EXAMINATIONS

Our professional eye doctors will perform a complete eye health examination utilizing the most advanced instruments and techniques. A complete evaluation not only consist of a vision exam, but also includes a complete eye health evaluation. Many systemic diseases are found through these thorough exams and can be diagnosed and treated to prevent further damage. Our doctors will allow time to discuss your vision problems and make certain that you have a complete understanding of your diagnosis and treatment options. Typically your eye health evaluation may include:

• Medical History
• Measurement of Visual Acuity
• Pupil Dilation
• Intraocular Pressure
• Blood Pressure
• Visual Field Test
• Ocular Photography
• Foreign Body Removal
• Treatment of Eye Disease
• Binocular Vision Assessment
• Medical / Ocular History
• Stereo Testing
• Color Testing
• Glaucoma Evaluation
• Cataract Evaluation
• Eye Infections / Allergies
  

CONTACT LENSES

We prescribe and evaluate all major brands of soft and rigid contact lenses. Additionally, we prescribe custom designed contact lenses for special needs as well as special eye problems. Specialized fitting may include: Monovision, bifocal contact lenses, astigmatism contacts, Ortho K and Keratoconus. We have experience in modifying and polishing contacts. Our staff are able to answer many of your questions and are available for ongoing contact lens instruction and training. We perform additional testing to find contact lenses that are more comfortable and cause less dry eye.

Z  - LASIK

Blade-Free, all-Laser LASIK has become the method of choice for all those who seek the best vision correction available but do not like the idea of a blade cutting into their eyes. Utilizing the latest technological advancements in laser technology, we can now offer our patients THE BLADE FREE Z-LASIK Experience that provides an unprecedented level of safety, precision, and comfort, in an effort to obtain the highest quality of post operative vision possible.

The Blade-Free Z-LASIK experience combines two exciting technological advances that offer patients a real possibility to achieve a better than 20/20 outcome.  These technological advances are: Ziemer FEMTO LDV Femtosecond Laser for creating the flap, and the STAR S4 IR Excimer Laser with CustomVue for shaping a perfect corneal surface.

Patient benefits include Customized-tailored precise corneal flap creation, especially important for patients with thin corneas.  Safer intraoperative procedure, reducing the risk of unwanted nighttime side efects, less dry eye symptoms, and have a realistic possibility of achieving better than 20/20 vision.

CustomVue LASIK

Technological advances in any area are always exciting! The refractive surgery landscape has been changed forever with the arrival of CustomVue technology. Believe it or not, glasses and contacts only correct a part of your vision problem. There are other components of your blurry vision that neither these devices nor standard LASIK can correct. These other components although subtle in nature, can often cause very noticeable problems. Patients that undergo CustomVue LASIK have the potential to experience clearer vision than they've ever imagined because parts of their prescriptions that have never been corrected will now be eliminated!

Every eye is unique, just like a fingerprint. Using "wave front" technology, very precise information is gathered from your unique eyes. In fact, these measurements are 25 times more accurate that standard testing. This technology locates and measures the tiniest imperfections that cause your vision to be blurry. This information is computer analyzed and calculations are made to create your unique three-dimensional corneal "fingerprint". These calculations are programmed to the laser and your individualized custom treatment is applied.

In FDA trials with VISX CustomVue, 98 percent of participants could see 20/20 or better following their recovery period. Those people who desire to have the best quality vision available or suffer from aggravating glare symptoms at night are wonderful candidates for CustomVue. Email questions, to: kelli.ivey@pea1.net

LASIK Fees and Payments

Based on your LASIK consultation, you will decide with your doctor which procedure is right for you.

The cost of LASIK varies depending on the procedure you choose. The cost varies from $1,299.00 per eye to $1,799.00 per eye.

