LASIK Eye Surgery - Raleigh, Cary, Durham » military

Meaningless and Misleading Claims

drdornic — Sat, 22 May 2010 22:31:59 +0000

I read with alarm the totally contrived and misleading claims by some providers of LASIK in North Carolina. One provider claims to have “the best laser in it’s class”? What exactly does that mean?
Also, there are the suggestions that some LASIK surgeons are using the same technology as the US Military. The only All-Laser LASIK procedure currently being performed by the military utilizes the IntraLase laser. Any other laser is simply not as safe or customizable.

Why Does AMO CustomVue LASIK Cost More?

drdornic — Sun, 02 May 2010 04:34:54 +0000

The LASIK procedure involves using a laser to reshape the cornea. Conventional LASIK requires the surgeon to manually type the patient’s eyeglass prescription into the laser. The laser then “imprints” this prescription onto the cornea. While this procedure technically can rid the patient of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, the final shape of the cornea may not be optically desirable. Some patients may suffer from quality of vision issues, often manifested by night-time driving difficulties. Wavefront-guided (CustomVue) LASIK was developed to remedy the situation. In CustomVue LASIK, an extra step is added. Patients are asked to look into a wavefront analyzer that takes a series of sophistacated measurements. The treatment is then planned, not just to eliminate refractive error, but to achieve an optically sound eye; free of aberrations and therefore, night-time driving difficulties.
Because a CustomVue LASIK can eliminate aberrations that glasses and contact lenses cannot, many patients will remark that they actually see better after LASIK than they ever did before. A CustomVue LASIK requires the purchase of additional equipment (the wavefront analyzer). Also because it requires additional measurements, it will take more time. The additional time taken to measure and plan a wavefont guided LASIK is not attractive to high volume, low cost LASIK centers because they cannot do as many procedures. Also, each CustomVue LASIK requires a special debit treatment card that costs more per procedure than conventional LASIK. The cost of the additional treatment card, the cost of the analyzer and the additional time required are all factored in to the final cost.
So is the increased cost worth it? The Department of Defense thinks so. Over 90% of LASIK procedures done by the military today are CustomVue. Study after study confirm that the visual results of CustomVue LASIK are better than conventional or wavefront-optimized (Allegretto) procedures.
You can’t get CustomVue LASIK at a cut-rate, high volume laser center but you can get it right here in Raleigh at the Laser Eye Center of Carolina.
To find out if CustomVue is right for you, why don’t you call in today for a complimentary evaluation?

LASIK for Military Pilots

drdornic — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 01:09:40 +0000

Within the Department of Defense a total of 25 warfighter refractive surgery centers (Army: 12, Navy: 7, Air Force: 6) completed more than 312,000 refractive surgery procedures over the past 10 years. Laser vision correction has been allowed for all aspects of military service, including aviation, special operations, and support personnel. It is also approved for NASA astronauts.
The Navy is currently undertaking a study on US Naval aviators at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and Portsmouth. To date, more than 200 aviators are in the study. Refractive errors up to -7.50 diopters are represented and the results have been outstanding. All procedures were performed with IntraLase and 90% were wavefront-guided; the exact same technology featured at the Laser Eye Center of Carolina for our LASIK patients.
All aviators were able to return to flight status within two weeks after myopic LASIK and within four weeks after hyperopic LASIK. Patient satisfaction was excellent three months after LASIK. One hundred percent were able to achieve 20/20 levels of vision. There were no complaints of significant glare, halos, haze or sharpness of vision. Ninety-eight percent felt that LASIK helped their effectiveness as a naval aviator and ninety-nine percent indicated that they would definitely recommend LASIK to their fellow aviators.
The US armed forces have embraced LASIK as a way to make troops “combat ready”. Over the years vision correction technology has evolved such that LASIK has proven to be a safe and effective procedure. But not all LASIK is equivalent. In order to achieve the phenomenal success illustrated in this latest study, IntraLase and wavefont-guided (Custom-Vue) LASIK is necessary. This premium LASIK comes at an increased cost and the wary consumer should not be lulled into the false notion that inferior, “imposter All-Laser” LASIK can achieve this level of success. Time and time again, large scale, commercially unbiased studies such as those conducted by the US armed forces have demonstrated the superiority of genuine iLASIK over other LASIK technologies.
Maybe you don’t need the type of vision needed to land a plane on an aircraft carrier, but couldn’t you benefit from the superior vision offered by genuine iLASIK in your activities of daily living? Raleigh area LASIK candidates can avail themselves of this “fighter pilot” grade vision at the Laser Eye Center of Carolina. Of course, all medical procedures carry with them some risks and to make sure you are a good candidate for iLASIK you are invited to come in for a free consultation with Dr. Dornic. Dr. Dornic will describe all your options and taylor a treatment plan that is personalized just for you.

Warfighter Refractive Surgery Program

drdornic — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 03:07:54 +0000

Contact lenses are impracticle on the battlefield. Eyeglasses can be scratched, lost or fog up. Believing that freedom from glasses or contact lenses improves combat readiness, the Department of Defense has established the Warfighter Refractive Surgery Program. LASIK and PRK surgery featuring CustomVue, the exact same technology we utilize at the Laser Eye Center of Carolina, is being offered to correct the vision of soldiers, sailors and aviators. The response has been overwhelming and military surgeons can’t keep up with the demand. The Laser Eye Center of Carolina is proud to support our military and has offered a discount to enlisted military for several years. Numerous enlisted personnel have taken us up on our offer and the emails we receive from overseas thanking us couldn’t be more gratifying.