By
Lila Lazurus / Special to The Detroit News
If
you needed to grab your glasses to read the newspaper,
this article is for you.
For the first time in several decades, Leon Higgins, 58,
no longer has to make the run from room to room searching
for his specs before he can read. Even better, he doesn't
have to wear his glasses to drive or read signs.
"When you're wearing glasses, it causes a lot of
strain on the eyes, so I don't get a chance to do as much
reading as I like," says Higgins, who's been driving
a school bus in Farmington since retiring from General
Motors.
Until this week, Higgins needed glasses to see near and
far, which made him the best type of candidate for a relatively
new procedure called clear lens extraction. During the
procedure, the patient's natural lens is removed and replaced
with a multifocal lens set up for near and far vision.
According to ophthalmologist Dr. Walter Cukrowski of the
Michigan Eyecare Institute, the procedure is ideal for
people with cataracts and people with extremely high prescriptions.
"With this procedure, you can have it done on both
eyes and see near and far and have the binocular phenomenon,
which people really enjoy," Cukrowski says.
New eye procedures like this are great news for baby boomers
who don't want to be dependent on glasses.
"Hopefully, I'll be able to get rid of the glasses
altogether," Higgins said as he was wheeled into
the operating room.
He wasn't nervous as they numbed his eyes for the procedure.
"When you deal with 300 or 400 kids a day, your nerves
are pretty much in check," he said. He was given
a slight anesthesia (though some patients opt for anesthetic
drops without sedation).
Within moments, Higgins' natural lens was removed and
the multifocal lens implanted. "The lens is made
in such a way that it has rings," the doctor explains.
"These concentric rings emanate from the center,
allowing people to see near and far."
Less than half an hour after arriving in the operating
room, Leon Higgins was able to throw away his glasses
for good.
The side effects patients fear most are problems with
night driving, Cukrowski says. They're concerned about
halos and glare from oncoming headlights. But the doctor
says many of his patients who already had this problem
prior to surgery find it improves after the operation.
"Over time, the vision tends to get better and better,
and the problem with the glare and the halos really isn't
a significant problem in the future," he says.
If the patient has a significant cataract, the procedure
is usually covered by insurance. Otherwise, it costs around
$2,500 per eye.
Higgins will use special drops to prevent infection for
the next six weeks. Then, he should see clearly for years
to come.
"This lens design should last a person's lifetime,"
Cukrowski says.
Moments after surgery, Higgins was reading aloud without
glasses. And just days later, he's already back in the
driver's seat of his school bus.
"I hope he's driving that bus with a smile on his
face," Cukrowski says.
