SOUTHFIELD -- Dr. William Myers of the Michigan Eyecare Institute has been using new surgical techniques and technology to improve his patients' vision for almost 30 years, but he knows that he has to temper his enthusiasm for medical breakthroughs with concerns about safety and effectiveness.
Myers is the LASIK surgeon at MEI, which has offices in Southfield, Dearborn and Livonia and provides treatment for a wide variety of vision problems, including glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes and macular degeneration. He performs about 2,000 operations a year using lasers to reshape an eye's cornea to improve vision.
Two years ago MEI spent $1.5 million to build a surgical suite with the first LADARWAVE equipment Michigan. Now Myers uses this laser technology developed by NASA to measure the features of a patient's eye and guide the surgery performed with an eximer laser.
"We've positioned ourselves to be on the fast track of technology," said Myers, who estimates MEI will have to retool every three to five years because the technology is changing so rapidly.
But the strategy of being ahead of the curve on new technology has to be tempered by concerns about safety and overall effectiveness of new procedures. That's especially true for LASIK, an elective surgery for conditions that can be addressed by wearing glasses or contacts.
"You have to have an almost perfect risk-reward ratio before you do elective surgery," he said.
In the 1970s Myers, was one of the first in the country to use surgical techniques to improve vision. In the late 1980s, he and partner Mark Rubinstein went to Windsor to perform LASIK surgery before it was approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Last year he performed LASIK surgery on his daughter, a doctor in Switzerland, who had insisted on waiting until the procedure had reached the maximum level of safety. "I told her that it's about there," he said.
Safety was a major consideration in MEI's $450,000 investment in Intralasik equipment that enables the surgeon to use lasers to cut back a flap on the front of the cornea so that LASIK surgery can be performed. Myers had performed the procedure for many years with a steel blade, but switched to Intralasik because its greater precision reduces the risk of complications and improves results.
Last year MEI invested $60,000 in new CK equipment, which uses radio waves to reshape the cornea to eliminate the need for reading glasses. Presbyopia, or "old eyes," is becoming an increasingly common condition as baby boomers age.
According to Myers, the concept behind CK has been around for more than 30 years, but three earlier versions produced results that weren't permanent. CK has been available for several years, but he waited until the FDA approved it for treating presbyopia.
Myers said the time will come when MEI will treat presbyopia by replacing the lens in an eye, a procedure currently used to treat patients who are losing their sight because of cataracts. But he's waiting for new developments that will improve the benefits and reduce safety concerns.
Eric Pope is a Metro Detroit freelance writer. |
