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Karen Shepherd consults with Dr. Brad Britton. |
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"Say Goodbye to eyeglasses"
Woodward woman among three in state to undergo new cataract
surgery on both eyes
Published in
Woodward News, December 2004
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Since publication of this news article, Dr.
Brad Taylor has become the second surgeon in the state to be
certified to perform the crystalens® procedure)
By Carol Hartzog
Special To the Woodward News
Karen Shepherd,
56, has struggled with eyeglasses and contact lenses for 15
years.
Rural Woodward plays havoc with eyes that don't see well at
night. "There are no lights in the country," Shepherd said
Friday. "When I was living six miles out of town, I couldn't
tell the difference between the pavement ending and beginning."
She decided to turn to her family eye doctor, Dr. John Hawkins
of Woodward, when her driving ability was becoming impaired.
What Dr. Hawkins found were visually significant cataracts,
common among people over 60 years old.
Shepherd was a
perfect candidate for a new cataract replacement
lens surgery for people who develop cataracts and
who want to be able to see clearly, near,
intermediate and far without corrective lenses, said
Dr. Brad Britton, founder of BVA in Edmond.
Now, she needs no bifocals, contacts or reading
glasses, and she can see as well as she did years
ago. With her previous visual perception, she
shouldn't have been driving, especially at night,
Dr. Britton told her.
But for Shepherd, her mobility is critical,
especially when you have to drive 90 miles just to
go shopping, and an even longer drive to see her
three children and six grandchildren.
Shepherd is one of only three people in the state to
have cataract accommodating lens replacement
surgery, or crystalens ®. It's the most innovative
technological advance in eye surgery since Lasik was
introduced in 1995, said Britton. He was one of
three ophthalmologists in the state to first perform
the Lasik surgery.
Now Dr. Britton is the first in the state to perform
the crystalens ® procedure. Oklahoma joins the ranks
of 35 other states with a physician performing the
crystalens ® cataract eye surgery.
There are people who can't see their computer
screens, for example, without a corrective lens,
Britton said. It impacts those facing bifocals, who
don't want to hassle with glasses and contact
lenses. Traditional cataract surgery leaves you
still having to wear glasses.
The procedure actually removes the lens, and
replaces it with an artificial lens, which moves as
the muscle contracts.
Shepherd starting wearing bifocals at 41. She was
having headaches and blurry vision. She tried
contacts for three years, but her vision wasn't as
improved as she hoped. Then she started wearing
trifocals. As a secretary of engineer at Northwest
Electric Co., she does a great deal of "book work."
Her eyes are critical to her performance.
"I thought I was seeing very well until I got
these," she said of her crystalens ®. "It's a WOW
factor."
Over the years, the evolution of cataract treatment
has gone through many phases -- from having to wear
very thick glasses to lens implants, but patients
still had to wear glasses or lens, said Dr. Larry
Henry with BVA. Cataract treatment then evolved into
mono-vision lenses, where one lens allows you to see
up close and another at a distance. Not everyone can
adjust to that, physicians say.
Lasik surgery is for younger people who wear glasses
and contacts to see clearly in the distance. This
impacts about half the population, but only 2
percent utilize the procedure.
The crystalens ® procedure is for the older
population, age 45 to 65, who get cataracts. That's
something we will all experience some day, but it
depends to what degree.
"It's a godsend for cataract patients, just in time
for the baby boomer generation to start coming of
age – an affluent generation wanting to remain as
active and viable as possible," said Dr. Britton.
"They want to be able to do whatever it takes to not
have to wear bifocals."
Unfortunately, Medicare patients cannot receive the
benefits of this surgery as yet, so thus, the cut
off of age 65, Dr. Britton said. Medicare won't even
allow its beneficiaries to pay for it out of pocket.
But medical leaders say they hope that will change
any day, as the issue is at the top of the list of
Medicare's concerns.
"The ones most excited about this technology are
those who have been farsighted all their lives. They
want to not have to keep up with their glasses," he
said. "crystalens® is for patients who were going to
cataract surgery anyhow, but the traditional
cataract surgery gave them the distance sight, but
they still had to have reading glasses."
"If you're going to have cataract surgery, this is
the type of implant I would want in my eye. Most
likely my parents will have it done before their
65th birthday."
crystalens ® is a cataract replacement lens that works
naturally with the eyes’ muscles to give you the
quality of vision enjoyed when you were younger.
crystalens® “hinges” are designed to allow the lens
to move, or accommodate to focus on objects near,
far and all distances in-between seamlessly. Unlike
old-style fixed focal lenses, which didn’t move,
crystalens® has the ability to move, thus focusing as
your eye’s natural lens did when you were younger.
And the best part about the new implants is the more
you read, the more your vision improves, as the
muscles that move the lens strengthen after years of
atrophy.
"I'm looking at the way things bloom – the tree, the
lights, the patterns, everything is clear. I'm just
amazed, I can't even explain it," said Shepherd, who
has lived in the Woodward area 28 years. Now, her
children will trust her to drive the grandkids
around, she said.
The Edmond resident hasn't forgotten his rural
roots. Dr. Britton was born in Cordell and grew up
in many small towns, including Woodward, where he
attended grade school at then-Mooreland Grade
School.
He also lived in Yukon, Norman and graduated as
valedictorian from Weatherford High School. He
established a Weatherford specialty clinic 13 years
ago while with Oklahoma City Clinic and opened his
own practice eight years ago in Edmond, BVA – BVA. He traveled from Edmond to Weatherford
once a week for seven or eight years, serving
patients.
BVA Advanced Eye Care includes seven
ophthalmologists and several optometrists. Its
mission is to serve the rural areas, with hubs in
Edmond, Ada, Tulsa and Elk City, and satellites in
Clinton, Hobart and 30 other places in state,
including Woodward, Shattuck and Fairview.
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For more information about Lasik, cataracts, eyelids or other procedures, please call or e-mail us today.
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(888) 323-3937
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