Monday, December 30, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Trials for eye surgery conducted in LV

Experimental laser procedure helps people see objects up close

Dr. Jon Siems performs an experimental procedure called Laser Assisted Presbyopic Reversal on Thursday on patient Monique Wilson. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. Siems performs the surgery while technicians Michelle Lontoh and Tamara Stephenson, right, assist. Clinical trials for the surgery are being conducted in Las Vegas and New York. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. Dr. Jon Siems talks Thursday with patient Monique Wilson following experimental vision correction surgery. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett.

Two weeks ago, Gary Tobin's vision was so poor he couldn't thread a needle, which is a skill that's important to the 53-year-old owner of an embroidery business.

Tobin has since tossed his trifocals, is threading needles and can read the small print on the directions to his new DVD player.

Tobin was the first patient in the United States to undergo an experimental surgical procedure to fix his presbyopia, the inability to focus on objects and read at close distances. The first clinical trials for the treatment began Dec. 17 with Tobin's surgery in Las Vegas. Since then, four more patients have received the laser surgery locally.

"It's amazing, I haven't worn my glasses since the surgery," Tobin said last week. "Before the surgery, I wore my glasses every minute I was awake. I had trifocals, and my arms weren't long enough to hold a newspaper out to read it."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the trials, initially setting up the testing in Las Vegas and New York. Las Vegas ophthalmologist and refractive eye surgery specialist Dr. Jon Siems has been performing the surgery on all local patients at his eye clinic in Summerlin. As a nationally recognized refractive surgery specialist, Siems has been a part of several major trials regarding eye disease and treatments.

Just before her surgery on Thursday, Monique Wilson eagerly talked about how her life would change.

"Sometimes it's just unattractive to wear my glasses, especially when I'm out on a date," Wilson said. "I'm a single woman; it bothers me so much to have to wear my glasses on a date."

Wilson also is a real estate broker and said she has trouble driving and attempting to read directions while taking clients to properties.

"I've had two car accidents already," she said. "It's been really difficult."

The experimental eye surgery costs about $2,500. The fee is enough to cover the cost of the equipment, but making a profit during the trial is prohibited. If the surgery is ever offered to the general public, in three to four years if the trials go well, Siems said the cost would be about $2,000 per eye.

"As you age, you start losing the ability to see up close," Siems said. "Everybody on the face of the earth becomes presbyopic with age, so this new procedure has the potential to impact the entire world."

The procedure, called Laser Assisted Presbyopic Reversal, would be the first surgical fix for people who cannot see up close, Siems said. More traditional laser surgeries, such as LASIK, allow people to see normally at a distance.

The new surgery uses lasers to change the shape of the lens and allow it to focus on close objects again. LASIK surgery changes the shape of the cornea.

Eventually the new surgery could be combined with LASIK to fix both nearsightedness and farsightedness simultaneously, Siems said.

Patients who have the procedure performed might feel some discomfort during and immediately after the surgery, but there should be no pain. A mild sedative is given prior to the 35-minute surgery and patients often are able to resume normal daily activities within just a few hours.

"I laid down for a half an hour after the surgery and then went right to work," said Gayle King, who also participated in the clinical trials. "I'm so excited about this. I don't have to make sure I have glasses in my purse to read a menu. Believe me, the vanity issue was a big one."

After the surgery, patients don't need to wear an eye patch and just go home with eye drops. Patients often notice improved vision by the next day, Siems said.

"I had three people seeing 20/20 up close the day after surgery," he said. "They are reading close to perfect. It's hard to get much better than that."

Space is still available for 40 patients in the Las Vegas trials. Participants must be between 50 and 65 years of age, have good distance vision and never have had eye surgery.