NABR – West Michigan’s Best and Brightest

The National Association of Business Resources (NABR) will honor Specialty Eye Institute as one of the organizations awarded West Michigan’s Best and Brightest Companies to work for at their upcoming awards banquet in May. Companies are rated based on their commitment to excellence in their human resource practices and employee enrichment.

An independent research firm evaluates companies based on an organization’s communication, work-life balance, employee education, development, diversity, recognition, and retention.

“We are honored to recognize the efforts of this year’s Best and Brightest companies,” said Jennifer Kluge, president and CEO, Best and Brightest Programs.

“These companies have created impressive organizational value and business results through their policies and best practices in human resource management. This award has become a designation sought after by hundreds of West Michigan companies and is a powerful recruitment tool in the drive to attract and retain exceptional employees.”

The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® is a program that provides the business community with the opportunity to gain recognition, showcase their best practices and demonstrate why they are an ideal place for employees to work. This national program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives and building a stronger community as a whole.

Introducing The Vivity™ Extended Vision Intraocular Lens

Specialty Eye Institute is pleased to introduce the Alcon Vivity™ Extended Vision Intraocular Lens. The Vivity Lens is the latest advancement in IOL technology providing cataract patients with clear distance vision, intermediate vision, and functional near vision. As a practice, we’re always working toward giving our patients the best possible visual outcomes and we are the first in Michigan and among the first in the country to offer this new technology.

The Vivity lens is the first-of-its-kind and uses a non-diffractive technology called X-Wave™. Alcon’s proprietary non-diffractive technology uses all available light to create a continuous, extended range of vision to reduce a patient’s dependence on glasses. This technology reduces visual disturbances like halos, starbursts and glare reported with other multifocal and extended depth-of-focus lenses.

“The Vivity Lens gives the vision quality of a 48-year-old who does not wear glasses for distance. This smooth depth-of-focus lens design gives excellent distance vision, intermediate vision and functional near vision with no halos or glare that you would get from a multifocal lens,” says Paul H. Ernest, M.D., Founder and Cataract Specialist at Specialty Eye Institute.

Fox 47 Interview on Retina Disease

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LASIK surgery is one of the most highly sought-after treatment methods for people suffering from refractive eye issues. Over 700,000 patients get LASIK surgery every year, due to the promise of immediate improvement in eye vision quality. While Lasik surgery is permanent, explore the different factors that can increase or decrease the procedure’s long-term effectiveness. 

Understanding LASIK

What is LASIK? 

LASIK is a surgical eye procedure that improves refractive eye errors, helping patients see clearly when focusing on certain things. By using precise and controlled movements, the corneal tissue of the eye is removed using a laser, which permanently reshapes the cornea. This results in clearer vision.

How Does LASIK Work?

There are three stages of LASIK, including preparation, surgery, and post-operative care:

Stage 1: Preparation

Before scheduling a procedure, it’s important to find a reputable surgeon who has years of experience performing LASIK surgery. Your surgeon should consult you about the treatment and its associated risks, including the potential need to make lifestyle changes including wearing contacts, makeup, and perfumes. Lastly, you should invite someone to attend your appointment so that they drive you home after your procedure.

Stage 2: Laser Surgery

There are two steps during LASIK surgery:

1. Corneal flap creation
2. Reshaping cornea with excimer laser

Through these two steps, the corneal tissue is removed to permanently reshape the cornea. With the laser’s precise mechanics, the procedure can take less than 20 minutes. However, depending on the severity of your eyes’ refractive error, more time may be required. 

The procedure generally requires ten minutes of operating room time, during which the laser is used for less than a minute on each eye. However, the actual duration of the procedure may vary according to the type and amount of correction needed.

Post Operative Care:

After receiving LASIK surgery, it is important to keep your eyes safe from any external forces that can impact the effectiveness of your treatment including: 

• Wearing sunglasses
• Avoiding swimming
• Not smoking
• Not wearing make-up the first week after surgery
• Limiting the amount of time spent reading

How Long Does LASIK Surgery Take? 

Though the actual procedure may take only 10 minutes for each eye, the overall surgery can last for 20 minutes. Most patients frequently finish their procedure within 30 minutes or less. 

With a speedy recovery time, your eyes begin to heal immediately after the procedure is finished. Nevertheless, to reach full recovery, it may take four to six weeks to see full results. 

How Long Does Lasik Eye Surgery Last? Is Lasik Permanent?

If you’re wondering “How long does LASIK last?”, the good news is that it’s permanent. Though LASIK is considered a permanent surgery (because of the cornea’s physical reshaping), the effectiveness of the procedure can decrease after a while. Most patients will experience the results for their entire lifetime, whereas about 2% of patients in the U.S. will need a touch-up.

Factors Affecting Longevity

Some eligible patients may wonder “Does LASIK wear off?”, and the answer is that there are many factors that can impact the longevity of your LASIK effectiveness including:

• Age when the surgery was received
• Prescription stability at time of surgery
• Underlying eye conditions
• Ability to follow post-operative care requirements
• Lifestyle factors
• Environmental factors

With 99% of patients achieving 20/40 vision after LASIK surgery, the procedure has a high patient satisfaction rate of 96%. 

Vision Conditions Corrected by LASIK

Because LASIK improves how light rays affect the retina, eye conditions with refractive errors caused by eye shape issues are most likely to see benefits. Refractive errors can occur when a patient’s cornea limits light bending, leading to blurry vision. LASIK eye surgery most commonly fixes the following eye conditions:

Myopia (Nearsightedness)

Occurs when your cornea is overly curbed or your eyeball is extra long, making it hard to see far-away objects. 

Hyperopia (Farsightedness)

Occurs when your cornea is overly flat or your eyeball is too short, making it hard to see close-up objects. 

Astigmatism

When your vision is blurry whether something is far away or near because of an irregularly shaped cornea.

Eligibility for LASIK Surgery

If you’re wondering “How old do you have to be for LASIK?”, we have all the answers. To be eligible for LASIK eye surgery, a patient needs to meet all eligibility requirements to meet safety regulations including:

• Patients need to be 18 years of age or older
• Have generally good eye health and overall health
• Have had a stable eye prescription for at least one year
• Understand the risks and complications associated with the procedure. 

To ensure patients are equipped to handle all stages of the procedure, they must be fully evaluated by an ophthalmologist to limit risk and unexpected situations from occurring. 

LASIK Enhancement Surgery

Though over 90% of patients achieve 20/20 vision, the long-lasting effects can diminish over time. Some patients may find that they need LASIK enhancement flap lift surgery to keep the quality of eyesight they gained during their initial procedure. Oftentimes, enhancement surgery is the preferred choice if you need a tune-up within 3-6 months of your first treatment. 

There are a couple of factors that can impact a patient needing enhancement surgery including:

• The initial severity of your refractive error
• A more severe case of nearsightedness or farsightedness
• A more severe case of astigmatism

Ready to Experience the Benefits of LASIK?

If you’re considering investing in LASIK eye surgery, it’s important to find a qualified eye surgeon with years of experience in the field. 

At Speciality Eye Institute, we are committed to ensuring each of our patient’s vision problems are treated with the utmost level of care. For more information about our LASIK and LASIK enhancement flap lift surgery, reach out to our team. 

Our board-certified ophthalmologists and eye doctors are the first-choice providers for residents in Mid-Michigan and Northwest Ohio.

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