The most common used payment options for LASIK include:

• Cash or Check
  For a great number of patients, this is not an affordable method of payment and so they choose other more convenient methods of payment.
• Credit Cards
  A large amount of patients elect to use one of their credit cards to pay for their laser procedure. Some credit card companies often market promotional interest which can include zero % interest for many customers.  Check with your credit card company to take advantage of your own payment arrangements.  We accept Visa, MasterCard, and  American Express.¨   
• Flex Plans
  Many companies have implemented benefit options that make elective surgeries such as LASIK an affordable alternative.  These insurance programs are referred to as FLEX PLANS, Cafeteria Plans or Alternative Health Plans.  They allow you to withhold a defined amount of Pretax Dollars through Payroll deductions to pay for your LASIK procedure.  Generally employees should first find out if they are a good candidate, then decide which procedure they are planning  to have . Then tell their employer how much money should be withheld through payroll deduction. To find out if your company offers this benefit you should contact the human resource department within your company.
• Insurance Benefits
  There are some insurance plans that offer a defined benefit to certain participants.  There are two different types of plans. The first is Indemnity Plan and the second is called a Discounted Fee For Service Plan.  We currently participate in many programs offering discounts to certain insurance . Please inquire with us to find out  if your insurance company offers a discount.
• Financing Options
  We currently participate with two financial institutes to help make LASIK affordable to you. They are Capitol One and Care Credit. You can reach Capitol One by calling 1.877.837.7526 or Care Credit at 1.800.365.8295.

Dry Eye

Dry Eyes or Dry Eye Syndrome is a very common eye condition that affects millions of people.  It is estimated that dry eyes affect up to 11% of people aged 30 to 60 years of age and 15% of those 65 years of age or older.

Dry eyes are caused by either a deficiency in the quantity or the quality of tears or tear film.  Fortunately, today eye care patients can benefit from better diagnostic procedures for dry eyes as well as more advanced dry eye treatment from eye physicians.

The most common symptom of dry eyes include dryness, itching, burning, irritation or grittiness, redness, blurred vision that clears when you blink , light sensitivity  and excessive tearing.  These symptoms tend to increase during the day and during activities like reading, computer use, while driving at night, or participating in outside activities.  Many of these symptoms can be found in other eye conditions making the diagnosis very important.

The causes of dry eye:

• Enviroment: Sunny, dry, or windy weather, air conditioning, heaters in your home, and high altitudes increase the evaporation of tears from the surface of your eye.
• Aging:  As we age our bodies and eyes produce gradually less and less oil. The reduction in oil in the tear film results in quicker evaporation leading to the formation of dry spots on our eyes.
• Contact lenses:  Contact lenses tend to dehydrate or loss of water content when  we wear them. As they dehydrate, they can adsorb the tear film from our eye and cause symptoms of dry eye, If this continues  it can cause deposits of protein to build  up on the surface of the contact lenses making them uncomfortable.
• Medical Conditions:  Women experiencing hormonal changes, those patients suffering from thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, eczema, acne rosacea and a number of other systemic conditions may experience dry eye syndrome.
• ¨     Medications:  Diuretics taken for high blood pressure, allergy medication, antihistamines, acne medications and others may all produce dry eye syndrome.

For those patients with mild to moderate dry eyes the first course of treatment may be to use unpreserved tears prescribed by the doctor.  Depending on the nature of your tear film deficiency, the doctor may use a specific type of artifical tear that has different characteristics  in terms of salt content and viscosity.

For those patients already using artificial tears your doctor may suggest that you increase your consumption of oily fish or even take flax seed oil as as dietary supplement. Most likely you will be asked to increase your water intake as well.

If all these approaches do not work, the eye doctor will likely suggest the insertion of tiny punctual plugs that will slow down or even stop the drainage of tears from the eye. Initially you may have temporary dissolving plug put in place in the lacrimal puncta in the eyelids.  These plugs are easily and comfortably placed within minutes.. If you notice a decrease in your symptoms and signs of dry eyes the doctor will repeat the process using a more permanent plug to affect long term solution.