Los Angeles LASIK Surgeon, Dr.Arthur Benjamin Has LASIK

Dr.Arthur Benjamin of the Benjamini Eye Institute in Los Angeles, had his own LASIK done with Intralase and the Wavelight Allegretto.
Check out his procedure on YouTube

Our Optical Boutique is Back Due to Popular Demand!

Due to popular demand our optical boutique is back up and running!!!
Our new friendly optician is Steven Shilstut. We will be having a grand reopening party soon. Check back soon for more details!
We still accept VSP and have designer frames and sunglasses from:

Judith Leiber
Oliver Peoples
Beau Soleil
Mont Blanc
Christian Dior
Gucci
Prada
Miu Miu
Robert Marc and more!!!

Our optical boutique closeout sale has been extended!!!

Due to popular demand our optical boutique sale has been extended to April 15th!!
Come check out our inventory of designer sunglasses and frames!
Hurry, styles are running out!!!

Lasik and Dry Eye

Laser vision correction is no doubt a miracle of modern medicine. However, this wonderful innovation can sometimes create post-operative dry eye, a small but annoying price to pay for perfect vision.

It’s important to understand the symptoms of dry eye in order to alert your doctor of this condition before deciding which laser vision correction procedure you should have.

Dry Eye Syndrome is one of the most common eye problems that eye physicians encounter. Nearly 20% of all Americans suffer from dry eyes. Symptoms can include: tearing, redness, eye fatigue, itching, dryness, irritation and blurriness. LASIK can exacerbate dry eye if the condition pre-exists, it can also be created temporarily due to the procedure itself. Below I have outlined three different types of laser vision correction and their post-operative relationship to dry eye.

LASIK is a two step process. The first step involves creating the corneal flap. The second step is to reshape the cornea using a laser after which the flap is folded back into place. Before the advent of all -laser LASIK, the corneal flap was created using a hand held blade called a microkeratome. Some doctors still use this technique however, conventional bladed lasik not only has the highest occurrence of flap complications, it also causes the highest incidence of post-operative dry eye.

With advancements in LASIK, the corneal flap can now be created using a laser. All-laser LASIK such as IntraLase, creates the corneal flap by using a femtosecond laser. This laser creates tiny gas bubbles which coalesce to create the corneal flap. This method, while more precise and less complicated also has the potential side effect of dry eye but less so than with conventional bladed LASIK.

PRK and epi-lasik, were the very first types of laser vision correction performed before bladed LASIK became commonplace and are quickly regaining popularity. With PRK a flap is not created, instead the epithelial cells of the eye are removed using an alcohol based solution. While PRK may seem a bit archaic next to the new all laser LASIK technique available, post-operatively PRK and epi-lasik induce the least amount of dry eye compared to the other two above mentioned options.

The good news is that no matter which type of LASIK you choose, there is fast and easy in-office procedure that can help with dry eye called, punctal occlusion. Punctal plugs made of silicone or collagen can be inserted into the punctum of the eye to help increase the level of moisture and reduce dry eye symptoms. Temporary collagen plugs which dissolve over 7 to 10 days are first inserted to see how the eye reacts. If symptoms improve, then permanent silicone plugs are implanted.

This effortless procedure takes no more than 10 minutes in an ophthalmologist’s office. Most insurance companies will pay for punctal plugs, although it’s best to find out what co-pays and deductibles you might be responsible for. If you are considering LASIK and worried about post operative dry eye, ask your eye surgeon if he offers this simple solution. Your eyes will be glad you did.

Ridding Yourself of Your Reading Glasses

Presbyopia (the development of farsightedness) is an inevitable sign of aging. It arises in everyone over the age of 40 and is unfortunately unavoidable. Presbyopia occurs when the natural lens inside the eye loses its elasticity.

Reading glasses are the result of presbyopia and something everyone will eventually require, even if they’ve had LASIK. Monovision LASIK (where the dominant eye is corrected for distance and the non-dominant eye for near) is a good option but not everyone can tolerate this “blended” type of vision.

There have been amazing advances in Ophthalmology in recent years for the treatment of presbyopia. Click on the link below to read an article in which Dr.Benjamin discusses these latest presbyopia treatment options:

http://benjamineye.com/Dr.Benjamin_3.1_lo_.pdf

Lasik In Los Angeles: What You Need to Know

LASIK offerings in Los Angeles are plentiful.

Advertisements boast everything from $399 an eye to $2500 per eye. Lower prices may seem enticing but would you trust your heart surgery to a discount heart surgery clinic? So why the huge price discrepancy?

Here are a few things to look out for when shopping for your LASIK procedure:

Tiered Pricing: Many offices offering LASIK will determine the price of the procedure based on the strength of your prescription. A lot of the $299 per eye offerings is a price point based on the patient having the weakest prescription that’s legally operable. This has been challenged as unethical and in certain parts of the country and with some states outlawing the practice. The LASIK procedure is intrinsically the same no matter what the prescription is.

Type of Laser Used: What brand of laser is being used? Some LVC centers use what’s called “black box lasers” These are machines made outside of the US or modified in such a way as to avoid paying royalty fees to the manufacturers. This frequently means a lower per procedure cost but at the same time the laser does not get upgraded with the newest technology available to date. The treatment is cheaper but you get inferior quality vision.

Outdated Technology: Traditionally, this first step of LASIK, creating the corneal flap, was done using a fine, oscillating, hand-held steel blade called a microkeratome. In fact most LASIK complications were flap related. Nowadays, with the development of the Intralase method, touchless, bladeless LASIK, is possible. In this procedure the flap is created with a laser a process that allows for a more precise and thinner flap, yielding better quality vision with smaller incidence of complications.

Wavefront is the latest advancement in LASIK technology. Wavefront guided ablations allows physicians to fully customize the LASIK procedure to each patient’s unique visual system. Wavefront systems work by measuring image distortion produced by the optical system of the eye. This in essence creates a unique 3-dimensional optical map of the eye, highlighting individual imperfections. These customized measurements are used to design a custom cornea treatment. Wavefront guided custom treatments frequently provide patients with sharper, crisper vision than is possible to achieve with glasses. Wavefront guided custom cornea treatment usually adds to the cost of the LASIK procedure.

One Stop Shops: Many LASIK centers are run like factories, marching the patient through the process in a very systematic and impersonal way. Sometimes the patient does not meet the surgeon until the surgery day or worse yet, until they are already under the laser. “Look at the blinking light” could be the first words you hear from your surgeon. There may also be hidden costs in post-operative surgical care or extra costs for surgical enhancements, if they are ever needed.

Your vision isn’t something to be taken for granted. When looking for value in LASIK consumers must factor in surgeon skill, experience, reputation as well as the technology utilized and not just price.

Arthur Benjamin, MD

Benjamin Eye Institute

Our Optical Boutique is Closing

After a lengthy decision making process, we have decided to close our optical boutique.

The good news is that we are liquidating our entire stock of frames and sunglasses.

Everything is 30% off including:

• PRADA
• OLIVER PEOPLES
• JUDITH LEIBER
• BEAUSOLIEL
• MONT BLANC
• ROBERTO CAVALLI AND MORE!!!

Plus there in NO SALES TAX!

COME BY WHILE THE SELECTION IS STILL GOOD!

Our first entry!

This is a very exciting day for us as we have just created a blog for our practice. We will be constantly adding and updating to it with interesting information about the Benjamin Eye Institute, LASIK and the world of eyes!

Come check back often!

Jacolyn