that the lenses would leave
his eyes so sore, he was unable to wear them at all the following day. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom
corneal gas permeable Multifocal contact lenses for him. Dr. Maller asked him how he was doing now and he
said that with these lenses he is now seeing excellent at far and near. He commented how much more comfortable
his rigid gas permeable lenses are than the soft lenses he was wearing. He wears his rigid lenses 16 hours/day,
everyday, and they feel so good he doesn't even know that they are on. We saw a helicopter pilot that had her
unaided vision improved to 20/15 while in the office with Orthokeratology. She is in Multifocal myopic
Orthokeratology so that she can see 20/15 while being provided reading vision so that she can read, while
also seeing all of the gauges in the cockpit. We also saw a gentleman that traveled from North Carolina for
Dr. Maller to design and fit a custom Multifocal Scleral contact lens that restored 20/15 vision along with
reading vision to an eye that had a traumatic injury leaving the cornea scarred and distorted with 20/100
vision with the best prescription spectacles. Olivia is from Ontario Canada and upon graduation plans on
returning there to practice. She already has a couple of potential positions that she is considering.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nikki Le from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see the horrible vision problems that can come from RK (Radial
Keratotomy) surgery on a woman that has become increasingly frustrated by her surgical complications.
Her contact lenses are allowing her normal enough function but now the cataracts are beginning to
interfere progressively more each day. We also saw a gentleman that had failed multiple times with many
doctors over many years to find a contact lens solution. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom gas permeable
Multifocal contact lenses that he now wears troublefree 16 hours per day, every day, never missing a day,
with 20/15 vision and the ability to read the smallest print. He also spends the majority of his day working
comfortably on the computer. Nikki is from Philadelphia and upon graduation plans on practicing there although
at this time nothing definitive has been decided.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ernie Nghia from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see the horrible vision problems that can come from RK (Radial
Keratotomy) surgery on a woman that has become increasingly frustrated by her surgical complications. Her
contact lenses are allowing her normal enough function but now the cataracts are beginning to interfere
progressively more each day. We also saw a gentleman that had failed multiple times with many doctors over
many years to find a contact lens solution. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom gas permeable Multifocal
contact lenses that he now wears troublefree 16 hours per day, every day, never missing a day, with 20/15
vision and the ability to read the smallest print. He also spends the majority of his day working comfortably
on the computer. Ernie is from Los Angeles and upon graduation plans on practicing there although at this
time nothing definitive has been decided.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tea Pasholli from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care and Ocular Disease. We saw a young woman that has Keratoconus, has had
corneal crosslinking, and was wearing soft toric contact lenses. These contact lenses only
provided 20/40 vision in each eye. However a more important issue than the poor vision needed
to be addressed. The soft toric lenses, in part owing to the very high prescription, was causing
blood vessels to grow into her corneas. This happens because the contact lenses were not allowing
enough oxygen to get to her corneas. After a thorough discussion Dr. Maller proposed that custom
corneal gas permeable lenses would address the oxygen problem and an additional benefit would be
vastly improved vision. She now sees 20/20 in each eye but more surprising was her comment
regarding how much she loved her new contact lenses. Initially she was worried because she had
heard that these gas permeable lenses could be very uncomfortable. She said that the lenses are
very comfortable and they have been a miracle for her. A total life-changer. Tea is from Newfoundland
and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Biren Patel from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a young woman that has Keratoconus, has had corneal crosslinking,
and was wearing soft toric contact lenses. These contact lenses only provided 20/40 vision in each
eye. However a more important issue than the poor vision needed to be addressed. The soft toric lenses,
in part owing to the very high prescription, was causing blood vessels to grow into her corneas. This
happens because the contact lenses were not allowing enough oxygen to get to her corneas. After a
thorough discussion Dr. Maller proposed that custom corneal gas permeable lenses would address the
oxygen problem and an additional benefit would be vastly improved vision. She now sees 20/20 in each
eye but more surprising was her comment regarding how much she loved her new contact lenses. Initially
she was worried because she had heard that these gas permeable lenses could be very uncomfortable. She
said that the lenses are very comfortable and they have been a miracle for her. A total life-changer.
Biren is from Chicago and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ramandeep Toor from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Pediatrics and Vision Therapy. We saw a young woman that has Keratoconus, has had corneal
crosslinking, and was wearing soft toric contact lenses. These contact lenses only provided 20/40
vision in each eye. However a more important issue than the poor vision needed to be addressed. The
soft toric lenses, in part owing to the very high prescription, was causing blood vessels to grow
into her corneas. This happens because the contact lenses were not allowing enough oxygen to get to
her corneas. After a thorough discussion Dr. Maller proposed that custom corneal gas permeable lenses
would address the oxygen problem and an additional benefit would be vastly improved vision. She now
sees 20/20 in each eye but more surprising was her comment regarding how much she loved her new contact
lenses. Initially she was worried because she had heard that these gas permeable lenses could be very
uncomfortable. She said that the lenses are very comfortable and they have been a miracle for her. A
total life-changer. Ramandeep is from Alberta and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Tanu Thind from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a gentleman that had been fit into soft toric contact lenses elsewhere.
He was unhappy with his vision because these contact lenses did not correct his high astigmatism very
well nor was he able to read easily due to Presbyopia (he is 51 years old). As bad as his vision was
with these contact lenses though, his main complaint was that they were uncomfortable, limiting his
wearing time to a maximum of 10 hours. Furthermore, there would be times that the lenses would leave
his eyes so sore, he was unable to wear them at all the following day. Dr. Maller designed a pair of
custom corneal gas permeable Multifocal contact lenses for him. Dr. Maller asked him how he was doing
now and he said that with these lenses he is now seeing excellent at far and near. He commented how
much more comfortable his rigid gas permeable lenses are than the soft lenses had been. We also saw a
gentleman that traveled from northern Florida that has Keratoconus and has been unable to wear a
contact lens successfully on the eye with a corneal transplant. Prior to seeing Dr. Maller he has
failed for various reasons with every soft lens, corneal gas permeable lens, and Scleral Lens that
has been attempted. Dr. Maller has him now wearing a totally customised corneal gas permeable lens
that is providing 20/25 vision to this eye, and is comfortable to wear. There is still a little bit
of work to do to modify the design of this lens to make it optimal. Tanu is from Brampton Canada
(near Toronto) and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice. She has a potential
position that she is considering.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Becca Hales from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Primary Care. We saw many Orthokeratology patients. Young
kids that were in Orthokeratology to arrest the progression of myopia along with an adult with myopia,
astigmatism and Presbyopia using Orthokeratology as her form of vision correction so no vision appliances
are needed for any of her daily activities. Becca is from Indiana and upon graduation is returning there
to join a group practice that she already has set up.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Madelyn Diaz from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care and Ocular Disease. We saw a wide variety of patients including Orthokeratology
for children's myopia control, Orthokeratology for adult vision correction, and post refractive surgery
patients. Madelyn asked about a man that came from New York specifically to see Dr. Maller for contact
lenses, why would he do this since he had refractive surgery so he would not need to wear glasses or
contact lenses for vision correction. She was surprised and horrified to see how distorted and mutilated
his corneas were from the surgery. He wears totally custom designed Scleral Contacts for all of his waking
hours because without them he is functionally blind. Glasses and traditional contact lenses, including
Scleral lenses that he tried with other doctors, all failed to provide him functional vision. Madelyn is
from South Florida and upon graduation plans on staying here to practice. She also now said that she has
a stronger interest in contact lenses.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Raul Ramos from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease but would like to have a better understanding of contact lenses. We saw a
wide variety of patients including Orthokeratology for children's myopia control, Orthokeratology for
adult vision correction, post refractive surgery patients that have significant visual distortion, and
a woman with very advanced Pellucids Marginal Degeneration. We also saw a new patient, young boy, that
has had his myopia rapidly progressing. His previous doctor prescribed glasses that did fully correct
the myopia in the hope that this would slow the progression of myopia. Not only is there no evidence to
support this somewhat common practice, but there was a study that showed under correction in glasses
actually hastens the progression of myopia. Raul correctly knew about this study. Raul is from South
Florida and upon graduation plans on staying here to practice although he may first try to get into
a residency at the VA.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Wendy Sosa from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease but would like to have a better understanding of contact lenses. We saw a
wide variety of patients including Orthokeratology for children's myopia control, Orthokeratology for
adult vision correction, post refractive surgery patients that have significant visual distortion, and
a woman with very advanced Pellucids Marginal Degeneration. We also saw a new patient, young boy, that
has had his myopia rapidly progressing. His previous doctor prescribed glasses that did fully correct
the myopia in the hope that this would slow the progression of myopia. Not only is there no evidence to
support this somewhat common practice, but there was a study that showed under correction in glasses
actually hastens the progression of myopia. Wendy correctly knew about this study. Wendy is from South
Florida and upon graduation plans on staying here to practice although she may first try to get into a
residency in Ocular Disease.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Megan Burns from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Vision Therapy and Sports Vision. We saw a wide variety of patients including Orthokeratology
for children's myopia control and Multifocal Orthokeratology for adult vision correction taking care of
both the distance vision problem from myopia and the near reading problem from Presbyopia. We also some
custom Multifocal Scleral lenses that were fit to address Ocular Surface Disease. She had already failed
in soft Multifocal lenses and monovision soft lenses. She failed because either her eyes were too dry to
comfortably wear the soft lenses, or the vision was not good enough for her to function properly, or both.
She is now wearing her custom Scleral Multifocal lenses very successfully. We also saw a gentleman with
Keratoconus that had failed with all of the various contact lenses that he was fit with by other doctors,
over many years. Due to this he was forced to wear glasses. Unfortunately his vision with glasses is all
distorted and has made it progressively more difficult for him to function as the disease continued to
distort his corneas. He was no longer able to do his job because his vision was too distorted to work on
the computer for the entire day as his job requires. He is now wearing custom corneal gas permeable
lenses that has given him great vision, and are comfortable to wear, even for the days where he can be
on the computer as many as 16 hours. Megan is from New Brunswick Canada and upon graduation plans on
returning to Canada although she isn't yet certain exactly where she will practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Olivia Pham from University of the Incarnate Word San Antonio Texas Rosenberg
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a wide variety of patients including
Orthokeratology for children's myopia control and Multifocal Orthokeratology for adult vision correction
taking care of both the distance vision problem from myopia and the near reading problem from Presbyopia.
We also some custom Multifocal Scleral lenses that were fit to address Ocular Surface Disease. She had
already failed in soft Multifocal lenses and monovision soft lenses. She failed because either her eyes
were too dry to comfortably wear the soft lenses, or the vision was not good enough for her to function
properly, or both. She is now wearing her custom Scleral Multifocal lenses very successfully. We also saw
a gentleman with Keratoconus that had failed with all of the various contact lenses that he was fit with by
other doctors, over many years. Due to this he was forced to wear glasses. Unfortunately his vision with
glasses is all distorted and has made it progressively more difficult for him to function as the disease
continued to distort his corneas. He was no longer able to do his job because his vision was too distorted
to work on the computer for the entire day as his job requires. He is now wearing custom corneal gas permeable
lenses that has given him great vision, and are comfortable to wear, even for the days where he can be on the
computer as many as 16 hours. Olivia is from Texas and upon graduation plans on returning to Texas to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Andreea Nastasoiu from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We saw a diverse group of patients including a couple of post-LASIK casualties,
a man with Keratoconus, and a 9 year old boy that had had very rapidly advancing myopia. One of the LASIK
patients was a 25 year old man that although he has 20/20 uncorrected vision from the surgery, the quality
of his vision is so poor that he is having a difficult time functioning. He has already been forced to modify
his diet and take many supplements to deal with his dry eye symptoms. The glare, halos, starbursts, etc., interfere
with his ability to see and this is all made worse once it gets dark. Glasses are incapable of addressing these
issues. He is being fit into a pair of custom gas permeable lenses to resolve these vision problems. We also saw
a woman that has been wearing custom Multifocal Scleral lenses for very significant dry eye for about 8 years,
but recently found it impossible to use them due to fogging. The fogging was coming from the front surface of the
lenses not wetting properly, despite the hydraPEG coating on the lenses. She was refit to custom corneal Multifocal
gas permeable lenses and now has been wearing them successfully with no fogging, an average of 14-16 hours every day.
The 9 year old boy has progressed from a prescription of -2.00 to -5.50 in just the last two years. He is being
fit into Orthokeratology both arrest this progression of myopia while also providing him good clear uncorrected
vision for his entire waking day. His parents both commented that they were angry that his previous eye doctors did
not offer this option or even mention that it was available. Andreea is from California and upon graduation plans
on returning there to practice. She is considering a Contact Lens residency first.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Fareem Jivras from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care although he commented at the end of the day that he is now much more interested
in Contact Lenses and might consider a residency. We saw a diverse group of patients including a couple
of post-LASIK casualties, a man with Keratoconus, and a 9 year old boy that had had very rapidly advancing myopia.
