Posted by: Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons in Latest News
Imagine if one day your vision suddenly started to fail. That’s exactly what happened to Jeff, an operations manager for a distribution company in Duluth, Georgia. Jeff led an active and healthy lifestyle and prided himself on being an outdoorsman. During the years he spent hunting and fishing in the mountains of north Georgia and working hard to help support his two children, Jeff had always enjoyed perfect vision. It just wasn’t something that he had ever had to worry about.
Then, around the time he turned 43 years old, Jeff began to notice his vision growing cloudy. It is not uncommon, as the eye ages, for the lens to grow thicker and less flexible so that it becomes increasingly difficult to bring close objects into focus. By the time a person is in their early to mid forties, they are at an increased risk for a number of age related vision concerns. For Jeff, the situation continued to worsen until the vision in his left eye grew so bad that he could hardly see. At this point, a co-worker recommended that he go to Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons for a complete eye exam.
It was then that Dr. Segal discovered that Jeff had worsening cataracts in both eyes, and that the astigmatism that had developed in his left eye had been slowly growing worse for years. While cataracts may begin as nothing more than a small cloudy spot or an overall brownish tinge in the vision, they generally grow worse over time. The cloudy areas grow larger and more distorted, and the brownish tinge grows darker until it is difficult to read or perform other routine activities. Cataracts affect nearly 22 million Americans age 40 and older, and by the age of 80, more than half of all Americans will have developed cataracts.
“I was concerned, but the staff was great.” Jeff explained. “Everyone really went out of their way to explain everything to me and make sure I knew exactly what to expect. It made the whole situation a whole lot easier to deal with.”
Dr. Segal performs intraocular lens replacement surgery to treat cataracts with the state of the art LenSx® laser, our new bladeless, computer-controlled laser that can help a skilled surgeon perform cataract surgery to exacting, individualized specifications not attainable with other surgical methods. Last month, Dr. Segal performed the procedure on Jeff’s left eye and the results were nothing short of astonishing.
“I guess I hadn’t really realized how bad it had gotten,” said Jeff. “When I sat down for the procedure, Dr. Segal told me to stare at a pair of small lights, but honestly all I could see was a big, fuzzy oval. Then while he worked, I actually saw the lights get smaller and more focused. It couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes from start to finish, and the vision in my left eye was better than it had ever been. I hardly felt a thing.”
Jeff is thrilled with his excellent results and is eagerly looking forward to having the procedure repeated on his right eye in January. “Dr. Segal and the whole staff were so professional and efficient that I never felt like I had to worry about a thing. I never noticed until now just how much I wasn’t seeing.”
If you are interested in sharing your experience with Dr. William Segal, Dr. Lay, or the Georgia Eye family, or would like to schedule an appointment, please contact us. Be sure to follow Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons, P.C. on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for more patient stories and tips for healthy eyes.
