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An Exciting Program for People with Quadriplegia Provides LASIK Surgery to Qualifying Candidates

Wearing glasses or contact lenses can be bothersome to anyone, but especially to quadriplegics, who may not have the manual dexterity to keep lenses clean or to place contacts on the eye. Thanks to the Focus on Independence program, which provides free LASIK eye surgery Los Angeles to eligible people who are quadriplegic, many are now able to turn an eye toward freedom.

“The program is for quadriplegics who have significant impairment in their ability to use their arms and hands,” explains Robert Maloney, MD, ophthalmologist and director of the Maloney Vision Institute, (www.maloneyvision.com), located in Los Angeles, California. “We’re really excited about doing this for quadriplegics. For most ambulatory people, glasses and contacts are a nuisance, but for quadriplegics, they’re a real limitation. If their glasses fog up, they can’t reach up and clean them off. If glasses slip down their noses, they can’t reach down and push them up. If they want to be able to see something in the middle of the night, they can’t reach for their glasses. Having to wear glasses or contacts really undercuts their independence, and that is really the motivation for this program.

“But there are health exceptions, and part of evaluating people for LASIK is doing a comprehensive examination of their eyes,” Dr. Maloney continues. “We talk to people about why they want the procedure, and what the benefits are for them. There may or may not be enough benefits to make it worth it. We have a frank discussion about the risks. At the end, people are comfortable with their decision about whether or not to have the procedure. It turns out that most people are candidates if they’re wearing glasses and want to get rid of them.”

Making a Difference

Los Angeles LASIK surgeon, Dr. Maloney, and his colleagues at the Institute are now making such freedom available to quadriplegics. “Last year, this idea was conceptualized by Barry Elbasani, the first patient to benefit from the program. He had LASIK performed by Dr. Dan Durrie, a colleague of mine, and he thought that this would be a really great option for quadriplegics. Dr. Durrie was excited about it and got me involved, so together we’ve set up a growing network of surgeons around the country that can do LASIK surgery for quadriplegics. It’s a way of giving to people in whose lives we can really make a difference.”

As beneficial as vision correction Los Angeles procedures may be, they can also be expensive. Therefore, Dr. Maloney and his colleagues offer it to quadriplegics at no charge. “I charge $5,600 for both eyes, and the average around the country is in the $4,400 range,” he says. “Most quadriplegics have very limited financial resources, because it’s hard for them to work. Many of them wouldn’t be able to afford this procedure any other way. Our commitment is to have a surgeon within an hour of any quadriplegic patient in the country and, so far, we’ve been able to live up to that commitment with all of our patients”

Still, the LASIK Los Angeles procedure can have certain side effects. “First, your vision may be good, but not perfect. Second, you may have some glare around lights, which may make it harder to drive at night, which is unusual nowadays with our newer methods of custom treatment. Third, your eyes may feel drier afterwards. These conditions can be permanent.”

Dr. Maloney finds a great deal of satisfaction in working with quadriplegic patients. “For me, the most gratifying thing is that the patients we take care of are so grateful,” he declares. “The second most gratifying thing is seeing how the surgeon community has responded. I’ve personally invited about thirty surgeons to participate in the program, and every single one of them has been delighted to join. We’re asking surgeons to spend their own time and money, because there’s a lot of cost in doing the surgery, and there hasn’t been a moment’s hesitation in their willingness to give of their services to quadriplegic patients. It’s just been so gratifying to me to realize what wonderful colleagues I’m privileged to work with

Article Source: http://articleaddict.com

description: Dr. Robert Maloney ABC's extreme makeover doctor, performed over 50,000 lasik surgery. Los angeles best laser eye center, voted top 10 in USA. for more details visit us : www.maloneyvision.com

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