New LipiFlow Dry Eye Treatment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mann Eye Institute First in Texas to Introduce New LipiFlow Dry Eye Treatment

Designed for Long-Term Dry Eye Relief Without Drops

Houston, TX – July 10, 2012 – Texas cities are among many cities that dominate the list of allergy and dry eye locations in the United States. Known for their focus and commitment to comprehensive vision care and correction technologies, the surgeons at Mann Eye Institute are the first in the state to offer a revolutionary new treatment for Texans with dry eye - the LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System.

Traditional dry eye solutions target the symptom vs. the root cause of the condition. These treatments include expensive prescription drugs, over-the-counter drops and even frequent warm compresses, all of which are designed for temporary relief of the constant discomfort all too familiar to dry eye patients.

In contrast, the LipiFlow treatment is designed to target the source of Evaporative Dry Eye, the most common form of dry eye in the US today. Evaporative Dry Eye is typically caused by the blocking of the meibomian (my-bo-mee-an) glands. When functioning optimally, the meibomian glands secrete an oily substance onto the surface of your eyes that prevents tears from evaporating. If the meibomian glands become blocked, the tears are able to evaporate more quickly, which can lead to Evaporative Dry Eye. The LipiFlow treatment unblocks the meibomian glands to provide increased lubrication to the eye.

Paul Mann, MD, medical director at Mann Eye Institute, has lived with long-term dry eyes for many years and is personally enjoying the benefits of the LipiFlow treatment. “In my years of medicine, I’ve yet to find a treatment or technology that comes close to the relief we can provide with the LipiFlow,” Mann said. “I’m thrilled to have the LipiFlow as a new treatment option for our patients suffering from dry eyes!”

Individuals experiencing dry eye can contact Mann Eye Institute to learn more about the LipiFlow treatment and how it may be beneficial – (713) 580-2500.

For more than three decades, Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center has maintained their status at the forefront of comprehensive vision correction with the most advanced technology and customized patient care. Drs. Mike and Paul Mann and their team of surgeons offer advanced Blade-Free LASIK with the WaveLight system, Active Life Lens Procedures, Laser Cataract Surgery with the Catalys Precision Laser System, and now Dry Eye Treatment with the LipiFlow Thermal Pulsation System. Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center delivers treatment that is tailored to each individual’s needs; therefore, patients not only receive quality treatment, but a custom procedure designed for their vision.

Contact:

Cyndi Miller

(817) 281-3440

cmiller@millerpublicrelations.com

Finding Relief for my Chronic Dry Eyes

As a corporate executive, part of my work requires frequent airplane travel. Sometimes this aggravates and contributes to me having very dry eyes. I actually read about a new treatment for dry eyes on Facebook and thus, looked it up on the Internet. I discovered that Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center located in Houston offered this treatment. I called and received more information via emails from the physicians at Mann Eye. In fact, I even learned one of the physicians has recently under gone the treatment himself.

The treatment was very gentle, calming, comfortable, warming and impressive. Once the doctor completed both eyes, I sat up in the chair enjoying immediate relief that has continued to improve daily. Within a few days, I could stop routinely placing over the counter moisturizing drops in my eyes. My reading and computer vision is better, my eyes feel less tired from the dryness and I did not notice any dryness when I flew a few days later.

If you are experiencing dry eyes, make it a priority of yours to get in and have this LipiFlow treatment. I would do it again and highly recommend Mann Eye Institute. The patient care can be described in 3 words – over the top.

- Satisfied Patient

North Austin Location Opens In August

There's really no place like Austin, one of the nation's most diversified cities. Austin offers an appropriate mix of music, culture, great food, world-renowned technology and of course, southern hospitality. The people here are welcoming, fun, unique and REAL.

When we opened our first Mann Eye Institute Austin office in 1998, I was thrilled. Austin has tremendous potential for growth and expansion with so much happening all the time. Over the last 14 years since we've been there, the city has experienced impressive growth, it's been exciting to watch.

Much like Austin, Mann Eye Institute has grown in our own ways as well. We're now been able to help tens of thousands of patients across central Texas enjoy improved vision and eliminate the need for glasses, contacts and even readers and bifocals.

Now, our expansion has reached yet another milestone, hence the reason for this note. I am excited to announce our new Austin location opening this August in North Austin.

Why this new office? There are several reasons.

Location - Austin and its suburbs continue to broaden at a rapid rate. While this is great for the city and for Mann Eye alike, we still insist on providing the warm, friendly, legendary service that our patients appreciate. Part of this is having a convenient location with leading edge technologies to better serve our patients closer to home. With the opening of our new North Austin-area center, we can now better serve Austinites regardless of your location within the city or surrounding suburbs.

