[AT WORK]

DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM John Olkowsk Ophthalmologist

Ophthalmologist

John Olkowski takes joy in
unwrapping the gift of sight

John Olkowski >> A loved one's smile that makes your heart glow, the first steps of a child, the extraordinary beauty of these islands; these are all things that cannot be fully experienced without the gift of sight. The ability to see is precious: It is one of the miracles of life.

That is why I have made the correction of vision my career. Being able to sharpen sight that has gone out of focus -- to restore a person's capacity to take in all of life's vivid images -- is truly a blessing for me.

As a medical student at Georgetown University and, later, as an ophthalmology resident at George Washington University, both in Washington, D.C., I began to realize that I wanted to specialize in the cornea, the transparent outer layer of the eye.

So I moved to Boston to study corneal surgery at Tufts University's New England Medical Center. It was during these years that I began to appreciate the profound emotional impact that my skills could have on patients.

I founded Eyesight Hawaii so that I could be assured of always having the best equipment and being able to spend a lot of time with each patient.

Today, people come to see me for a variety of reasons: They may be developing cataracts and want to see more clearly, or they just don't want to wear glasses or contact lenses anymore and are interested in LASIK surgery.

I enjoy making people feel at ease by helping them understand how the eye works and what the surgery is all about. Answering their questions and explaining the procedure is an important part of easing patients' anxiety. I prefer to speak with each patient individually, so they can get to know me as a person, and I can better understand their needs.

I particularly love seeing patients the day after I perform their surgery. This is what it is all about. Sharing in the excitement. For many LASIK patients, this is the first time since childhood that they can see clearly without glasses or contact lenses.

After the procedure, I check up on all of my patients for several years.

And when they tell me about the impact the surgery has had on their lives -- how much better they can see, how much more they're enjoying life -- I am reminded exactly why I chose this profession.

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