Dr. John Olkowski prepares to perform surgery on the left eye of Alapaki Kim.
I can see clearly now ...
Dr. John Olkowski gives his
patients a sharper view of the
world using a lens implant
The first Hawaii patients to have a new implant lens called Crystalens say they are thrilled with the results -- clear vision without glasses.
Sheila Sumaylo, 60, of the Big Island, said she has "wonderful, wonderful vision" with a Crystalens placed in her right eye after cataract surgery in March by Dr. John Olkowski, EyeSight Hawaii chief surgeon.
She was scheduled for cataract surgery today on her left eye, which she said is like "looking through a film of gauze."
Sumaylo, human resources and administrative support manager at the Keck Observatory headquarters at Kamuela, said she went to see Olkowski about Lasik eye surgery. When he told her the Crystalens "would allow me to see both far and near without glasses and would probably be good the rest of my life, I couldn't believe it. I made him repeat it."
She said her "quality of life has significantly improved" with just one Crystalens because she can see and read without glasses. "It's especially nice at the grocery store because I can read labels."
Olkowski said the lens is a unique design that focuses like the eye's natural lens before age 40. The lens automatically moves back and forth in the eye by using the power of the eye's ciliary muscle, he said.
"Over 40, the lens starts to get hard and a little bit big," he explained. "The muscles still work, but the lens can't change shape anymore, so we put in a new lens that can take advantage of the fact that muscles still work."
The federal Food and Drug Administration approved the technology in November after clinical trials showed 98 percent of patients with Crystalens in both eyes had 20/30 or better vision without glasses and could read 6-point type on a medical bottle.
Olkowski is the only Hawaii ophthalmic and refractive surgeon trained by eyeonics inc., the company offering the lens, to use it for cataract and corrective eye surgery.
Trent Ralston, account executive with the California-based company, said by telephone that Olkowski is one of about 200 surgeons selected by the company nationally to have credentials to use Crystalens.
Most people with Crystalens have the clear vision they had when they were younger, Olkowski said. "It provides seamless focusing up close, far away and at all distances in between."
Adrya Siebring, 56, dean of student services at Island School, Kauai, also learned about Crystalens when she went to see Olkowski about Lasik surgery. She had corrective surgery with the new lens Feb. 20 and March 25.
She had worn glasses since age 11 and could not see well with them as she grew older, Siebring said, explaining the lens in her eyes "were very large and hard, so the muscle was unable to move them back and forth for focus."
She said her vision was clear as soon as the first stitches were removed. "It's so wonderful to see again. Wow! The whole world is out there," she said.
"I want to call them (Olkowski's office) and say every day, it's so beautiful and I love it."
For more information, call 735-1935 or see www.eyesighthawaii.com.
BACK TO TOP |
M. Pierre Pang explains how his breakthrough surgery is performed.
New procedure repositions
dislocated lens from cataract
surgery with minimal fuss
Retinal specialist M. Pierre Pang has developed a technique to reposition a lens that slips out of place after a cataract operation -- with minimal surgery.
He said it is "a novel, simple and more predictable alternative" to the usual method of making a large incision to remove the wayward lens and replace it.
About 1.5 million cataract surgeries are done in the United States each year, said Pang, of the Pacific Eye Surgery Center. In slightly less than 1 percent of cases, the new lens falls into the back of the eye, he said.
Dislocation can occur if the back lining of the eye that holds the lens slips or the fibers that hold the lining to the eye break, he said.
"You can think of the back (lining) as a sack held into place by strings. Either the sack is weak and tears open, or the strings that hold the sack in place break and the lens slips into the back.
"That can have devastating complications," he said.
The common repair procedure for a dislocated lens has been to take all of the vitreous, a jellylike substance, out of the eye, make a 7- to 8-mm incision, remove the lens and sew another one into the back of the eye, he said.
"If we pull on the lens, the jelly in the eye, or vitreous, will cling to the lens and attach to the retina ... and cause a tear or detachment," he said. Fluid can leak out of the eye, reducing pressure, and bad hemorrhages might occur, he said.
After two patients were referred to him with dislocated lenses, including one with a detached retina, Pang said he began to wonder if there was a better way of dealing with the problem.
He developed a technique that involves making three small incisions and moving the lens back in place and sewing it instead of removing and replacing it.
Pang worked with internist Maria Ilar on the cases at the Queen's Medical Center in 2000 and 2001. The patients had no complications and had 20/30 and 20/20 vision one year after the surgery, he said.
The technique was reported in the journal Retina in December and publication Ocular Surgery in April. Pang introduced it at a February meeting of the Western Retina Study Club, an international group of retina specialists, and also presented it to the Hawaii Ophthalmological Society.
Since retinal specialists see few cases of dislocated lenses in a year, hopefully they can pool cases to obtain more data and fully evaluate the technique, he said.
Pang's office is at 2055 N. King St. His phone is 677-7400.