One of the LASIK patients was a 25 year old man that although he has 20/20 uncorrected vision from the surgery,
the quality of his vision is so poor that he is having a difficult time functioning. He has already been forced
to modify his diet and take many supplements to deal with his dry eye symptoms. The glare, halos, starbursts, etc.,
interfere with his ability to see and this is all made worse once it gets dark. Glasses are incapable of addressing
these issues. He is being fit into a pair of custom gas permeable lenses to resolve these vision problems.
We also saw a woman that has been wearing custom Multifocal Scleral lenses for very significant dry eye for
about 8 years, but recently found it impossible to use them due to fogging. The fogging was coming from the
front surface of the lenses not wetting properly, despite the hydraPEG coating on the lenses. She was refit
to custom corneal Multifocal gas permeable lenses and now has been wearing them successfully with no fogging,
an average of 14-16 hours every day. The 9 year old boy has progressed from a prescription of -2.00 to -5.50 in
just the last two years. He is being fit into Orthokeratology both arrest this progression of myopia while also
providing him good clear uncorrected vision for his entire waking day. His parents both commented that they were
angry that his previous eye doctors did not offer this option or even mention that it was available. Fareem is
from Vancouver and upon graduation would like to stay in Miami to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Anthony Ali from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the opportunity to see a few patients that have had refractive surgery
and the problems that can occur. One lady had Radial Keratotomy and suffers with very decreased vision.
Glasses are only able to provide vision of about 20/50 but even that is still very distorted. Dr. Maller
designed a pair of custom Multifocal Scleral lenses that now provide vision that is 20/25, not distorted,
and also provides near vision so that she can read. Another woman that had LASIK developed debilitating
headaches from the LASIK procedure. For the past 6 years since the surgery, she has tried all forms of
treatment including glasses, contact lenses, vision therapy, pain medications, etc., all that have failed
to relieve the headaches. Dr. Maller has now fit custom Scleral Lenses as the first step in the treatment
plan to resolve the headaches. Based on the initial data collected it appears that the headaches should
resolve over the next 1-3 months. This particular woman (29 years old) traveled from Massachusetts to see
Dr. Maller and already is so encouraged that she will most likely be coming back to see Dr. Maller for
follow-up in a few months. Anthony is from Canada but is not certain where he will practice upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Yvonne Mak from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care and Pediatrics. We had the opportunity to see a few patients that have had
refractive surgery and the problems that can occur. One lady had Radial Keratotomy and suffers with
very decreased vision. Glasses are only able to provide vision of about 20/50 but even that is still
very distorted. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Multifocal Scleral lenses that now provide vision
that is 20/25, not distorted, and also provides near vision so that she can read. Another woman that
had LASIK developed debilitating headaches from the LASIK procedure. For the past 6 years since the
surgery, she has tried all forms of treatment including glasses, contact lenses, vision therapy, pain
medications, etc., all that have failed to relieve the headaches. Dr. Maller has now fit custom Scleral
Lenses as the first step in the treatment plan to resolve the headaches. Based on the initial data
collected it appears that the headaches should resolve over the next 1-3 months. This particular woman
(29 years old) traveled from Massachusetts to see Dr. Maller and already is so encouraged that she will
most likely be coming back to see Dr. Maller for follow-up in a few months. Yvonne is from Canada but
is not certain where she will practice upon graduation, although she would like to be on the west coast.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alex Looysen from Midwestern University of Arizona College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We saw a 9 year old boy that had had
his myopia advancing very rapidly. In just the last year he has gone from approximately -3.50D to -5.50D.
He also has over 2.00D of astigmatism in each eye. His mother was doing research and found out about
the ability of Orthokeratology to slow or completely halt the progression of her son's myopia which
is why he was in for care. When we started, his acuity in each eye was finger-counting at just 3 feet
away from his face. After just 2 hours of sleep in the office with his custom Orthokeratology lenses,
his acuity was already improved to 20/80. Within just a few days his acuity will be 20/20. He will then
enjoy clear vision without any need of glasses or contact lenses while also preventing the myopia from
getting any worse. His mother voiced how angry she was that this was not offered to her son by the
doctor he had seen back when he had a very small prescription just a few years earlier. Unfortunately
many doctors still do not embrace myopia control. This is so unfortunate because myopia is not just an
inconvenience but also increases risk for cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachments. All of these
risks increase with increased myopia. Alex is from North Dakota and will return there and join his
father's optometric practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Larae Zimprich from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We saw a 9 year old
boy that had had his myopia advancing very rapidly. In just the last year he has gone from
approximately -3.50D to -5.50D. He also has over 2.00D of astigmatism in each eye. His mother was doing
research and found out about the ability of Orthokeratology to slow or completely halt the progression
of her son's myopia which is why he was in for care. When we started, his acuity in each eye was
finger-counting at just 3 feet away from his face. After just 2 hours of sleep in the office with his
custom Orthokeratology lenses, his acuity was already improved to 20/80. Within just a few days his
acuity will be 20/20. He will then enjoy clear vision without any need of glasses or contact lenses
while also preventing the myopia from getting any worse. His mother voiced how angry she was that this
was not offered to her son by the doctor he had seen back when he had a very small prescription just a
few years earlier. Unfortunately many doctors still do not embrace myopia control. This is so unfortunate
because myopia is not just an inconvenience but also increases risk for cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal
detachments. All of these risks increase with increased myopia. Larae is from South Dakota and will
return there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Andreea Nastasoiu from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We saw a woman that had been fit into custom Multifocal Scleral by Dr.
Maller for the past 8 years primarily to address her prescription and very dry eyes. She recently
has found it impossible to use them due to fogging. The fogging was coming from the front surface
of the lenses not wetting properly, despite the hydraPEG coating on the lenses. She was refit to
custom corneal Multifocal gas permeable lenses and now has been wearing them successfully with no
fogging, an average of 14-16 hours every day. We also saw a young man that has very advanced
Keratoconus. He is wearing custom designed Scleral lenses that provide him 20/20 vision in one
eye and 20/30 vision in the more advanced eye. The best he is able to see with glasses is 20/100
in his better eye and finger-counting at 2 feet in the more advanced eye. Needless to say, his
Scleral lenses are a life changer. He even commented that as soon as he puts his lenses on he
is a brand new person. Andreea is from California and upon graduation plans on returning there to
practice. She is considering a Contact Lens residency first.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Lauren Nicholas from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We saw a woman that had been fit into custom Multifocal Scleral by Dr.
Maller for the past 8 years primarily to address her prescription and very dry eyes. She recently
has found it impossible to use them due to fogging. The fogging was coming from the front surface
of the lenses not wetting properly, despite the hydraPEG coating on the lenses. She was refit to
custom corneal Multifocal gas permeable lenses and now has been wearing them successfully with no
fogging, an average of 14-16 hours every day. We also saw a young man that has very advanced
Keratoconus. He is wearing custom designed Scleral lenses that provide him 20/20 vision in one eye
and 20/30 vision in the more advanced eye. The best he is able to see with glasses is 20/100 in his
better eye and finger-counting at 2 feet in the more advanced eye. Needless to say, his Scleral
lenses are a life changer. He even commented that as soon as he puts his lenses on he is a brand
new person. Lauren is from Connecticut and upon graduation plans on possibly staying here in Florida
to practice. She is considering a Contact Lens residency first.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Raul Ramos from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease but would like to have a better understanding of contact lenses. We saw a
49 year old man that had a very unfortunate accident. He was grinding metal on a high speed grinding
wheel when a small piece of the metal broke off and flew into his eye. Due to the sharpness and speed
of the metal, the metal cut through his cornea, damaged the iris, and lodged itself into the crystalline
lens. The lens was removed surgically and the membrane capsule that the lens was in was badly damaged
making it impossible to implant an artificial lens. After 5 months of care elsewhere he has been left
with a scarred cornea, a permanently dilated pupil, and +14.00D of hypermetropia. Dr. Maller will be
designing a custom Scleral Lens to bring back normal vision to this eye. Raul is from South Florida
and upon graduation plans on staying here to practice although he may first try to get into a residency
at the VA.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alexandra Vlad from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Contact Lenses. We saw a 49 year old man that had a
very unfortunate accident. He was grinding metal on a high speed grinding wheel when a small piece of
the metal broke off and flew into his eye. Due to the sharpness and speed of the metal, the metal cut
through his cornea, damaged the iris, and lodged itself into the crystalline lens. The lens was removed
surgically and the membrane capsule that the lens was in was badly damaged making it impossible to implant
an artificial lens. After 5 months of care elsewhere he has been left with a scarred cornea, a permanently
dilated pupil, and +14.00D of hypermetropia. Dr. Maller will be designing a custom Scleral Lens to bring
back normal vision to this eye. Alexandra is from Chicago and upon graduation plans on returning to the
Chicago area to practice. She has a possible job set already.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kim Kishi from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We had the opportunity to see a gentleman that has
had a corneal transplant. This man has already failed several attempts with other physicians that
have only tried various Scleral lenses. The problem with the Scleral lenses has been both discomfort
and continual fogging. Dr. Maller has designed a custom corneal gas permeable that has proven to be
comfortable to wear but still develops a low grade edema along part of the visual axis. This is
unacceptable and many ways were discussed to address this problem. Kim correctly made excellent
recommendations to modify the contact lens design. We also saw a woman that had Radial Keratotomy and
suffers with very decreased vision. Glasses are only able to provide vision of about 20/50 but even
that is still very distorted. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Multifocal Scleral lenses that now
provide vision that is 20/25, not distorted, and also provides near vision so that she can read. Kim
is from Vancouver Canada but is not certain where she will practice upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Zenfira Vincent from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease, Contact Lenses, and Pediatrics. We had the opportunity to see a gentleman that
has had a corneal transplant. This man has already failed several attempts with other physicians that have
only tried various Scleral lenses. The problem with the Scleral lenses has been both discomfort and continual
fogging. Dr. Maller has designed a custom corneal gas permeable that has proven to be comfortable to wear
but still develops a low grade edema along part of the visual axis. This is unacceptable and many ways were
discussed to address this problem. Zenfira correctly made excellent recommendations to modify the contact
lens design. We also saw a woman that had Radial Keratotomy and suffers with very decreased vision. Glasses
are only able to provide vision of about 20/50 but even that is still very distorted. Dr. Maller designed a
pair of custom Multifocal Scleral lenses that now provide vision that is 20/25, not distorted, and also
provides near vision so that she can read. Zenfira is from South Florida and is planning on staying here in
South Florida to practice upon graduation.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alexandra Vlad from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see a very nice
lady that traveled from Lebanon to see if Dr. Maller could help her. Her history includes Strabismus,
Amblyopia, Radial Keratotomy (RK), Refactive Intraocular Lens Exchange (RLE), and PhotoRefractive
Keratectomy (PRK). After all of the refractive surgeries she lost her ability to function as a visually
normal individual which caused great stress. This lead to Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR) further
diminishing her vision. She has already failed multiple times to achieve a successful contact lens
solution with soft lenses, hybrid lenses, gas permeable lenses including reverse geometry designs,
and Scleral lenses. The lenses either fell off her eye, were uncomfortable to wear, or just didn't
provide any better vision. Dr. Maller is designing custom corneal gas permeable lenses for her and
expects to bring back much more normal functional vision. Alexandra is from Chicago and upon graduation
plans on returning to the Chicago area to practice. She has a possible job set already.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Megan Burns from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Vision Therapy and Sports Vision. We had the chance to see a very nice lady that traveled
from Lebanon to see if Dr. Maller could help her. Her history includes Strabismus, Amblyopia, Radial
Keratotomy (RK), Refactive Intraocular Lens Exchange (RLE), and PhotoRefractive Keratectomy (PRK). After
all of the refractive surgeries she lost her ability to function as a visually normal individual which
caused great stress. This lead to Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR) further diminishing her vision. She
has already failed multiple times to achieve a successful contact lens solution with soft lenses, hybrid
lenses, gas permeable lenses including reverse geometry designs, and Scleral lenses. The lenses either
fell off her eye, were uncomfortable to wear, or just didn't provide any better vision. Dr. Maller is
designing custom corneal gas permeable lenses for her and expects to bring back much more normal
functional vision. Megan is from New Brunswick Canada and upon graduation plans on returning to Canada
although she isn't yet certain exactly where she will practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alexandra Vlad from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School
of Optometry worked with me. A very strong interest in Contact Lenses since working with me. We saw several
variations on Orthokeratology today. One gentleman is farsighted (hypermetropia) and has been enjoying clear
vision without the need of glasses or contact lenses for the past eleven years owing to his successful
Orthokeratology treatment. Another woman that is nearsighted (myopic) and needs reading glasses due to her
age (presbyopia) is also now free of glasses for all of her daily life thanks to her Multifocal Myopic
Orthokeratology treatment. Another young girl (10 years old) will both enjoy clear vision without the need
of glasses while also stopping the progression of her myopia (needing stronger glasses each year) with her
Orthokeratology treatment. Alexandra is from Chicago and upon graduation plans on returning to the Chicago
area to practice. She has a possible job set already.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Larae Zimprich from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We saw several
variations on Orthokeratology today. One gentleman is farsighted (hypermetropia) and has been enjoying
clear vision without the need of glasses or contact lenses for the past eleven years owing to his
successful Orthokeratology treatment. Another woman that is nearsighted (myopic) and needs reading
glasses due to her age (presbyopia) is also now free of glasses for all of her daily life thanks to
her Multifocal Myopic Orthokeratology treatment. Another young girl (10 years old) will both enjoy
clear vision without the need of glasses while also stopping the progression of her myopia (needing
stronger glasses each year) with her Orthokeratology treatment. Larae is from South Dakota and upon
graduation will return there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Agam Khanna from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see Orthokeratology for many
different types of patients. The first was a moderate myopic 10 year old girl that has her myopia
increasing each year. In just 2 hours in the office her uncorrected vision went from worse
than 20/400 to 20/60 from her initial Orthokeratology treatment. She will be 20/20 in the next
day or so. Next we saw a Myopic Presbyopic woman in her 50s getting 20/15 distance vision while
also being able to read the smallest print, all without the need of any glasses or contact lenses,
from her Multifocal Orthokeratology treatment. We the saw a 14 year old girl that had more than 8
Diopters of myopia and more than 2.5 Diopters of astigmatism seeing 20/20 without any glasses or
contact lenses, from her Orthokeratology results. Another woman that has been using Orthokeratology
for more than 10 years, a 16 year old boy with very high myopia, and a 42 year old man with terrible
allergies, all enjoying clear vision without the need of any glasses or contact lenses. We also saw
a 13 year old girl that has now been wearing her custom gas permeable lenses for 3 years. She has
more than 10 Diopters of Hypermetropia and has seen her vision and self-esteem improve since wearing
these contact lenses instead of her bifocal glasses. Agam is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation
plans on going to either Northern Florida or Arizona to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Linda Yan from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Pediatrics. We had the chance to see Orthokeratology for many different types of patients.