Service - At Mann Eye Institute, we always want to stay ahead of the curve. This includes serving patients in a timely fashion, having enough open appointments available to fit our patients’ schedules, and having multiple treatment centers, either close to home or close to work. Combined, these conveniences help to establish our successful Mann Eye Excellence in Patient Care model. Additionally, this new facility will allow us to continue to improve our slate of medical treatment options in order to better serve our valued patients.

Options - If you've been to Mann Eye Institute, spoken with someone who has been here or even spent some time on our website, you know we strive to provide a wide variety of treatments and procedures. Each patient's vision is as unique as a fingerprint. That is why it is important that we offer the most options possible to tailor a treatment to your unique vision requirements. Of course we offer LASIK, but we also feature laser cataract solutions with the Active Life Lens technologies and the new Catalys Laser. Additionally, we provide treatment for glaucoma and corneal conditions and care for a range of other common vision issues, like dry eye. At our new Austin office, we are able to screen for all these procedures, in addition to conducting all pre-operative and post-operative care within this single facility.

Improved Partnerships - Everyone at Mann Eye Institute values the relationships we have built locally with our referring optometrists. We work with many eye doctors throughout the Austin area, helping them provide advanced surgical options to their patients. This new Austin location will play a pivotal role in the integration of our services with the network of referring optometrists. Our goal is to increase convenience for their patients in addition to the level of service and types of treatments we can offer patients. If you already have an optometrist in Austin, this type of partnership can certainly be beneficial for your eye care and vision correction needs.

As you can see, we are excited to bring this beautifully appointed, new location to the Austin area. We trust it will help us better serve our Austin-area patients in a multitude of ways. You will hear more from me and my team as we get closer to our grand opening. We would welcome a visit from you to the new office once we have officially launched in order that you may learn more about our services and how they can benefit you and your family's vision needs.

Thank you for your part in making Austin such an amazing place. We are proud of this city, and you should be too. I look forward to seeing you at our new location very soon.

Cordially,

Mike Mann, MD, FACS

Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center of Houston Chosen As Site of U.S. Launch of New FDA-Approved All-Laser Custom Cataract Surgery

Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center, a leading vision care center headquartered in Houston, Texas, announced today the successful launch of the first U.S. introduction of an all-laser custom cataract surgery technology that will change the future of cataract treatment.

The Mann Eye Institute is the first vision care center in a worldwide rollout of the new Catalys Precision Laser System, an FDA-approved cataract laser technology designed by OptiMedica, a global ophthalmic company based in Santa Clara, CA.

The advanced technology delivers what Mike Mann, MD, FACS, founder of the Mann Eye Institute, calls an ultra-premium experience for cataract surgery patients that improves comfort, enhances results and delivers a custom, individually tailored procedure for each patient.

The noninvasive laser technology replaces the need for a manually held surgical blade and uses a combination of femtosecond laser pulses, pattern scanning recognition software and real-time 3D imaging guidance.

Specifically, the new technology improves cataract surgery in several major ways: 3D image guidance ensures that the laser energy reaches the exact target in the eye every single time, enhancing the precision and accuracy of the procedure.

The laser itself allows for even greater consistency over the most challenging aspects of cataract surgery: making the corneal incision, fragmenting and removing the old lens, and performing an anterior capsulotomy, an incision that opens the capsule that covers the lens.

Each year more than 2.5 million people undergo cataract surgery. It is one of the most common and successful procedures in the U.S. today. It is estimated that by age 80, more than half of all men and women will either have cataracts or have undergone surgery by then.

Cataracts are a clouding of the lens in the eye. The lens is responsible for focusing the light entering the eye on the retina, which then sends images to the brain. As the lens clouds, it blocks light from reaching the retina, making vision blurry. Eventually, vision will be lost without treatment.

During cataract surgery, a tiny incision is made in the eye and the damaged cloudy lens is removed. A new clear lens implant is then inserted into the eye. The incision self-seals, so no stitches are required. Recovery is quick with good vision usually expected the day following surgery.

The introduction of the new all-laser cataract surgery is a giant step forward from the early days, when removing a cataract meant patients would have to wear thick glasses in order to see. Lens implants were the next step in the continuum of progress and more recently, premium active life lens implants were introduced that give patients the ability to see at all distances while reducing or eliminating the need for glasses. Now the all-laser procedure is taking cataract surgery to the next level of experience for both surgeons and patients.

Mann Eye Institute chose the Catalys laser cataract surgery technology after a rigorous selection process in which Doctors Mike Mann and Paul Mann compared different laser cataract technologies. As part of this process, they observed and performed Catalys cases at sites in both the Dominican Republic and Germany.

