Posted by: Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons in Featured Patient
Howard was never the type of man to just take it easy. An avid biker and skier, he managed to stay physically active and engaged throughout his life. Even today, at the age of seventy-five, Howard considers himself to be only semi-retired. He still makes furniture, trains therapy dogs, and regularly donates his services to the National Autistic Children reading program. So he wasn’t about to let cataracts slow him down.
Howard started needing glasses when he was 40, but his vision steadily continued to deteriorate. Eventually, Howard was diagnosed with slowly worsening cataracts, a condition that affects more than 20 million Americans. As the cataracts grew more severe and his vision gradually grew worse, Howard found himself constantly needing stronger and stronger eyeglass prescriptions. Finally, his vision deteriorated to a point that something more permanent needed to be done.
“I had a lot of different options in eye doctors,” said Howard, “but a good friend of mine recommended Dr. Segal. When I went in for a consultation I was impressed by his precise, no-nonsense approach. He wasn’t trying to sell me anything. He just answered all my questions in clear, simple terms and broke down the procedure so that it was easy to understand. I felt like he really knew what he was doing.”
Once the lens of the eye begins to break down, there is no way to reverse the damage, so to treat cataracts that have become bad enough to seriously obscure vision the lens itself must be removed and replaced with an artificial intraocular lens, or IOL. Patients can choose from a variety of different IOL’s depending on their specific vision needs, ranging from basic monofocal lenses to premium ReSTOR® multifocal lenses with apodized diffractive technology to allow the lens to more easily focus between close and far distances.
Ultimately Howard opted for the premium multifocal lenses. “I’m very happy with the choice,” he reported. “I don’t even need to wear glasses in order to read anymore. The procedure itself went like clockwork. Everything happened on time and, since Dr. Segal had filled me in on exactly what to expect, there were no surprises.”
Cataract surgery is typically a quick, outpatient procedure during which Dr. Segal uses the state of the art LenSx® laser system to make a tiny incision in the lens capsule so that the damaged lens can be removed and the new intraocular lens inserted. The computer-assisted LenSx® laser creates openings that are up to ten times more precise than those made during a manual procedure, and real-time image guidance makes it possible to customize the procedure to the highly specific contours of each individual eye. This level of sophistication and precision greatly reduces measurement inaccuracies and helps to ensure that each cataract treatment achieves optimal results.
“I was so impressed with the whole experience,” said Howard, “that I even referred my fiancé.”
If you are interested in sharing your experience with Dr. Segal, or have any questions about the health of your eyes or any of the procedures that we perform, please contact Georgia Eye Physicians and Surgeons to schedule an appointment. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ for more patient stories and tips for healthy eyes.