The first was a moderate myopic 10 year old girl that has her myopia increasing each year. In just 2
hours in the office her uncorrected vision went from worse than 20/400 to 20/60 from her initial
Orthokeratology treatment. She will be 20/20 in the next day or so. Next we saw a Myopic Presbyopic
woman in her 50s getting 20/15 distance vision while also being able to read the smallest print, all
without the need of any glasses or contact lenses. from her Multifocal Orthokeratology treatment. We
the saw a 14 year old girl that had more than 8 Diopters of myopia and more than 2.5 Diopters of
astigmatism seeing 20/20 without any glasses or contact lenses, from her Orthokeratology results.
Another woman that has been using Orthokeratology for more than 10 years, a 16 year old boy with very
high myopia, and a 42 year old man with terrible allergies, all enjoying clear vision without the need
of any glasses or contact lenses. We also saw a 13 year old girl that has now been wearing her custom
gas permeable lenses for 3 years. She has more than 10 Diopters of Hypermetropia and has seen her
vision and self-esteem improve since wearing these contact lenses instead of her bifocal glasses. Linda
is from Vancouver Canada and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Navi Hayer from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see a diverse group of patients. A lady with very
advanced Keratoconus doing well in her custom corneal gas permeable lenses. A woman with true Pellucids
Marginal Degeneration that failed with corneal gas permeable lenses, hybrid contacts, and Scleral lenses,
came to see Dr. Maller wearing soft contact lenses that made her eyes red and watery while only providing
20/ 200 vision. She is now successfully wearing her custom Scleral lenses 14-16 hours a day while maintaining
white comfortable eyes and seeing 20/20. Another 16 year old boy that had been enjoying his clear uncorrected
vision from Orthokeratology. He began his Orthokeratology when he was just 5 years old with 9 Diopters of
myopia. His myopic progression was halted when he started his Orthokeratology. We also saw a man that had
significant destruction of his cornea from a Herpetic infection. He has enjoyed clear vision with that eye
for the past 3 years from his custom Scleral Lens. Navi is from New York and upon graduation plans on
returning there to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ron Norman from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see a diverse group of patients. A lady with very
advanced Keratoconus doing well in her custom corneal gas permeable lenses. A woman with true Pellucids
Marginal Degeneration that failed with corneal gas permeable lenses, hybrid contacts, and Scleral lenses,
came to see Dr. Maller wearing soft contact lenses that made her eyes red and watery while only providing
20/ 200 vision. She is now successfully wearing her custom Scleral lenses 14-16 hours a day while maintaining
white comfortable eyes and seeing 20/20. Another 16 year old boy that had been enjoying his clear uncorrected
vision from Orthokeratology. He began his Orthokeratology when he was just 5 years old with 9 Diopters of
myopia. His myopic progression was halted when he started his Orthokeratology. We also saw a man that had
significant destruction of his cornea from a Herpetic infection. He has enjoyed clear vision with that eye
for the past 3 years from his custom Scleral Lens. Ron is from Daytona Beach Florida and upon graduation
plans on returning there to join a group OD/MD practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Carissa Janczak from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Ocular Disease. We saw a lady with very advanced Keratoconus successfully wearing custom corneal gas
permeable lenses. We also 3 Orthokeratology patients that were all quite different. The first was a 71
year old gentleman in Hyperopic Multifocal Orthokeratology, the second was a 42 year old man in myopic
Orthokeratology, and the last was a 14 year old girl with more than 8 Diopters of myopia using Orthokeratology
to both halt the progression of myopia and to provide uncorrected clear vision for her whole day. We also saw
the horrible aftermath of refractive surgery and the woman now wearing custom Multifocal Scleral lenses to
resolve the distorted vision from her surgery and provide a proper quality of life. Carissa is from Ohio
but upon graduation is planning on an Ocular Disease residency and then practicing in the Chicago area.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Raj Saggu from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Pediatrics and Binocular Vision. Initially Raj was taken back by some of the difficult clinical diagnostic
and treatment plan questions I posed to her but she quickly and very successfully rose to the challenge.
We had the chance to see a few patients with Keratoconus, a 10 year old girl using Orthokeratology to control
her myopia while giving her 20/20 uncorrected vision, and a man that had a Herpetic corneal infection that now
is using custom Scleral Multifocal lenses to provide vision once again. We also saw a 50 year old man that only
best corrected 20/80 in one eye with glasses due to a corneal irregularity. He was fit with a custom designed
Multifocal Orthokeratology lens and now his uncorrected vision is 20/25 and he can read the smallest print. We
also saw a man that is dealing with the aftermath of poor results from LASIK that has now been able to function
more normally thanks to his custom gas permeable lenses. Raj said that she has a new appreciation for what a
positive impact contact lenses can have on people's lives. Raj is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation plans
on residency, hopefully at Waterloo. She intends to stay in Canada to practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jacky Ock from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see the difficult vision problems that can come from RK (Radial
Keratotomy) surgery on a man that traveled from Maine so that Dr.Maller could design a totally customised
gas permeable lens to allow him normal vision. We also saw a 9 year old boy doing well in his Orthokeratology
treatment. He began treatment with about 6D of myopia and 2.50D of astigmatism. His Orthokeratology
treatment is providing him 20/20 uncorrected acuity while also stopping the progression of his myopia.
We also saw a woman that had failed multiple times with many doctors over many years to find a contact
lens solution. She has true Pellucids Marginal Degeneration and every lens that had been tried either was
too uncomfortable to wear, fell off her eyes, or failed to provide proper vision. She came in to see Dr. Maller
wearing lenses that only gave one eye 20/100 vision, the other eye 20/400 vision, and her eyes were very red
and watery. She was told that her eyes were dry so she should use eye lubrication which she puts into her eyes
more than 20 times a day, and that these were the best lenses for her. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom
gas permeable Scleral Multifocal contact lenses that she now wears troublefree 16 hours per day, every day,
never missing a day, with 20/20 vision and the ability to read the smallest print. She also now has white
eyes and doesn't need more than a couple of drops a day. Jacky is from Toronto Canada but upon graduation
isn't certain where he will practice.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alexandra Vlad from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School
of Optometry worked with me once again. A very strong interest in Contact Lenses since working with me. We saw
a very nice lady that has been suffering the aftermath of her Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery. She is now wearing
a pair of custom designed Scleral Multifocal lenses very successfully that allows her 20/25 vision in the
distance while allowing her to read all the small print and work on her computer all day. She also has dry eyes
and was surprised by her recent trip to the North. Despite the cold, wind, and dryness, she was able to wear her
lenses comfortably for the entire day. Alexandra is from Chicago and upon graduation plans on returning to the
Chicago area to practice. She has a possible job set already.
2018 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Shang Xiang from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interested in Ocular Disease. We saw a very nice lady that has been suffering the aftermath of
her Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery. She is now wearing a pair of custom designed Scleral Multifocal
lenses very successfully that allows her 20/25 vision in the distance while allowing her to read all
the small print and work on her computer all day. She also has dry eyes and was surprised by her
recent trip to the North. Despite the cold, wind, and dryness, she was able to wear her lenses
comfortably for the entire day. Shang is from Canada and upon graduation plans on doing a residency.
After the residency she is considering practicing here in the United States.
2019 Optometry Externs
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Paolo Militar from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interested in Primary Care. We saw a gentleman that had failed to achieve a successful result with
any soft contact lens with nearly a dozen different doctors over the course of 20 years. He has been
successfully wearing his custom corneal gas permeable lenses since Dr. Maller fit him in 2005. Another
gentleman from Germany was in for Dr. Maller to update his Orthokeratology treatment. Dr. Maller fit
him into Orthokeratology back in 1999 and he has maintained great uncorrected vision over the past 20
years but as he is now 61 years old, he needs a bit more reading help. Dr. Maller redesigned his
Multifocal Orthokeratology treatment so that he is able to continue enjoying his great uncorrected
vision for both distance and near. Paolo is from New York and upon graduation plans on returning
to New York to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bryan Sookoo from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interested in Ocular Disease. We saw a gentleman that had failed to achieve a successful result
with any soft contact lens with nearly a dozen different doctors over the course of 20 years. He
has been successfully wearing his custom corneal gas permeable lenses since Dr. Maller fit him
in 2005. Another gentleman from Germany was in for Dr. Maller to update his Orthokeratology
treatment. Dr. Maller fit him into Orthokeratology back in 1999 and he has maintained great
uncorrected vision over the past 20 years but as he is now 61 years old, he needs a bit more
reading help. Dr. Maller redesigned his Multifocal Orthokeratology treatment so that he is able
to continue enjoying his great uncorrected vision for both distance and near. Bryan upon graduation
plans on doing a residency in Ocular Disease but after spending the day with Dr. Maller and seeing
what can be accomplished with contact lenses is reconsidering. He plans on practicing in the Northeast.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Mohit Adlakha from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a very nice lady that has suffered
with Keratoconus and had been wearing soft toric lenses that were only providing 20/40 vision. In addition
to the poor vision she also had blood vessels growing into her cornea from the soft lenses. Dr. Maller
refit her into a pair of custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses to both address the poor physiology
that was creating the blood vessel growth and to also provide much better vision. She now enjoys 20/20
vision and wears her lenses comfortably for 16 hours per day. The blood vessels have receded out of the cornea.
We also saw a very nice lady that had been a many decade contact lens wearer that developed an infection
from Acanthamoeba that totally turned her life upside down, a little over a year ago. After the infection
was resolved 5 months later, this lady needed a corneal transplant and now has healed enough so that we
can restore vision back to her eye with a contact lens. The initial custom gas permeable corneal lens that
doctor Maller put on today gave her the first vision she has had in that eye for over a year. The acuity
was already 20/30+ and with some adjustment to the lens her vision will return to 20/20. She cried in
the office because she had given up all hope on having any vision out of that eye again and was totally
overwhelmed with joy. Mohit is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation plans on returning to the Toronto
area to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Mark Bassily from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease and Low Vision. We saw a very nice lady
that has suffered with Keratoconus and had been wearing soft toric lenses that were only providing 20/40
vision. In addition to the poor vision she also had blood vessels growing into her cornea from the soft
lenses. Dr. Maller refit her into a pair of custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses to both address
the poor physiology that was creating the blood vessel growth and to also provide much better vision.
She now enjoys 20/20 vision and wears her lenses comfortably for 16 hours per day. The blood vessels have
receded out of the cornea. We also saw a very nice lady that had been a many decade contact lens wearer
that developed an infection from Acanthamoeba that totally turned her life upside down, a little over a
year ago. After the infection was resolved 5 months later, this lady needed a corneal transplant and now
has healed enough so that we can restore vision back to her eye with a contact lens. The initial custom
gas permeable corneal lens that doctor Maller put on today gave her the first vision she has had in that
eye for over a year. The acuity was already 20/30+ and with some adjustment to the lens her vision will
return to 20/20. She cried in the office because she had given up all hope on having any vision out of
that eye again and was totally overwhelmed with joy. Mark is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation
plans on returning to the Toronto area to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nancy Liu from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the opportunity to see a gentleman that has had a corneal transplant.
