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"There are many situations here in the Okanagan where the use of sunglasses will enhance comfort and provide eye health benefits as well."

- Dr. Joel Casey

One of the many great things our patients tell us after laser vision correction is how nice it is to be able to wear non-prescription sunglasses. Some people even have multiple pairs so they can choose which ones match certain fashions or sports. A greatly expanded array of choices are offered in non-prescription sunglasses. Some of the key considerations are:

UV protection – Sunglasses should block 99 to100 percent of both UVA and UVB light. A “UV 400” label indicates that 100 percent of UVA and UVB light are blocked. The price of the sunglasses does not necessarily indicate how much UV light is blocked. Even inexpensive sunglasses can provide good UV protection.

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“Our eyes are precious to all of us. After surgery, feedback from patients having had refractive or cataract treatment is inspiring. That reward gives me energy to continue to aim for perfection every time.”

- Dr. Rob Semeniuk

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Staff Feature: Surgeon Dr. Robert Semeniuk – “helping out in my own community”

His focus is on Community

“I grew up in small towns, including Kelowna back when it was small. I always knew during residency at the University of British Columbia, that I wanted to be a “community” Ophthalmologist. I enjoy helping out in my own community with charities and eye health care.

I first met Dr. Chambers during our training together at UBC. We share a similar philosophy on patient care – get to know your patients and treat them with respect.

I attend the Canadian and American Society of Cataract and refractive Surgery meetings yearly to keep up with latest surgical techniques and technology.

I have been part of the Kelowna Laser Vision team for almost two years now. They continue to show an excellent ability to get to know people and what their individual needs are. This is clearly conveyed to me preoperatively including the patient’s fears, their choice of prk vs lasik and monovision or not. I enjoy getting to know and treat patients that are fully educated, reassured and cared for throughout their time at KLV. The post operative communications from Dr. Casey to me is great and ensures we are meeting our expectations.

Our eyes are precious to all of us. After surgery, feedback from patients having had refractive or cataract treatment is inspiring. That reward gives me energy to continue to aim for perfection every time.

My personal interests are spending as much of my time with my wife and two children as possible. I don’t want to miss anything. I also love mountain biking. I value my own quality of vision, this is important when riding fast, challenging trails. I have not required laser surgery but do have “natural” monovision.”

Dr. Semeniuk is a board certified Ophthalmologist with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He graduated from Kelowna Secondary school in 1987 and attended the University of British Columbia where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry in 1991 and his Medical Degree in 1995. He completed his advanced training in ophthalmology from 1996 to 2001, also at UBC. He has a comprehensive Ophthalmology practice in Penticton with a special interest in cataract and refractive surgery.

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This article is from our Summer 2009 Newsletter, you can download it in PDF format here.

A recent military study shows the immense value of laser vision correction to their servicemen and the outstanding results they achieve on the VISX Star S4 IR laser, the same laser we use at Kelowna Laser Vision. We have numerous patients every year who come to us hoping they can join the RCMP, become a firefighter or a pilot. It all comes down to the eye test. Laser vision correction has allowed the majority of these people to follow their passion and live their dream. Like the U.S. military physicians, we have investigated other laser platforms but none have proven to outperform the VISX Star S4 IR and the “revolutionary” outcomes it helps us achieve.

US military the vanguard in refractive surgery research and implementation

• "The data that we have received thus far from this study is unbelievably good. It’s the best that I’ve ever seen reported or presented anywhere in the world," Dr. Tanzer said. "Our nearsighted aviators are eligible to return to flight status by 2 weeks following refractive surgery now."
• "The study is examining the safety and efficacy of the procedure for potential approval in naval aviators, he said. Results have shown that at 2 weeks, all aviators have 20/20 or better uncorrected vision. Of those, 96% are 20/16 and 75% are 20/12" said Dr. Tanzer.
• "Refractive surgery has been revolutionary in the military," Dr. Schallhorn said. "Nothing short of revolutionary, as far as what it can offer active duty members. Put simply, it can enhance battlefield safety and improve the performance of our military personnel."
• The most common laser procedure performed in all branches of the military is PRK, while LASIK has been gaining in popularity in recent years.
• Refractive surgery has made fields of service in all branches of the military accessible to individuals whose vision would have previously restricted them from entering.

"It opened the world up to a lot of people," Dr. Schallhorn said.

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Monovison- what is it and why our 40+ customers ask for it?

Staff Feature- Surgeon Dr. Jeffrey D. Chambers. Why he loves monovision- especially his own.

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Edwards Eye Opening Experience

Custom Wavefront Guided – the “Gold Standard” treatment

“With summer fun just upon us, we thought you would be interested in some important information about contact lenses and your eyes.”

- Dr. Joel Casey

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When evaluating laser vision correction as an alternative to contact lenses, one should consider several aspects.

The quality of vision that can be achieved with laser correction may be better than with contact lenses, especially for people with astigmatism. Contact lens wearers commonly complain of fluctuations in vision due to rotation and movement of toric contact lenses. At best, the variable vision can be annoying, and it may even make contact lens wear impossible for some people with astigmatism. Low amounts of astigmatism are often not corrected with contact lenses due to the decreased comfort and increased costs of toric contacts.

Laser vision correction is designed to treat even the smallest amounts of astigmatism. Most patients benefit from increased comfort as well as improved vision after laser vision correction.

