News - Filutowski Cataract & LASIK Institute

Now offering LASER CATARACT SURGERY

 

Laser Cataract Surgery Wins Fans in Volusia, Flagler

 

As seen in The Daytona Beach News Journal Online

By Skyler Swisher, Business Writer.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Diana Miller awoke, looked around and was amazed.

Colors appeared brighter. Images looked sharper. She didn't need to reach for her glasses.

"I could see around the room," said Miller, a DeLand resident. "I could see the clock. I could see things I could not have seen in years."

Miller is one of the first people in Volusia County to undergo laser-assisted cataract surgery.

The use of a laser marks an advancement in one of the most commonly performed surgeries, said William W. Culbertson, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.

Cataracts affect nearly 22 million Americans age 40 and older, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

By age 80, more than half of all Americans have either had a cataract or have had cataract surgery, the National Eye Institute has reported.

Eye doctors have used femtosecond lasers since 2001 in the first step of LASIK surgery, which corrects nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Now, the technology is being used in cataract surgery.

In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery. The technology was made available to doctors in 2011.

Traditionally, eye doctors have used a needle-thin ultrasound probe to break up a clouded lens. The fragments are then suctioned out, and an artificial lens is inserted.

Dr. Konrad Filutowski, who operates surgical centers in Daytona Beach and Lake Mary, was one of the first physicians in the state to adopt the new laser technology, making a roughly $1 million investment to purchase two LenSx Laser machines. He started performing laser cataract surgery at his Lake Mary surgical center in December and added it to his Daytona Beach surgical center earlier this month.

Filutowski, who performed Miller's surgery, said the machines allow him to make more accurate cuts that are expected to create better outcomes for his patients.

Filutowski described traditional cataract surgery as a "modern miracle of medicine" that has an excellent safety record.

But laser-assisted surgery has the potential to make a safe procedure even safer and produce better vision, he said.

"No human hand can reproduce the precision of a computer-guided laser," Filutowski said.

Laser cataract surgery is an elective upgrade not covered by Medicare, meaning patients have to pay out of pocket. The upgrade from standard cataract surgery costs $2,300 per eye, Filutowski said.

Professor Culbertson said he expects laser surgery will "gradually become part of modern cataract surgery worldwide."

Right now, though, only a small number of doctors are using it. Culbertson estimated fewer than a dozen physicians have started using the lasers in Florida.

While initial studies show patients who undergo laser cataract surgery have fewer complications and better results, more in-depth studies have not been completed yet, Culbertson said.

Miller said her experience was a positive one. She had the surgery done on June 12 and back to normal within a few days.

"It was just remarkably simple compared to what I had seen my mother and friends go through," she said. "I kept waiting for it to hurt, and there was absolutely no pain."

 

Filutowski Institute Continues To Debut New Procedures

 

As seen in "Hometown News from June 22, 2012"

By Erika Webb - For Hometown News. Filutowski Cataract and Lasik Institute strives for 20/20 vision for more than 20 years.

Earlier this month, Dr. Konrad Filutowski performed the first Bladeless Laser Cataract operations to be done in Central Florida in his Daytona Beach office.

On the same day, Filutowski Institute marketing director Janelle Hartmann was answering questions about the institute's success.

Established in 1990, the institute includes two multimillion-dollar clinical and Florida-licensed ambulatory surgical centers, in Daytona Beach and Lake Mary, as well as a state-of-the-art clinical and LASIK center in Orlando's Metro West.

The purchase of two LenSx® femtosecond lasers is further demonstration of Dr. Filutowski's ongoing commitment to provide patients with the latest technology available.

"It was only a matter of time before the femtosecond laser technology, used in LASIK procedures for well over a decade became harnessed to perform the most important steps of cataract surgery," he said. "Bladeless Laser Cataract Surgery has the ability to not only restore vision, but also increases the possibility that with one surgical event, most patients can see well for the majority of their daily activities without the need to wear glasses."

The nationally and internationally recognized refractive surgery leader said cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgery today and this technology serves to elevate patient comfort and surgical precision to a new level.

Ms. Hartmann said there was a need, when Dr. Filutowski came to Daytona Beach, "for good quality eye care -- not only for retirees but for businesses and families in the area."

She said as the population grew and expanded so did the need for the wide range of services offered at Filutowski, including routine eye exams, LASIK and cataract procedures and treatment of a wide variety of ocular diseases."Daytona Beach offers so much to people, from the young to the young at heart," Dr. Filutowski said. "It's such a lovely community that my parents decided to make it their home."

When he's "out and about in the community" Ms. Hartmann said Dr. Filutowski is always recognized."It's amazing how many people know him and how many lives he's touched as an ophthalmologist," she said.

Working for Dr. Filutowski?"I've been here 14 years and couldn't think of going anyplace else," Ms. Hartmann said. "The doctor is an excellent leader who encourages us to better ourselves through education, and to excel at what we do."

 

For location and contact information, visit www.filutowskieye.com or call(800) 393-3926 (EYE-EXAM).

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