This man has already failed several attempts with other physicians that have only tried various Scleral
lenses. The problem with the Scleral lenses has been both discomfort and continual fogging. Dr. Maller
has designed a custom corneal gas permeable that has proven to be comfortable to wear but still develops
a low grade edema along part of the visual axis along with the accumulation of debris. This is unacceptable
and many ways were discussed to address this problem. Nancy correctly made excellent recommendations to
modify the contact lens design. We also saw a man that has very advanced Keratoconus and suffers with
very decreased vision. Glasses are only able to provide vision of about 20/70 but even that is still very
distorted. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Scleral lenses that now provide vision that is 20/20, not
distorted, and he is able to wear these lenses comfortably for 16+ hours/day. Nancy is from Waterloo Canada
and will be doing a residency in New York. Upon completion of the residency she might stay in New York to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Anthony Sforza from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Binocular Vision. We had the opportunity to see a gentleman that has had a corneal transplant.
This man has already failed several attempts with other physicians that have only tried various Scleral
lenses. The problem with the Scleral lenses has been both discomfort and continual fogging. Dr. Maller
has designed a custom corneal gas permeable that has proven to be comfortable to wear but still develops
a low grade edema along part of the visual axis along with the accumulation of debris. This is unacceptable
and many ways were discussed to address this problem. Anthony correctly made excellent recommendations to
modify the contact lens design. We also saw a man that has very advanced Keratoconus and suffers with very
decreased vision. Glasses are only able to provide vision of about 20/70 but even that is still very
distorted. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Scleral lenses that now provide vision that is 20/20,
not distorted, and he is able to wear these lenses comfortably for 16+ hours/day. Anthony is from Waterloo
Canada and upon graduation will stay in Waterloo to practice. He may already have a position set up.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Agam Khanna from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me
again. Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see a very diverse group of
patients. A 70 year old woman that is corrected with Multifocal Orthokeratology that had an episode of
dizziness that causes a 2 day hospital stay, multiple MRI scans and blood work that all ended with negative
results. A 76 year old woman with a corneal transplant being fit into a custom corneal gas permeable
lens that has brought back vision to 20/30 after there had been no vision for over a year. A man that
had RK surgery, lost usable vision, now enjoying 20/20 vision once again because of the custom Multifocal
corneal gas permeable lens that Dr. Maller designed for him. A 59 year old man with a great deal of
astigmatism is now free of glasses because his Multifocal Orthokeratology treatment gives him great
distance and near vision without the need of any glasses or contacts. A man suffering the aftermath of
Hyperopic LASIK is now doing well with custom Scleral Contacts. Agam said it was fantastic to see such
a diverse group of patients benefiting from contact lens care. He is from Toronto Canada and upon
graduation plans on going to either Northern Florida, Arizona, or California to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ron Norman from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me again.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see a very diverse group of patients. A 70 year old woman
that is corrected with Multifocal Orthokeratology that had an episode of dizziness that causes a 2 day
hospital stay, multiple MRI scans and blood work that all ended with negative results. A 76 year old woman
with a corneal transplant being fit into a custom corneal gas permeable lens that has brought back vision
to 20/30 after there had been no vision for over a year. A man that had RK surgery, lost usable vision,
now enjoying 20/20 vision once again because of the custom Multifocal corneal gas permeable lens that Dr.
Maller designed for him. A 59 year old man with a great deal of astigmatism is now free of glasses because
his Multifocal Orthokeratology treatment gives him great distance and near vision without the need of any
glasses or contacts. A man suffering the aftermath of Hyperopic LASIK is now doing well with custom
Scleral Contacts. Ron said it was fantastic to see such a diverse group of patients benefiting from contact
lens care. He is from Daytona Beach Florida and upon graduation plans on returning there to join a group
OD/MD practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Andrew D'Ortenzio from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses and specifically Keratoconus. We saw a few patients that are dealing with
significant complications from refractive surgeries. Two men were suffering with very poor vision from
their radial keratotomy (RK) surgeries. One man had seen more than a dozen doctors over a decade that
were all expert contact lens practitioners, and at well known and highly respected institutions, yet
was unable to achieve any type of contact lens success. They all were too uncomfortable to wear and so
he was wearing glasses that only provided 20/50 vision that was also distorted. Four years ago he came
to see Dr. Maller at the suggestion of an acquaintance of his and Dr. Maller was able to design a pair
of custom corneal gas permeable lenses that he wears comfortably 14-16 hours/day that provide him 20/20
vision. Another gentleman was here to see Dr. Maller from Texas because his LASIK procedure has left him
with poor distorted vision and very dry eyes. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Scleral lenses that
resolve his dryness while also restoring his vision to an undistorted 20/15. Andrew said he was excited
to learn how to fit complex contact lenses to address these very difficult situations to help people like
saw today. He is from Toronto Canada but is not certain where he would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jessica Siu from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Ocular Disease. We saw a quite a variety of patients today. A woman in her 70s that unfortunately suffered
an Acanthamoeba infection nearly a year and a half ago that was from poor contact lens care. After several months
to resolve the infection, she needed a corneal transplant in that eye. There has been no vision in this eye for
the entire time. She is now seeing Dr. Maller for a contact lens to restore vision. The initial custom corneal
gas permeable lens is already providing 20/25 vision and the ability to read. Another fellow lost vision to a
Herpetic infection. He is now wearing a custom Scleral lens that has brought this eye back to 20/20 vision.
A young man of 17 has been seeing Dr. Maller since he was just 5 years old. He has been treated with his custom
Orthokeratology lenses all this time to prevent the increase in his myopia. At 5 years old he was already -9.00.
He has not progressed in all of these years while maintaining excellent uncorrected vision. We saw another
gentleman that isn't capable of vision correction with glasses due to his radial keratotomy surgery. He wears
custom corneal gas permeable Multifocal lenses 16+ hours a day that give him 20/20 vision while also providing
him good reading vision. Jessica said that she found this type of contact lens care very interesting and that
she learned a great deal. She is from California and plans to return there upon graduation.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Priya Kaura from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses. We saw a quite a variety of patients today. A woman in her 70s that unfortunately suffered
an Acanthamoeba infection nearly a year and a half ago that was from poor contact lens care. After several
months to resolve the infection, she needed a corneal transplant in that eye. There has been no vision in this
eye for the entire time. She is now seeing Dr. Maller for a contact lens to restore vision. The initial custom
corneal gas permeable lens is already providing 20/25 vision and the ability to read. Another fellow lost vision
to a Herpetic infection. He is now wearing a custom Scleral lens that has brought this eye back to 20/20 vision.
A young man of 17 has been seeing Dr. Maller since he was just 5 years old. He has been treated with his custom
Orthokeratology lenses all this time to prevent the increase in his myopia. At 5 years old he was already -9.00.
He has not progressed in all of these years while maintaining excellent uncorrected vision. We saw another
gentleman that isn't capable of vision correction with glasses due to his radial keratotomy surgery. He wears
custom corneal gas permeable Multifocal lenses 16+ hours a day that give him 20/20 vision while also providing
him good reading vision. Priya said that she is excited to provide this type of contact lens care and that she
learned a great deal. She is from Alberta Canada and plans to return there upon graduation.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Derek Morris from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a few Orthokeratology patients and one lady was an Emmetropic Presbyope
(perfect distance vision with only need for reading glasses) which he had no idea could be treated with
Orthokeratology. We also a gentleman with advanced Keratoconus doing well in his custom Multifocal corneal
gas permeable contact lenses. He very astutely answered quite a number of tough clinical questions that
I posed to him with respect to a few patients we had in the office. We also saw the unfortunate and very
sad aftermath from Radial Keratotomy surgery (RK) that this lady had done about 30 years ago. We had a
lengthy discussion regarding the problems created with all of the refractive surgical procedures. He had
no idea how common these problems and complications are, as a result of these various refractive surgical
procedures. Derek is from the Tampa area of Florida and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice
in a group Optometry/Ophthalmology practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alex Brocato from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a few Orthokeratology patients and one lady was an Emmetropic Presbyope
(perfect distance vision with only need for reading glasses) which he had no idea could be treated with
Orthokeratology. We also a gentleman with advanced Keratoconus doing well in his custom Multifocal corneal
gas permeable contact lenses. He very astutely answered quite a number of tough clinical questions that I
posed to him with respect to a few patients we had in the office. We also saw the unfortunate and very
sad aftermath from Radial Keratotomy surgery (RK) that this lady had done about 30 years ago. We had a
lengthy discussion regarding the problems created with all of the refractive surgical procedures. He had
no idea how common these problems and complications are, as a result of these various refractive surgical
procedures. Alex is from the Tampa area of Florida and upon graduation plans on returning to Sarasota to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Manpreet Dhaliwal from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interested in Ocular Disease. We saw a very nice man that has been suffering the aftermath of his Radial
Keratotomy (RK) surgery. He is now wearing a pair of custom designed gas permeable corneal Multifocal
lenses very successfully that provides him 20/20 vision in the distance while allowing him to read all
the small print and work on his computer all day. We also saw a lady that underwent a corneal transplant
and has had no vision at all in this eye for over a year. She had given up all hope that this eye would
ever see again. She is now wearing a custom corneal gas permeable lens that has restored this eye to 20/20
vision. She has commented how comfortable this lens is during the 13 to 15 hours she wears it every day and
has called this lens "her miracle." We also saw a man that had a piece of metal that flew off a grinding wheel
and pierced his eye. It scarred the cornea, paralyzed the iris, and destroyed the lens inside his eye so that
it needed to be removed. After multiple surgeries, he was left with a distorted cornea, a large fixed pupil
(due to the iris paralysis), and no lens inside the eye because there was too much damage to place an implant.
An eye that before this trauma had 20/20 uncorrected vision, was now left with a prescription of +15D and
distortion. A custom Scleral lens was designed for him that has now restored the vision in this eye to 20/15.
Manpreet is from Canada and upon graduation plans on possibly staying here in Florida. She does ultimately plan
on practicing in Chicago.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ravneet Sidhu from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interested in Ocular Disease. We saw a very nice man that has been suffering the aftermath of his
Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery. He is now wearing a pair of custom designed gas permeable corneal
Multifocal lenses very successfully that provides him 20/20 vision in the distance while allowing
him to read all the small print and work on his computer all day. We also saw a lady that underwent
a corneal transplant and has had no vision at all in this eye for over a year. She had given up all
hope that this eye would ever see again. She is now wearing a custom corneal gas permeable lens that
has restored this eye to 20/20 vision. She has commented how comfortable this lens is during the 13
to 15 hours she wears it every day and has called this lens "her miracle." We also saw a man that had
a piece of metal that flew off a grinding wheel and pierced his eye. It scarred the cornea, paralyzed
the iris, and destroyed the lens inside his eye so that it needed to be removed. After multiple surgeries,
he was left with a distorted cornea, a large fixed pupil (due to the iris paralysis), and no lens inside
the eye because there was too much damage to place an implant. An eye that before this trauma had 20/20
uncorrected vision, was now left with a prescription of +15D and distortion. A custom Scleral lens was
designed for him that has now restored the vision in this eye to 20/15. Ravneet is from Toronto Canada
and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michael Everson from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Cornea and Contact Lenses. We saw a
young man with extreme myopia (about -25.00 Diopters) that had been wearing scleral lenses.
Dr. Maller refit him into much better fitting custom corneal gas permeable lenses and in doing
so gave this young man better vision (acuity improved from 20/50 to 20/30), improved his wearing
schedule from about 10 hours of wear to about 15 hours of wear, improved the physiology of the
eye, and as a real surprise to both the patient and Michael, the comfort of the corneal lenses
far surpassed the Scleral lenses. All of these benefits AND the corneal lenses cost much less
than the Scleral lenses. This young man was very happy with his new custom corneal gas permeable
contact lenses. Michael is from Chicago and upon graduation will be doing a residency at UAB.
He plans on group practice in one of the Carolinas after completing his residency.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Colin Lee from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Cornea and Contact Lenses. We saw a young man with extreme myopia (about -25.00 Diopters) that
had been wearing scleral lenses. Dr. Maller refit him into much better fitting custom corneal gas
permeable lenses and in doing so gave this young man better vision (acuity improved from 20/50 to
20/30), improved his wearing schedule from about 10 hours of wear to about 15 hours of wear,
improved the physiology of the eye, and as a real surprise to both the patient and Colin, the
comfort of the corneal lenses far surpassed the Scleral lenses. All of these benefits AND the
corneal lenses cost much less than the Scleral lenses. This young man was very happy with his
new custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses. Colin is from Chicago and upon graduation will
return to Chicago to practice. He plans on being part of an Ophthalmology/Optometry practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kevin Nguyen from Midwestern University of Arizona College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Primary Care. We saw several children in Orthokeratology treatment to
prevent their myopia from increasing. One girl began her Orthokeratology when she was 9 years old.