Many people may not realize that the risk of infection from extended wear contact lenses may be higher than with LASIK. At a recent conference, surgeon Minas T. Coroneo, MD said that he would recommend refractive surgery for all chronic contact lens wearers. Citing a study by Mather et al. in Archives of Ophthalmology he stated that the incidence of bacterial keratitis resulting in significant vision loss from contact lens wear was one in 2000 patients compared to LASIK at one in 10,000 patients. Over a person’s lifetime, this 5 fold increase in risk of infection seems to indicate that laser vision correction may be the safer alternative.

“Many people may not realize that the risk of infection from extended wear contact lenses may be higher than with LASIK.”

Many people are aware of the higher risk of infection when wearing contact lenses in hot tubs, however few are aware of the increased risk to swimmers when wearing contact lenses in local lakes. Every summer there are more frequent reports of infection due to acanthamoeba in the Okanagan. Laser vision correction is worthy of consideration if you wear contacts and lead an active lifestyle that involves being around water. Comfort of contact lenses can also be an issue. “Many of our patients seek us out because of poor comfort, red eyes, and decreased wear time caused by their contact lenses drying out,” states Dr. Joel Casey. The inconvenience of inserting and removing contact lenses and the hassle of traveling with them are also among common reasons that people consider surgery. In addition to all of the above issues associated with contact lens wear, the lifetime costs of contacts and solutions makes the benefits of laser vision correction that much more appealing.

Click here to book a complimentary consultation with Dr. Casey.

This article is from our Summer 2009 Newsletter, you can download it in PDF format here.

WAILEA, Hawaii — In a presentation here on bacterial keratitis, one speaker advocated refractive surgery for contact lens wearers to minimize the higher risk of infection from contact lens wear.

Showing results from a study by Mathers et al, Minas T. Coroneo, MD, said at Hawaiian Eye 2009 that he would recommend refractive surgery for all chronic contact lens wearers.

There is one case of bacterial keratitis from daily contact lens wear in every 100 patients, with a loss of visual acuity greater than 20/70 in one out of 2,000 patients, Dr. Coroneo said. The refractive surgery infection rate is one in 800, with a vision loss greater than one line occurring once in 1,250 to 3,200 patients, and two lines in one out of 10,000.

"When you look at it, over a lifetime, it’s safer to have refractive surgery than using contact lenses, since prevention is better than a cure," he said.

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Wavefront-guided ablations provide significantly better results than either optimized or conventional ablations
By Jeffrey J. Machat, M.D.

"Our clinical results mirrored our pricing system both in terms of safety (loss of BCVA, night glare) and visual and refractive results. The Prolate (optimized) approach worked for most patients. It was easy and less time consuming than our Custom approach, with substantially better outcomes than the conventional approach, but the Prolate(optimized) clinical results paled in comparison to our CustomVue (wavefront guided) outcomes.

Another point of comparison was that our enhancement rate with the WaveLight-optimized approach was more than double what it was with the CustomVue wavefront-guided approach (on the Star S4 laser). Furthermore, we found that the only way to make our WaveLight-optimized patients truly happy was to perform a CustomVue enhancement on top of their Prolate ablation."

Dr. Machat is co-medical director of TLC Laser Eye Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today April 2006
By Mark E. Whitten, MD

"Until recently, I performed laser refractive surgery with both the WaveLight Allegretto and AMO (VISX) Star S4 lasers. After comparing outcomes with the two lasers, however, I have shifted to using wavefront- guided CustomVue surgery with the Star S4 laser for nearly 100% of my refractive surgeries.

In comparing the two laser systems, the most important metric I took into account was my enhancement rate. That single number reveals more about a refractive surgeon’s success than visual acuity outcomes, wavefront error or any other measure, because it is tied directly to patients’ satisfaction.

My preference, of course, is to avoid the need for enhancements in the first place. My outcomes data show that wavefront-guided surgery with Fourier-driven ablations (treatments) and IR is the best method. There will always be patients who for some reason do not heal as expected and need a retreatment, but that number can be dramatically reduced with the latest customized laser technology.

Conclusion

I believe that the days of treating every patient the same are over. I know that every patient who sits in my chair is unique. When you study wavefront maps, you realize very quickly that two sphere myopes with the same -4.5OD prescription will have very different wavefront profiles.

Thus, I believe the future of laser vision correction lies in truly individualized treatments, not similar treatments for similar prescriptions."

Mark E. Whitten, MD, is the Regional Medical Director of TLC Laser Eye Centers, Washington D.C. He is not a consultant to AMO/VISX or Wavelight Laser Technologie AG and he acknowledged no financial interest in any product or company mentioned herein.

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Imagine seeing your alarm clock when you wake up, playing your favorite sports without glasses or traveling without lugging contacts and glasses along. If this sounds interesting to you, read on.

Kelowna Laser Vision has been one of Western Canada’s most successful laser eye surgery clinics since 1994. The medical team performs LASIK, PRK (surface treatment) monovision and Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE), an exciting option for patients in the 60+ age group.

“We will always be at the leading edge of refractive eye care which means we can offer the treatments that are best for our patients,” said Dr. Joel Casey, Optometrist and one of the clinic’s directors.

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Pro golfers such as Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Fred Funk and Zach Johnson among others have had lasik surgery to correct their eyesight to “Top Gun” sharpness so critical in the game of golf, especially when it comes to putting.

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