“We’ve been looking forward to offering our patients laser cataract surgery but wanted to be sure that we selected the best technology available,” said Dr. Mike Mann. “Catalys represents what surely will become the gold standard in cataract surgery and is the type of innovation Mann Eye patients have come to expect.”

What to expect during your LASIK consultation

Many patients ask me what is going to happen when they come in for a LASIK consultation and I wanted to take this blog to address those concerns in this blog.

Our LASIK consultation last about one hour. At Mann Eye Institute, we feel it is necessary to give our patients the best possible vision correction outcome. We perform multiple tests on our patients to ensure each person is a great candidate for LASIK.

The first test to be performed is mapping of the cornea. The cornea is the tissue at the front of the eye that is reshaped during LASIK. We must ensure that it has a normal shape and that it will not become too steep or too flat after surgery.

The next test is to determine the prescription of the eye. We also check the eye for any signs of diseases that could affect the outcome of LASIK such as dry eyes, cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Part of determining your prescription, is dilation as it is necessary to fully inspect every part of the eye. Dilating the eye also allows us to get a cycloplegic refraction. The cycloplegic refraction allows us to check the prescription of the eye once the lens is in its relaxed position. This is more important for patients who are getting in their forties. When patients reach their forties, glasses become needed for reading because the lens stays in that relaxed position more frequently. By checking the prescription in this way, we are able to predict how your vision needs will change through the years and account for that change when customizing your LASIK procedure.

Patients appreciate that we have one of the most thorough screening processes in town. Choosing a surgeon to trust with your eyes is a decision that is not to be taken lightly. We have the most advanced diagnostic equipment and lasers at Mann Eye Institute, and we strive to give every patient our complete attention and care. Call us today, 800-MY-VISION, to schedule your free consultation and experience Mann Eye Institute for yourself.

What does it take to be a candidate for LASIK?

You may be considering LASIK, but are curious as to weather or not you are a candidate. Most people are LASIK candidates, but even those who are not can often have their vision improved by another procedure.

The first criterion is that your vision must be correctable with glasses. Some people are not able to see well with glasses or contact lenses. When that is the case, there is a good chance that a different procedure may be more beneficial.

We will also want to make sure that your prescription hasn't changed much recently. If you wear glasses, be sure to bring them in so that we can measure them. If you wear contact lenses, write down the prescription or bring the contact lens package with you.

The thickness of your corneas will be measured as a part of your pre-op evaluation. Thickness is important because LASIK surgery reshapes and thins the corneas. We need to make sure that your corneas will have the thickness that they need to hold their shape after LASIK surgery.

Another important factor is the shape of the cornea. We will create a topographic map of your cornea to see if there are irregular peaks which are not treated well with LASIK.

Irregular areas of steepness may indicate that the cornea is not stable. In order for LASIK to have a lasting effect, the cornea needs to be thick, strong and stable.

Contact lenses will warp the cornea temporarily and distort the corneal topography mapping. It is important to take your contacts out prior to your screening evaluation to avoid making extra trips to the office. Normal soft contact lenses should be taken out one full week prior to your examination. Toric lenses should be out for two full weeks, and hard contact lenses should be out for at least one full month prior to the examination.

We use strict screening criteria because we want every patient to have a wonderful lasting result following LASIK surgery. Approximately 90% of the patients that we see are great LASIK candidates. Those who are not suited for LASIK surgery can still have lasting vision improvements with another procedure such as an Active Life Lens procedure, Intacs or collagen crosslinking depending on each persons individual needs.

If you're ready to schedule your free consultation and find out if you're a candidate for LASIK at Mann Eye Institute, give us a call today, 1-800-MY-VISION. I look forward to seeing many of you in the Austin office soon.

Advanced LASIK laser is coming to Austin

There is always something new and exciting happening at Mann Eye Institute. With so many advancements occurring in the field of refractive surgery, I and my fellow surgeons at Mann Eye Institute have been busy researching these new technologies and learning how they’ll improve outcomes for our patients.

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to perform a LASIK procedure with our new Wavelight FS 200, a femtosecond laser. The FS 200 laser is utilized to create the corneal flap during step one of the LASIK procedure. It was an awesome experience for both my patients and me! The FS 200 is faster than our previous laser, which means a more accurate and safer procedure for our patients as well.

One thing that stood out to me is that immediately following the procedure, my patient’s corneal flap was clearer. The precision of this procedure should allow for patients to have a quicker visual recovery and a greater “wow” factor when they first sit up and realize they can see.

I am very excited about the results we are going to be getting with this new femtosecond laser. We at Mann Eye Institute are excited to be the first practice in Austin with a laser of this kind. If you’re considering LASIK in Austin, give us a call at 800-MY-VISION and schedule your free consultation. Our team of surgeons is looking forward to helping you enjoy incredible vision with this breakthrough LASIK technology.