She is now 14 years old and in the past 5 years she hasn't even had her myopia increase by as little
as 0.25D. She is exactly the same amount of myopia as when she began her Orthokeratology. Prior to her
Orthokeratology, she was changing her glasses every 6 months to keep up with her prescription that was
increasing so rapidly. We also saw a woman that has had a very poor result from LASIK, that traveled
from Illinois because she has been unable to wear any contact lenses to address her distorted vision
because all of the lenses she has tried have been too uncomfortable. Dr. Maller used very advanced
technology to custom design a pair of unique Scleral lenses for her. She commented that she hasn't seen
this well since her LASIK nearly 20 years ago. She has worn the lenses comfortably as much as 14 hours
per day. Kevin is from Tampa Florida and will return there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Yeva Kosman-Rimskaya from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw several children in Orthokeratology treatment to prevent their myopia
from increasing. One girl began her Orthokeratology when she was 9 years old. She is now 14 years old
and in the past 5 years she hasn't even had her myopia increase by as little as 0.25D. She is exactly
the same amount of myopia as when she began her Orthokeratology. Prior to her Orthokeratology, she was
changing her glasses every 6 months to keep up with her prescription that was increasing so rapidly.
We also saw a woman that has had a very poor result from LASIK, that traveled from Illinois because she
has been unable to wear any contact lenses to address her distorted vision because all of the lenses she
has tried have been too uncomfortable. Dr. Maller used very advanced technology to custom design a pair
of unique Scleral lenses for her. She commented that she hasn't seen this well since her LASIK nearly 20
years ago. She has worn the lenses comfortably as much as 14 hours per day. Yeva is from Brooklyn New
York and will return there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alex Brocato from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me once
again. Interest in Primary Care. We saw a diverse group of patients, including a few Orthokeratology patients,
and a few people suffering the problems created by their refractive surgical procedures. One man had traveled
from Maine because of his difficulties created from his Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery many years ago. He is
now wearing custom corneal gas permeable lenses so that he can have a visually normal life. Alex is from the
Tampa area of Florida and upon graduation plans on returning to Sarasota to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Andrew D'Ortenzio from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me once again.
Interest in Contact Lenses and specifically Keratoconus. We saw a diverse group of patients, including a few
Orthokeratology patients, and a few people suffering the problems created by their refractive surgical procedures.
One man had traveled from Maine because of his difficulties created from his Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery many
years ago. He is now wearing custom corneal gas permeable lenses so that he can have a visually normal life.
Andrew is from Toronto Canada but is not certain where he would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Michael Everson from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of
Optometry worked with me once again. Interest in Cornea and Contact Lenses. We had a variety of types of patient
cases and the clinical decision making was really put to the test. The one case that proved to be the most
challenging was a gentleman that has been traveling to see Dr. Maller for the past 11 years. When he first
came in 11 years ago, his best corrected vision with his glasses was 20/200 in his right eye (the "good eye")
and 20/400 in his left eye. He had no useable vision in his left eye for about 20 years prior, but was getting
by with glasses correcting his right eye. Over the previous year however, he steadily was losing vision in his
right eye which is what brought him in to see Dr. Maller. Dr. Maller diagnosed the problem as Terrien's Marginal
Degeneration, which is a fairly rare degeneration of the cornea. There is no treatment to stop the degeneration
but Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Scleral Multifocal contact lenses which for more than a decade now
has restored more normal visual function to this nice gentleman. He gets 20/20 vision in his right eye and
20/25 vision in his left eye, and can also read all the small print he needs to without the need of reading
glasses. He wears these Scleral lenses about 16 hours every day, totally comfortable, without ever missing a
single day. He considers these contact lenses a miracle. Michael is from Chicago and upon graduation in about
a month will be doing a residency at UAB. He plans on group practice in one of the Carolinas after completing his residency.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Derek Morris from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me once again.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We had a variety of types of patient cases and the clinical decision making was
really put to the test. The one case that proved to be the most challenging was a gentleman that has been
traveling to see Dr. Maller for the past 11 years. When he first came in 11 years ago, his best corrected vision
with his glasses was 20/200 in his right eye (the "good eye") and 20/400 in his left eye. He had no useable
vision in his left eye for about 20 years prior, but was getting by with glasses correcting his right eye.
Over the previous year however, he steadily was losing vision in his right eye which is what brought him in
to see Dr. Maller. Dr. Maller diagnosed the problem as Terrien's Marginal Degeneration, which is a fairly
rare degeneration of the cornea. There is no treatment to stop the degeneration but Dr. Maller designed a
pair of custom Scleral Multifocal contact lenses which for more than a decade now has restored more normal
visual function to this nice gentleman. He gets 20/20 vision in his right eye and 20/25 vision in his left
eye, and can also read all the small print he needs to without the need of reading glasses. He wears these
Scleral lenses about 16 hours every day, totally comfortable, without ever missing a single day. He considers
these contact lenses a miracle. Derek is from the Tampa area of Florida and upon graduation in about a month
plans on returning there to practice in a group Optometry/Ophthalmology practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Stephen Haidet from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Strong interest in Contact Lenses. We saw a gentleman that has had incredible vision difficulties that
were from his Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery 25 years ago. He had traveled to see more than a dozen very
well known doctors to try and restore more functional vision over the course of nearly a decade. All
attempts failed. Dr. Maller designed a custom pair of Multifocal gas permeable contact lenses that now
provide him good comfort and great vision once again at distance, computer work, and near, all day.
We also saw a man suffering with Keratoconus that has tried and failed for more than 20 years to find a
pair of contact lenses that were comfortable to wear while also providing good vision. Due to his failures,
he has been forced to "get by" wearing nothing. He would tolerate his very uncomfortable contact lenses
during special occasions when he absolutely needed to see. He has been very frustrated by this situation.
Dr. Maller used very sophisticated hardware and software to get detailed measurements from his eyes (more
than 100,000 data points off each eye) to design a pair of complex custom Multifocal Scleral contact lenses.
Upon putting this first pair of lenses on his eyes he was overwhelmed by the fact that he was unable to feel
them on his eyes. Stephen examined the lenses on his eyes and was amazed at how well they were fitting. He
commented that in school, he would have had trialed a minimum of 5 pairs of lenses, ordered a proper pair,
and it still would not have fit as well as this first pair. Stephen is from Florida and upon graduation will
be doing a residency in St. Pete, Florida. He plans on staying here in Florida after the Residency.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Priya Bhuva from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Possible interest in Ocular Disease but still undecided about specific area of concentration. We saw
a young girl that received her first pair of glasses for myopia just 3 months earlier. She had progressed
almost 1 diopter more in just these last 3 months. We discussed with her parents, myopia management to
stop the progression of myopia through the use of Orthokeratology. Orthokeratology has been shown not only
to provide great uncorrected vision but also the most effective treatment to halt the progression of myopia.
Given that myopia brings other very serious risks to the eye like retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts,
myopic retinal degeneration, etc. stopping myopia from progressing at this young age becomes very important.
A study just released showed that reducing the progression of myopia by just 1 diopter decreases risk for
serious complications by 40%. Priya is from Toronto and upon graduation isn't certain where she will practice
but does plan on eventually returning to Toronto.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Christian Gilberg from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw a young girl that received her first pair of glasses for myopia just 3
months earlier. She had progressed almost 1 diopter more in just these last 3 months. We discussed with her
parents, myopia management to stop the progression of myopia through the use of Orthokeratology. Orthokeratology
has been shown not only to provide great uncorrected vision but also the most effective treatment to halt the
progression of myopia. Given that myopia brings other very serious risks to the eye like retinal detachment,
glaucoma, cataracts, myopic retinal degeneration, etc. stopping myopia from progressing at this young age becomes
very important. A study just released showed that reducing the progression of myopia by just 1 diopter decreases
risk for serious complications by 40%. Christian is from Ottawa and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sahar El-Talla from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Possible interest in Contact Lenses. We saw two patients with Keratoconus. The first man is in his
mid-forties and has suffered poor vision for the past two decades because he was unable to find a contact
lens solution that would both be comfortable to wear and provide good vision. He therefore has been wearing
nothing and has just "been getting by." Dr. Maller designed for him a pair of custom Scleral Multifocal
contact lenses that he is now wearing comfortably 14-16 hours a day with incredibly sharp vision at distance
and near. The second man had his job jeopardized by Keratoconus because he came to Dr. Maller wearing contact
lenses that were both uncomfortable and only provided 20/30 vision (he is a commercial airline pilot). Dr.
Maller designed a pair of custom corneal gas permeable lenses that he comfortably wears 16-18 every day but
also equally important, improved his vision to 20/15. We also saw a man that suffered an accident where a
piece of metal flew off a grinding wheel and penetrated his eye. He had several surgeries and has had no
vision in this eye for nearly a year. He had the lens inside the eye removed, has a torn iris, an irregular
distorted cornea, and a prescription of approximately +16.00 diopters. He had been to several contact lens
specialists but failed to find any acceptable contact lens solution that he could even tolerate for even 30
minutes. Dr. Maller designed a custom Scleral Lens that he cannot even feel on his eye and has had acuity
returned to 20/20. He, and his wife were commenting what a long road it has been and how grateful they were
to find Dr. Maller as they had given up hope of this eye ever seeing again. Sahar is from South Florida and
upon graduation plans on staying here. She is now more excited to learn about contact lenses.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Felix Lee from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We saw two patients with Keratoconus. The first man is in his mid-forties
and has suffered poor vision for the past two decades because he was unable to find a contact lens
solution that would both be comfortable to wear and provide good vision. He therefore has been wearing
nothing and has just "been getting by." Dr. Maller designed for him a pair of custom Scleral Multifocal
contact lenses that he is now wearing comfortably 14-16 hours a day with incredibly sharp vision at
distance and near. The second man had his job jeopardized by Keratoconus because he came to Dr. Maller
wearing contact lenses that were both uncomfortable and only provided 20/30 vision (he is a commercial
airline pilot). Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom corneal gas permeable lenses that he comfortably
wears 16-18 every day but also equally important, improved his vision to 20/15. We also saw a man that
suffered an accident where a piece of metal flew off a grinding wheel and penetrated his eye. He had
several surgeries and has had no vision in this eye for nearly a year. He had the lens inside the eye
removed, has a torn iris, an irregular distorted cornea, and a prescription of approximately +16.00
diopters. He had been to several contact lens specialists but failed to find any acceptable contact
lens solution that he could even tolerate for even 30 minutes. Dr. Maller designed a custom Scleral
Lens that he cannot even feel on his eye and has had acuity returned to 20/20. He, and his wife were
commenting what a long road it has been and how grateful they were to find Dr. Maller as they had given
up hope of this eye ever seeing again. Felix is from Maryland and upon graduation plans on practicing
somewhere in the Northeast.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Chloe Somers from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interested in Low Vision. We saw a gentleman with a corneal transplant and all of the difficulties that
must be overcome when fitting a contact lens. Although Dr. Maller has designed a custom corneal gas
permeable contact lens that takes the vision of this eye from 20/800 to 20/25, and the lens is very
comfortable to wear, there is still concern regarding the long term health of the cornea which why Dr.
Maller is working on improving the design even further. We also saw another gentleman that traveled
from Maine to see Dr. Maller. He is dealing with poor vision from his refractive surgical procedures,
and has been unable to find any type of contact lens to bring back vision. He is now wearing a pair
of custom Scleral Contacts uniquely designed by Dr Maller that brings his vision to a good quality
20/15 for the entire day. Chloe is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation, plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Marlene Catarino from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Marlene is interested in Primary Care. We saw a gentleman with a corneal transplant and all of the
difficulties that must be overcome when fitting a contact lens. Although Dr. Maller has designed a
custom corneal gas permeable contact lens that takes the vision of this eye from 20/800 to 20/25,
and the lens is very comfortable to wear, there is still concern regarding the long term health of
the cornea which why Dr. Maller is working on improving the design even further. We also saw another
gentleman that traveled from Maine to see Dr. Maller. He is dealing with poor vision from his refractive
surgical procedures, and has been unable to find any type of contact lens to bring back vision. He is
now wearing a pair of custom Scleral Contacts uniquely designed by Dr Maller that brings his vision to
a good quality 20/15 for the entire day. Marlene is from Toronto Canada but upon graduation, plans on
staying in the United States practice. Possibly North Carolina, Florida, or Texas, is where she plans to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Hiral Patel from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see a young man that traveled from California to
see Dr. Maller regarding debilitating headaches from his LASIK surgery. After completing the
comprehensive examination, the root cause of the headaches was determined and explained, and a
treatment plan was prescribed for this gentleman. Hiral is from South Carolina and plans on
returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jayro Loya from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We had the chance to see a young man that traveled from California
to see Dr. Maller regarding debilitating headaches from his LASIK surgery. After completing the
comprehensive examination, the root cause of the headaches was determined and explained, and a
treatment plan was prescribed for this gentleman. Jayro is from Philadelphia but isn't yet certain
where he would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Josh Reed from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We had the chance to see a woman that has been successfully wearing soft
disposable contact lenses for approximately 25 years. She now developed the difficulties seeing up
close and so was attempting to find a solution so that she can read while still wearing her Contact
lenses. During this process the previous doctor was unable to find a successful resolution and referred
her to Ophthalmology where she obtained a diagnosis of Keratoconus. She was devastated to find out that
she had this disease and was referred to Dr. Maller. Dr. Maller correctly identified the problem as soft
lens corneal distortion and not Keratoconus. Dr. Maller refit her into a pair of custom gas permeable
multifocal contact lenses that now provide her great vision for distance and for near and over the past
7 years has maintained corneas with a no distortion whatsoever from her corneal gas permeable lenses.
Josh is from Tennessee but upon graduation isn't certain where he would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Monserrat Arias from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Contact Lenses. We had a variety of types of patient
cases and the clinical decision making was really put to the test. One of the more unique presentations
was a woman that had just traveled to see Dr. Maller from Missouri 3 days earlier. Her complaint was
continuously red watery eyes. She had seen many doctors and had countless diagnostic tests done, tried
many different medications/therapies/treatments over the last several years, all of which failed to
provide resolution to her red watery eyes. She traveled to see Dr. Maller to obtain a hand painted
contact lens to hide the redness. Dr. Maller felt that the redness was coming from her ocular surface
disease and believed that a properly designed custom Scleral Multifocal contact lens could both provide
vision for her at distance and near as well as resolve the redness. This was the 2nd day that she was
wearing these lenses and already the redness had subsided tremendously. She is very encouraged that the
redness will resolve completely over the next several weeks while she is wearing these lenses.
Monserrat is from Ecuador but upon graduation isn't yet certain where she would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Nicole DeMarco from Midwestern University of Arizona College of Optometry
worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease and Low Vision. We had a variety of types of patient cases
and the clinical decision making was really put to the test. One of the more unique presentations was a
woman that had just traveled to see Dr. Maller from Missouri 3 days earlier. Her complaint was
continuously red watery eyes. She had seen many doctors and had countless diagnostic tests done,
tried many different medications/therapies/treatments over the last several years, all of which failed
to provide resolution to her red watery eyes. She traveled to see Dr. Maller to obtain a hand painted
contact lens to hide the redness. Dr. Maller felt that the redness was coming from her ocular surface
disease and believed that a properly designed custom Scleral Multifocal contact lens could both provide
vision for her at distance and near as well as resolve the redness. This was the 2nd day that she was
wearing these lenses and already the redness had subsided tremendously. She is very encouraged that the
redness will resolve completely over the next several weeks while she is wearing these lenses.
Nicole is from Idaho but upon graduation isn't yet certain where she would like to practice although she
will return to somewhere in the Northwest.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Josh Reed from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me
once again. Interest in Ocular Disease but said he is developing much more interest in Contact Lenses.
We saw an 8 year old boy that came in because his mother was concerned that his myopia might be
advancing. His last eye exam was just 6 months ago and he is now one diopter more near sighted.
This alarmed his mother. This young man will be moving into Orthokeratology for his myopia control
as well as to provide him great uncorrected vision for all of his waking hours.
Josh is from Tennessee but upon graduation isn't certain where he would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jas Nijjar from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw an 8 year old boy that came in because his mother was concerned
that his myopia might be advancing. His last eye exam was just 6 months ago and he is now one
diopter more near sighted. This alarmed his mother. This young man will be moving into Orthokeratology
for his myopia control as well as to provide him great uncorrected vision for all of his waking hours.
Jas is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Christian Gilberg from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me again.
Interest in Ocular Disease although he is now more seriously considering Contact Lenses. We saw a 10 year old
boy that travels from Brazil to see Dr. Maller. He has progressive myopia and in the past couple of years has
already gone up to about -5 prescription with over 2 diopters of Astigmatism. Dr. Maller fit him into custom
Orthokeratology a little over one year ago and he has maintained 20/20 uncorrected vision for all of his waking
hours and has not even progressed 0.25 diopter since beginning his Orthokeratology treatment a little over a year
ago. His parents were absolutely delighted with this great news. The 10 year old young man said that the day he met
Dr. Maller changed his life. Christian is from Ottawa and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Priya Bhuva from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me again.
Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We saw a 9 year old boy that only 6 months earlier had no
prescription but now already has -1.50 Diopters of myopia. He is beginning his Orthokeratology treatment
today and has uncorrected vision of 20/80. After just 2 hours in his Orthokeratology Lenses his uncorrected
vision was now 20/20. He then proceeded to learn how to apply and remove his lenses - all in about 15 minutes.
Orthokeratology has been shown not only to provide great uncorrected vision but also the most effective
treatment to halt the progression of myopia. Given that myopia brings other very serious risks to the eye
like retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts, myopic retinal degeneration, etc. stopping myopia from progressing
at this young age becomes very important. A study just released showed that reducing the progression of myopia
by just 1 diopter decreases risk for serious complications by 40%. Priya is from Toronto and upon graduation
isn't certain where she will practice but does plan on eventually returning to Toronto.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Adeela Ahmed from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We had the opportunity to see a gentleman that is now dealing with very significant
vision problems from his Lasik procedures on each eye 19 years ago. Although he enjoyed trouble free clear
vision for a little over 15 years from his Lasik procedure, for the past few years he has noticed increasing
problems with his vision. Doing his job, driving, especially at night, and the ability to do any close work
(even with the help of reading glasses) is all becoming impossible due to distortions in his vision. He tried
to resolve these issues with Scleral Contact Lenses with his local expert, because after doing extensive research,
this was supposed to restore more normal functional vision. After a couple of months though, he failed to achieve
any lens solution that he could tolerate wearing or even improved his vision. In fact, he said that the Scleral
Lenses made his vision worse and that he could see better without them. He traveled in to see Dr. Maller to see if
a solution would be possible. Dr. Maller designed a pair of totally customized Scleral Lenses that he finds
comfortable to wear all day and provides him 20/15 vision with no distortions. Adeela is from Toronto Canada
and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Monserrat Arias from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
School of Optometry worked with me again. Interest in Ocular Disease, Contact Lenses, and Keratoconus.
We had the opportunity to see a gentleman that is now dealing with very significant vision problems from
his Lasik procedures on each eye 19 years ago. Although he enjoyed trouble free clear vision for a little
over 15 years from his Lasik procedure, for the past few years he has noticed increasing problems with his
vision. Doing his job, driving, especially at night, and the ability to do any close work (even with the
help of reading glasses) is all becoming impossible due to distortions in his vision. He tried to resolve
these issues with Scleral Contact Lenses with his local expert, because after doing extensive research,
this was supposed to restore more normal functional vision. After a couple of months though, he failed
to achieve any lens solution that he could tolerate wearing or even improved his vision. In fact, he said
that the Scleral Lenses made his vision worse and that he could see better without them. He traveled in to
see Dr. Maller to see if a solution would be possible. Dr. Maller designed a pair of totally customized
Scleral Lenses that he finds comfortable to wear all day and provides him 20/15 vision with no distortions.
Monserrat is from Ecuador but upon graduation isn't yet certain where she would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Priya Bhuva from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me once again.
Interest in Ocular Disease and Contact Lenses. We saw a few young Orthokeratology patients that are enjoying
clear uncorrected vision now for a few years. One boy began his Orthokeratology treatment with very high astigmatism
yet Orthokeratology was able to successfully reduce that to zero along with the total elimination of his myopia.
None of the children have had any progression of myopia whatsoever since beginning their Orthokeratology
treatment a few years ago. Priya is from Toronto and upon graduation isn't certain where she will practice
but does plan on eventually returning to Toronto.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Lisa Huynh from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see a woman with advanced Keratoconus wearing custom corneal
gas permeable multifocal contact lenses that provides her great vision allowing her to continue practicing law.
We also saw a man dealing with the problems from his RK surgery 35 years ago now wearing custom corneal gas permeable
multifocal contact lenses that provide him great vision at distance and near despite his distorted corneas and high
prescription of about +11.00 diopters. Lisa is from Virginia and upon graduation plans to return there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kevin Wah from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry worked with
me. Interest in Primary Care. We had the chance to see a woman with advanced Keratoconus wearing custom corneal gas
permeable multifocal contact lenses that provides her great vision allowing her to continue practicing law.
We also saw a man dealing with the problems from his RK surgery 35 years ago now wearing custom corneal gas permeable
multifocal contact lenses that provide him great vision at distance and near despite his distorted corneas and high
prescription of about +11.00 diopters. Kevin is from Dallas, Texas and upon graduation plans to return there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Phillip Demott from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a very distraught woman that had traveled from Missouri to see Dr. Maller.
She has had continually red eyes for the past several years. She has seen countless eye doctors and has
tried a myriad of treatments, all have which failed to resolve her red eyes. Some of the treatments she has
tried included artificial tears, autologous serum tears, lid hygiene, lipoflow, moisture shield, anti-inflammatory
eye drops, etc. She gave up on wearing her contact lenses, and still her red eyes persists. Dr. Maller designed
a pair of custom Scleral multifocal contact to provide protection to her corneas (the stimulating source of the
redness) while also providing vision for distance and near. This was a return trip to assess the progress made
over the past 6 weeks. Her eyes are much whiter, she sees well in the distance, but only fair at near. Dr. Maller
redesigned the custom Scleral multifocal lenses to both provide greater coverage and improved near vision. Upon
receiving these new lenses she could tell that her near vision was vastly improved and that they were very
comfortable. She wears the lenses an average of 14 hours a day. We will see in the next couple of months if the
increased size of the new lenses will whiten her eyes even further. She is happy that her eyes are looking so much better.
Phillip is from Delaware and is returning there upon graduation to practice. He already has a job set up in a practice
that at one time was his Aunt's practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jean-Guy Bilodeau from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a very distraught woman that had traveled from Missouri to see Dr. Maller.
She has had continually red eyes for the past several years. She has seen countless eye doctors and has tried
a myriad of treatments, all have which failed to resolve her red eyes. Some of the treatments she has tried
included artificial tears, autologous serum tears, lid hygiene, lipoflow, moisture shield, anti-inflammatory
eye drops, etc. She gave up on wearing her contact lenses, and still her red eyes persists. Dr. Maller designed
a pair of custom Scleral multifocal contact to provide protection to her corneas (the stimulating source of the
redness) while also providing vision for distance and near. This was a return trip to assess the progress made
over the past 6 weeks. Her eyes are much whiter, she sees well in the distance, but only fair at near. Dr. Maller
redesigned the custom Scleral multifocal lenses to both provide greater coverage and improved near vision. Upon
receiving these new lenses she could tell that her near vision was vastly improved and that they were very
comfortable. She wears the lenses an average of 14 hours a day. We will see in the next couple of months if the
increased size of the new lenses will whiten her eyes even further. She is happy that her eyes are looking so much better.
Jean-Guy is from Winnipeg Canada and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Gerald Choi from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Binocular Vision, and Vision Therapy. We saw a woman that is enjoying great uncorrected
vision from her Orthokeratology treatment. She has some myopia, a high amount of astigmatism, and most
recently, Presbyopia (the problem not being able to see up close as we age). She is now in a multifocal
Orthokeratology treatment so that she can see clearly at all distances without the need of any optical
devices. Gerald is from Vancouver Canada and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Rebecca Krivitsky from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a woman that is enjoying great uncorrected vision from her Orthokeratology
treatment. She has some myopia, a high amount of astigmatism, and most recently, Presbyopia (the problem not
being able to see up close as we age). She is now in a multifocal Orthokeratology treatment so that she can
see clearly at all distances without the need of any optical devices. Rebecca is from New Hampshire but upon
graduation isn't certain where she will practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Wynn Nguyen from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Vision Therapy and Contact Lenses. We had the opportunity to see a diverse group of patients.
One gentleman with very high myopia and extreme dry eye being addressed with a custom Scleral multifocal,
a woman with advanced Keratoconus doing exceptionally well in her custom corneal gas permeable lenses,
and another gentleman dealing with horrible complications from RK surgery 30 years ago that is now leading
a normal visual life thanks to the custom corneal gas permeable multifocal lenses he can wear for 16-18
hours every day. We discussed the challenge and importance of designing a contact lens solution that can
provide full-day, every day, rock solid performance without any downtime for these types of patients because
without their contact lenses they are totally disabled due to no functional vision through any other means.
Wynn is from Hamilton Canada and upon graduation plans on returning to the same area to practice. She has
already been working on a position with FYI in Canada.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Holly MacPhee from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Vision Therapy and Neuro-Optometry. We had the opportunity to see a diverse group of patients.
One gentleman with very high myopia and extreme dry eye being addressed with a custom Scleral multifocal, a
woman with advanced Keratoconus doing exceptionally well in her custom corneal gas permeable lenses, and
another gentleman dealing with horrible complications from RK surgery 30 years ago that is now leading a
normal visual life thanks to the custom corneal gas permeable multifocal lenses he can wear for 16-18 hours
every day. We discussed the challenge and importance of designing a contact lens solution that can provide
full-day, every day, rock solid performance without any downtime for these types of patients because without
their contact lenses they are totally disabled due to no functional vision through any other means.
Holly is from Prince Edward Island Canada and upon graduation plans on returning to the same area to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Negar Sohbati from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me. She is not
yet certain what parts of eye care that she would like to concentrate. Today was a day for Orthokeratology.
We saw a couple of kids in Orthokeratology for both great uncorrected vision while also preventing the
progression of any additional myopia. We also saw a 59 year old woman that is using Orthokeratology to
address her myopia, astigmatism, and Presbyopia. She enjoys good vision at far and near without the need
to use any glasses or Contact Lenses. Negar is from Toronto Canada but isn't certain where she would like to
practice. She may even stay in the United States.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ryan Van from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in
Anterior Segment and Contact Lenses. Today was a day for Orthokeratology. We saw a couple of kids in
Orthokeratology for both great uncorrected vision while also preventing the progression of any additional myopia.
We also saw a 59 year old woman that is using Orthokeratology to address her myopia, astigmatism, and Presbyopia.
She enjoys good vision at far and near without the need to use any glasses or Contact Lenses. Ryan is from Florida
but isn't certain where he would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Jack Roy from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Primary Care.
We saw an 13 year old girl that has been enjoying clear uncorrected vision from her Orthokeratology treatment.
She began Orthokeratology primarily to stop the progression of her myopia because both of her parents have very high
myopia and she had been progressing very rapidly herself. Since starting her Orthokeratology treatment 1.5 years ago,
she has totally halted her myopic progression. She has the additional side benefit of 20/15 vision without any help
from glasses or Contact Lenses. Jack is from Michigan and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice with
his father who has an established Optometric practice there already.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Paras Patel from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Contact Lenses.
We saw an 13 year old girl that has been enjoying clear uncorrected vision from her Orthokeratology treatment. She began
Orthokeratology primarily to stop the progression of her myopia because both of her parents have very high myopia and she
had been progressing very rapidly herself. Since starting her Orthokeratology treatment 1.5 years ago, she has totally
halted her myopic progression. She has the additional side benefit of 20/15 vision without any help from glasses or
Contact Lenses. Paras is from Chicago and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Bhavani Patel from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular
Disease and Pediatrics. We saw an 12 year old boy that has been enjoying clear uncorrected vision from his
Orthokeratology treatment. He began Orthokeratology primarily to stop the progression of his myopia because
both of his parents have very high myopia and he had been progressing very rapidly himself. Since starting
his Orthokeratology treatment 3 weeks ago, he has been enjoying his clear vision without any need for glasses.
He will be followed closely to make certain his Orthokeratology treatment is also effectively stopping the
progression of his myopia. Bhavani is from Florida and upon graduation plans on returning here to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern David Bowin from Midwestern University of Arizona College of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Primary Care and Ocular Disease. We saw an 12 year old boy that has been enjoying clear
uncorrected vision from his Orthokeratology treatment. He began Orthokeratology primarily to stop the progression
of his myopia because both of his parents have very high myopia and he had been progressing very rapidly himself.
Since starting his Orthokeratology treatment 3 weeks ago, he has been enjoying his clear vision without any need
for glasses. He will be followed closely to make certain his Orthokeratology treatment is also effectively
stopping the progression of his myopia. David is from California and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Victor Paul from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School of
Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease, and Contact Lenses. We had the opportunity to see a woman
with recently diagnosed but advanced Keratoconus that had a corneal transplant done on one eye about one year
ago. This eye is seeing only 20/400 vision and with the best glasses can only see about 20/100 vision. We
discussed many contact lens options that would be possible to fit given the geometry and physiological concerns
of the graft. There were many complex issues to consider and despite the initial consideration by Victor to
pursue a Scleral lens, a custom asymmetrical corneal gas permeable lens was going to be the best choice. Victor
is from Brooklyn New York but upon graduation isn't yet certain where he would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Patrick Brown from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences School
of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Ocular Disease, and Contact Lenses. We had the opportunity to see a
woman with recently diagnosed but advanced Keratoconus that had a corneal transplant done on one eye about
one year ago. This eye is seeing only 20/400 vision and with the best glasses can only see about 20/100 vision.
We discussed many contact lens options that would be possible to fit given the geometry and physiological
concerns of the graft. There were many complex issues to consider and despite the initial consideration by
Patrick to pursue a Scleral lens, a custom asymmetrical corneal gas permeable lens was going to be the best
choice. Patrick is from Brooklyn Ohio but upon graduation isn't yet certain where he would like to practice.
He is considering California or Florida.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern David Bowin from Midwestern University of Arizona College of Optometry worked with me
again. Interest in Primary Care and Ocular Disease. We saw a 62 year old woman with rather irregular corneas from
pterygia that is very successfully being treated by multifocal Orthokeratology. She puts her custom designed
Multifocal Orthokeratology Lenses on prior to sleep and then removes them in the morning upon awakening. She is
enjoying clear vision all day long at distance and near without the need for any optical devices. David is from
California and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Gerald Choi from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me again.
Interest in Binocular Vision, and Vision Therapy. We had a very busy day with a great variety of cases including
Orthokeratology, custom corneal multifocal gas permeable lenses for a woman suffering complications from Radial
Keratotomy (RK) surgery, custom Scleral multifocal contact lenses for a woman dealing with complications from LASIK
surgery, and a very rare case of corneal dystrophy. The gentleman with the corneal dystrophy came from New Jersey
to see if Dr. Maller would be able to design a custom contact lens that would restore enough functional vision so
that he would be able to retain his driver's license (trucker) so that he could continue to work. In the 5 days
that he was here, a pair of custom Scleral Lenses were designed and fine-tuned to give him 20/40 vision in each eye.
He was able to pass his vision requirements and continue working. Gerald is from Vancouver Canada and upon graduation
plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Phillip Demott from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me again.
Interest in Primary Care. We had a very busy day with a great variety of cases including Orthokeratology, custom
corneal multifocal gas permeable lenses for a woman suffering complications from Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery,
custom Scleral multifocal contact lenses for a woman dealing with complications from LASIK surgery, and a very
rare case of corneal dystrophy. The gentleman with the corneal dystrophy came from New Jersey to see if Dr. Maller
would be able to design a custom contact lens that would restore enough functional vision so that he would be able
to retain his driver's license (trucker) so that he could continue to work. In the 5 days that he was here, a pair
of custom Scleral Lenses were designed and fine-tuned to give him 20/40 vision in each eye. He was able to pass his
vision requirements and continue working. Phillip is from Delaware and upon graduation plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Mark Calixto from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a gentleman that traveled in from St. Martin for adjustment to his multifocal
Orthokeratology treatment. He is wearing custom Orthokeratology Lenses only during his sleeping time so that
he can see clearly without the need of any optical appliances all his waking hours. It came as a surprise to
Mark that not only could Orthokeratology eliminate his myopia, but it could also address his Presbyopia
(inability to see close after 40 years old). It was also a shock that Orthokeratology can treat hyperopia
(far sightedness) as this was not taught in school. Mark is from Massachusetts and upon graduation plans on
returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Crystal Victor from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses. We saw a gentleman that traveled in from St. Martin for adjustment to his multifocal
Orthokeratology treatment. He is wearing custom Orthokeratology Lenses only during his sleeping time so that he
can see clearly without the need of any optical appliances all his waking hours. It came as a surprise to Crystal
that not only could Orthokeratology eliminate his myopia, but it could also address his Presbyopia
(inability to see close after 40 years old). It was also a shock that Orthokeratology can treat hyperopia
(far sightedness) as this was not taught in school. Crystal is from South Florida and upon graduation plans on
trying to get a contact lens residency. She would like to return to South Florida to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Julianna Mola from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Ocular Disease. We had a very full day of Orthokeratology patients today. We saw several
children of varying ages all enjoying clear vision all day long while also halting their progression of
myopia. Although the initial reason their parents pursued Orthokeratology to stop their children from
becoming more myopic every year as they had been doing in the past, the children all are much happier
about the fact that they don't need to wear any glasses or contact lenses all day so that they can see.
Clear vision without the need of any glasses or contact lenses is much better for a child's lifestyle. Of
course the adults that we saw were also enjoying that they didn't need distance or reading glasses any more.
The fact that clear vision from Orthokeratology can be a reality for everyone came as a revelation to Julianna
that Orthokeratology isn't just about stopping the progression of myopia in children as she learned in school.
Julianna is from New Jersey and upon graduation plans on trying to get a residency. She would like to return to
New Jersey to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Janice Lee from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care. We saw a very nice woman that first came to Dr. Maller about 10 years ago.
She has a great deal of myopia and astigmatism (myopia about-14.00) She was wearing soft lenses that
gave her about 20/70 vision in each eye. She had tried gas permeable lenses but found them too
uncomfortable to tolerate so she continued wearing the soft lenses even though the vision was awful.
Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom gas permeable lenses that she wears comfortably 14+ hours a day
while enjoying 20/20 vision. This latest pairs of lenses are now multifocal so she can continue to see
clearly at her computer and desk work without needing any reading glasses, even though she is now 43
years old. Janice is now reconsidering a contact lens solution for herself as she has also been unable
to find a contact lens that she can wear comfortably. Janice is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation
plans on returning there to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kelsy Simpson from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Primary Care and Contact Lenses. We saw a very nice woman that first came to Dr. Maller
about 10 years ago. She has a great deal of myopia and astigmatism (myopia about-14.00)
She was wearing soft lenses that gave her about 20/70 vision in each eye. She had tried gas permeable lenses
but found them too uncomfortable to tolerate so she continued wearing the soft lenses even though the vision
was awful. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom gas permeable lenses that she wears comfortably 14+ hours a
day while enjoying 20/20 vision. This latest pairs of lenses are now multifocal so she can continue to see
clearly at her computer and desk work without needing any reading glasses, even though she is now 43 years old.
Kelsy is from Oklahoma and upon graduation plans on returning there to join her father's practice. Her father
came to a weekend training to design complex custom contact lenses that Dr. Maller taught a few years ago. Kelsy
was excited to see what can be accomplished with custom contact lenses.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Melanie Shashaty from the University of Montreal School of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in Primary Care. We saw a gentleman that traveled to see Dr. Maller from Arkansas.
He is suffering with vision problems from his refractive surgery (Radial Keratotomy) that he had 20 years ago.
He had been fit into Scleral Lenses locally and has done rather well with them, wearing them comfortably 16
hours every day for the past two years, but he still wasn't satisfied with his vision. He was hoping that
totally customized lenses would provide better vision. In addition to the new custom Scleral Lenses providing
him with better vision, they were also more comfortable and resolved a red irritated area that he was getting
with his previous Scleral Lenses. Melanie is from Montreal Canada and will be returning to there to practice
upon graduation.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ashley Dieplam from the University of Montreal School of Optometry worked
with me today. Interest in Primary Care. We saw a gentleman that traveled to see Dr. Maller from Arkansas.
He is suffering with vision problems from his refractive surgery (Radial Keratotomy) that he had 20 years
ago. He had been fit into Scleral Lenses locally and has done rather well with them, wearing them
comfortably 16 hours every day for the past two years, but he still wasn't satisfied with his vision. He
was hoping that totally customized lenses would provide better vision. In addition to the new custom Scleral
Lenses providing him with better vision, they were also more comfortable and resolved a red irritated area
that he was getting with his previous Scleral Lenses. Ashley is from Montreal Canada and will be returning
to there to practice upon graduation.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Dushika Ravendrarajah from New England College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Contact Lenses and Pediatrics. We saw a woman that has been enjoying clear uncorrected vision
for the past 19 years because Dr. Maller designed custom lenses for her Orthokeratology treatment. Her
original prescription was -6.50 Diopters of myopia. Dushika is from Toronto Canada but upon graduation is
not certain where she would like to practice.
2019 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ava Koch from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Primary Care. We saw a woman that has been enjoying clear uncorrected vision for the past 19 years
because Dr. Maller designed custom lenses for her Orthokeratology treatment. Her original prescription
was -6.50 Diopters of myopia. Ava is from New York but upon graduation is not certain where she would
like to practice.
2020 Optometry Externs
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Olivia Bass from New England College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in Pediatrics.
We had a day of several traveling patients, so time was of the essence. Among the traveling patients were 3 people
suffering with problems from their respective Lasik surgeries. A woman from New York has a great deal of difficulty
in lower light conditions. She is now wearing custom Scleral Multifocal Lenses. The young man from Pennsylvania is
very light sensitive in addition to his poor aberrated vision. He is now seeing 20/15 and had immediate relief from
the light sensitivity with his new custom Scleral Lenses. The other older gentleman from Colorado suffers poor
vision and continually red eyes from his Lasik. He is also now seeing well with his new Scleral Lenses and his eyes
are much whiter now. He is still improving his technique for applying the lenses. We also saw three Orthokeratology
patients, two of which flew in. One gentleman in his mid forties from St. Maarten is enjoying his multifocal
Orthokeratology treatment so that he can see distance yet still work on his computer more than ten hours per day
without the need of any optical devices. The other young man (10 years old) from Brazil went into Orthokeratology
2 years ago to prevent his myopia from increasing. He is not only free from glasses which he absolutely doesn't miss,
but he also stopped the progression of his myopia completely. Olivia is from Miami but upon graduation is not
certain where she would like to practice. She will be trying to get into a Pediatrics residency.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Danny Christensen from Midwestern University of Arizona College of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Primary Care and Low Vision. We had a day of several traveling patients, so time was of the
essence. Among the traveling patients were 3 people suffering with problems from their respective Lasik surgeries.
A woman from New York has a great deal of difficulty in lower light conditions. She is now wearing custom Scleral
Multifocal Lenses. The young man from Pennsylvania is very light sensitive in addition to his poor aberrated vision.
He is now seeing 20/15 and had immediate relief from the light sensitivity with his new custom Scleral Lenses. The
other older gentleman from Colorado suffers poor vision and continually red eyes from his Lasik. He is also now
seeing well with his new Scleral Lenses and his eyes are much whiter now. He is still improving his technique for
applying the lenses. We also saw three Orthokeratology patients, two of which flew in. One gentleman in his mid
forties from St. Maarten is enjoying his multifocal Orthokeratology treatment so that he can see distance yet still
work on his computer more than ten hours per day without the need of any optical devices. The other young man
(10 years old) from Brazil went into Orthokeratology 2 years ago to prevent his myopia from increasing. He is not
only free from glasses which he absolutely doesn't miss, but he also stopped the progression of his myopia completely.
Danny is from California but upon graduation is not certain where he would like to practice.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Kelsy Simpson from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me once again.
Interest in Primary Care and Contact Lenses. We saw a man that had been suffering with very advanced Keratoconus.
He initially came to see Dr. Maller 7 weeks ago. He was wearing piggyback contact lenses - a pair of rigid gas
permeable corneal lenses on top of a pair of soft disposable lenses. Although he was fairly comfortable with these
four contact lenses, his vision was only fair, and his corneas were severely distorted by these lenses. Dr. Maller
designed a pair of custom Scleral Lenses to rehabilitate his corneas while also providing him with good functional
vision. The examination today showed improvement in vision, excellent comfort, and corneas that recovered to a
more typical Keratoconus shape. The change to the corneas was greater than 25 diopters. Kelsy is from Oklahoma
and upon graduation plans on returning there to join her father's practice. Her father came to a weekend training
to design complex custom contact lenses that Dr. Maller taught a few years ago. Kelsy was excited to see what
can be accomplished with custom contact lenses.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Ahmed Aboudib from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry worked
with me. Interest in Contact Lenses and Dry Eye. We had the chance to see a woman with serious and debilitating vision
problems from her Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery about 25 years ago. She had tried several different contact lens
options including Scleral Lenses, all of which failed to provide good vision, good comfort, and good eye health. In
fact, the Scleral Lenses caused eye health complications that led her corneal specialist to recommend her only
remaining option to be a corneal transplant. Not happy with this as her only option, she traveled from Idaho to
Florida to see Dr. Maller. She is now wearing custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses comfortably 14 hours per
day with great vision and the ability to continue working. There is no need for a corneal transplant. Ahmed was very
surprised to see this type of result given that he thought corneal gas permeable lenses are typically very
uncomfortable, and this would especially be true on a complex post surgically operated cornea such as in this
case. He is eager to learn much more about how wonderfully corneal gas permeable lenses can work and solve
complicated vision problems on irregular and distorted corneas. He is from Edmonton Canada, and will return
there after graduation.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Mustafa Almansouri from Inter American University of Puerto Rico, School of Optometry worked with
me. Interest in Contact Lenses, Ocularist work, and Dry Eye. We had the chance to see a woman with serious and debilitating
vision problems from her Radial Keratotomy (RK) surgery about 25 years ago. She had tried several different contact lens
options including Scleral Lenses, all of which failed to provide good vision, good comfort, and good eye health. In fact,
the Scleral Lenses caused eye health complications that led her corneal specialist to recommend her only remaining
option to be a corneal transplant. Not happy with this as her only option, she traveled from Idaho to Florida to see
Dr. Maller. She is now wearing custom corneal gas permeable contact lenses comfortably 14 hours per day with great
vision and the ability to continue working. There is no need for a corneal transplant. Mustafa was very surprised to see
this type of result given that he thought corneal gas permeable lenses are typically very uncomfortable, and this
would especially be true on a complex post surgically operated cornea such as in this case. He is eager to learn much
more about how wonderfully corneal gas permeable lenses can work and solve complicated vision problems on irregular
and distorted corneas. He is from Dallas Texas, and will return there after graduation.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Justin Cheung from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me.
Interest in Myopia Control and Anterior Segment. We had the chance to see a young man that had just been
diagnosed with Keratoconus 3 months earlier. He is 17 years old, and noticed difficulty with his vision
about 6 months earlier. He is trying to pursue pitching in Major League Baseball and was having a difficult
time on the field. After 3 months of glasses not helping, and multiple doctors, he was finally identified
to have Keratoconus. Once correctly diagnosed, he and his parents did a great deal of research to determine
the best way to proceed. He had epi-on crosslinking done, and once healed from that, flew in to see Dr. Maller
to restore good quality vision so that he could effectively compete and pursue his dream. During his visit of
just 5 days, Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Scleral Contact Lenses that brought his vision to 20/20 in
one eye and even better, to 20/15 in the other eye. Justin is from Toronto Canada and upon graduation plans
to stay in Toronto to practice.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alice Yuan from Waterloo School of Optometry in Toronto worked with me. Interest
in Binocular Vision and Vision Therapy. We had the chance to see a young man that had just been diagnosed with
Keratoconus 3 months earlier. He is 17 years old, and noticed difficulty with his vision about 6 months earlier.
He is trying to pursue pitching in Major League Baseball and was having a difficult time on the field. After 3
months of glasses not helping, and multiple doctors, he was finally identified to have Keratoconus. Once correctly
diagnosed, he and his parents did a great deal of research to determine the best way to proceed. He had epi-on
crosslinking done, and once healed from that, flew in to see Dr. Maller to restore good quality vision so that he
could effectively compete and pursue his dream. During his visit of just 5 days, Dr. Maller designed a pair of
custom Scleral Contact Lenses that brought his vision to 20/20 in one eye and even better, to 20/15 in the other eye.
Alice is from Vancouver Canada and upon graduation plans is trying to get a residency. She then hopes to practice
in eastern Canada.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Maria Martinez from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me.
Interest in Pediatrics. We saw several patients with Keratoconus today, including one man that has not
only overcome this corneal disease, but has excelled despite this disease. He is a professional Major
League Baseball player and is at the top of his game. He achieves this great performance with complex custom
corneal gas permeable contact lenses. He is very inspiring and a testament that Keratoconus does not have to
ruin the quality of your life. Maria is from Miami and trying to get a residency. She isn't yet certain where
she would like to practice.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Phoebe Pan from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses. We saw several patients with Keratoconus today, including one man that has not only overcome
this corneal disease, but has excelled despite this disease. He is a professional Major League Baseball player
and is at the top of his game. He achieves this great performance with complex custom corneal gas permeable
contact lenses. He is very inspiring and a testament that Keratoconus does not have to ruin the quality of your life.
Phoebe is from Houston Texas and upon graduation plans on practicing in New York. She already has a few job
interviews set up. Before that however she will be seeing Dr. Maller as a patient so that she can put all of her
failed Contact Lens attempts behind her and finally be a successful Contact Lens wearer.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sasha Patel from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Pediatrics and Ocular Disease. We saw a young boy that has had his myopia progressing very rapidly. He came
into the office with his uncorrected vision at 20/400 acuity. He began his Orthokeratology treatment today.
After only 2 hours of treatment in the office his uncorrected vision was improved from 20/400 to 20/20. This
young boy will now enjoy great uncorrected vision not needing to wear any glasses or contact lenses during the
day to see clearly. He will also have the benefit of having his myopia not progress any further. This has long
term health benefits for his eyes. Sasha said that she was amazed at achieving such a great result so quickly.
She is from Georgia but upon graduation may stay here in Florida to practice.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Sallekh Shakya from Nova Southeastern College of Optometry worked with me. Interest in
Pediatrics. We saw a young boy that has had his myopia progressing very rapidly. He came into the office with his
uncorrected vision at 20/400 acuity. He began his Orthokeratology treatment today. After only 2 hours of treatment
in the office his uncorrected vision was improved from 20/400 to 20/20. This young boy will now enjoy great
uncorrected vision not needing to wear any glasses or contact lenses during the day to see clearly. He will also
have the benefit of having his myopia not progress any further. This has long term health benefits for his eyes.
Sallekh said that she was amazed at achieving such a great result so quickly. She is from Orlando Florida and upon
graduation will be doing a residency. She the plans on returning to Orlando to practice.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Angelene Rapone from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses and Ocular Disease. We saw a man with very advanced Keratoconus that originally came to Dr.
Maller wearing piggyback contact lenses (a corneal rigid gas permeable contact on a soft contact lens). With
his piggyback contact lenses his vision was fair at about 20/40 acuity. However, his wearing time was limited
and his eyes were red and very sensitive to light with these lenses. Dr. Maller designed custom NoBlur Scleral
contact lenses for him that not only allowed his corneas to rehabilitate and recover from the piggyback contact
lenses, but also now provides him full day comfortable wear, no light sensitivity, no redness, and his vision
is now corrected to slightly better than 20/25. Angelene was surprised to see the complexity that went into the
design of the NoBlur Scleral Lenses. She is from Pittsburgh and upon graduation will be doing a residency at
the VA. After the residency, she may return to Pittsburgh, but isn't yet certain.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Gina Dericco from Pennsylvania College of Optometry worked with me. Interest
in Contact Lenses and Ocular Disease. We saw a man with very advanced Keratoconus that originally came to
Dr. Maller wearing piggyback contact lenses (a corneal rigid gas permeable contact on a soft contact lens).
With his piggyback contact lenses his vision was fair at about 20/40 acuity. However, his wearing time was
limited and his eyes were red and very sensitive to light with these lenses. Dr. Maller designed custom
NoBlur Scleral contact lenses for him that not only allowed his corneas to rehabilitate and recover from
the piggyback contact lenses, but also now provides him full day comfortable wear, no light sensitivity,
no redness, and his vision is now corrected to slightly better than 20/25. Gina was surprised to see the
complexity that went into the design of the NoBlur Scleral Lenses. She is from New York and upon graduation
will be returning to New York to practice. She has a potential job already set up.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Fran Mangahas from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me. She is interested
in Ocular Disease and Refractive Surgery.
We saw a very interesting case of Orthokeratology. A fifty year old woman that has better than 20/20 vision
in the distance was very frustrated by the fact that she wasn't able to see up close. In her entire life she never
needed any glasses, but now needed reading glasses to help her see properly on the computer and for all of her
paperwork. About one year ago, she came to Dr. Maller with these complaints and was very excited by the idea that
there was this thing called Orthokeratology that would allow her to function with clear vision at all distances
all day long, without the need of any glasses. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Orthokeratology lenses for
her to wear just while she is sleeping. She puts these lenses on just before she goes to sleep and takes them
off upon awakening in the morning. She now enjoys clear vision once again at all distances without any need for
glasses. This fantastic result is from the custom NoBlur Orthokeratology™ Multifocal Lens for Presbyopia.
Fran did not even know that this type of treatment was possible.
Fran is from Chicago and upon graduation plans to practice in Minnesota.
2020 Optometry Extern
Fourth year Optometry Extern Alessandra Roa from Illinois College of Optometry worked with me. She is interested
in Ocular Disease.
We saw a very interesting case of Orthokeratology. A fifty year old woman that has better than 20/20 vision
in the distance was very frustrated by the fact that she wasn't able to see up close. In her entire life she never
needed any glasses, but now needed reading glasses to help her see properly on the computer and for all of her
paperwork. About one year ago, she came to Dr. Maller with these complaints and was very excited by the idea that
there was this thing called Orthokeratology that would allow her to function with clear vision at all distances
all day long, without the need of any glasses. Dr. Maller designed a pair of custom Orthokeratology lenses for
her to wear just while she is sleeping. She puts these lenses on just before she goes to sleep and takes them
off upon awakening in the morning. She now enjoys clear vision once again at all distances without any need for
glasses. This fantastic result is from the custom NoBlur Orthokeratology™ Multifocal Lens for Presbyopia.
Alessandra did not even know that this type of treatment was possible.
Alessandra is planning on an ICO residency upon graduation and then plans to practice in Chicago.
All Optometry Externs
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