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.”

Active Life Lenses not only fix cataracts, but can improve your vision

Jeanne J. after her Active Life Lens procedure. Read her
 thank you note to Dr. Wright here.

Quality of life is a big term in ophthalmology.  Luckily we rarely have to deal with life and death situations in our field, instead we are given the chance to improve a patient’s everyday life, which is just as exciting to me. It is what makes my job the best one in the world.

Nobody likes the news that they need surgery.  The same holds true for patients who come to me with decreased vision from cataracts.  Many patients hear that “s” word and become apprehensive.

What is great about ophthalmology is that I have the opportunity to not only fix a cataract, but to make the vision better than before the cataract.  Think about that for a second. Most of the time you go to the doctor with a problem. You get it fixed, which brings you back to the baseline you were at before the illness or problem.  With cataract surgery, I am able to remove the cataract, but take it a step further and actually improve the vision to better than before surgery.

At Mann Eye Institute, we perform the surgeries and use Active Life Lenses to improve your life.  There are lenses that can get rid of the astigmatism and prescription that has plagued some their whole lives.  These lenses can let you wake up in the morning and see in the distance without glasses in greater than 95% of people who receive them.  There is also a lens which can let you see distance and near without glasses the majority of the time.  Think about shaving, putting on make-up, and of course reading without using glasses.  Again, around 95% of people with Active Life Lens procedures can go the majority of their day without glasses. That’s pretty amazing if you ask me.

Come in and see if one of out Active Life Lens procedures may be able to help you see better and be less dependent on glasses.  It is an exciting opportunity for our patients, and we love to be a part of it.

Why should I choose Mann Eye for my surgery?

With my second blog I thought I would address a question I commonly receive when a patient comes in for a LASIK screening.  And if they don’t ask, I am sure they are thinking it. “Why should I choose Mann Eye for my surgery?”  I believe several points should be considered when choosing a surgeon, and I will address the first today as it pertains to Mann Eye.

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects when choosing your surgeon / practice to get rid of glasses and contacts is to check if they are proficient in all the different refractive options available to surgically change your vision for the better.  Your vision is as unique as your fingerprint, and the appropriate vision correction option can vary from patient to patient. But as the saying goes, “When all you have is a hammer, all the world looks like a nail.”  For patients, this means you should want a practice that offers all possible options.  For instance, if a practice only offers LASIK, that practice cannot and should not adequately serve a patient with certain vision conditions that make the patient a poor LASIK candidate.

At Mann Eye we are able to fix, improve, or stabilize a range of vision issues with the latest technology and surgeries.  For the majority of the public that is 60 or below, LASIK is a great option to improve your vision. The following four examples demonstrate various patient needs in which a different surgery may be better than LASIK for the best results.

For patients above 60 years old and /or those with cataract changes in their lens, LASIK is sometimes the correct course of treatment, but many times a lens exchange or cataract surgery is needed in order to get the best results.  Our surgeons at Mann Eye Institute specialize in both types of surgery, and we will be able to decide which option is best for you.

Additionally, LASIK may not be the best surgery for those with significant corneal scarring or recurrent erosions of their cornea.  Not only can the results from LASIK not be optimal, but complications are more likely to occur with these conditions.  Again, this is not an issue at Mann Eye because we are able to offer Advanced Surface Ablation (ASA), which can remove superficial scarring WHILE removing a prescription. In some cases, ASA can actually treat the erosions themselves, possibly ridding the patient of glasses AND their disease.  This is one reason why our screening process is so extensive so that any issues that are present are found and addressed properly either surgically or medically.

A third example would be a patient who is extremely nearsightedness.  Once a prescription gets around -10.00 diopters, it is possible that the cornea is not thick enough to allow for a LASIK laser treatment. Performing LASIK in these instances could put a patient at risk for complications due to the thinness of the cornea.  Therefore, an Implantable Collamer Lens (or ICL) may be the best option.  We are blessed at Mann Eye to have our own surgery centers where these lens implantations (along with other surgeries) can be done. You can always feel safe in knowing that we do extensive screening to look for these risk factors and that we will only recommend the procedure that, in our opinion, is safest and will provide optimal results. Make sure any practice you consider for your vision correction procedure can say the same thing.

One last example (though there are many more) would be someone with irregular astigmatism who wishes to have surgery as his or her vision is deteriorating.  At Mann Eye we are able to offer a solution with INTACS corneal implants.  INTACS are medical grade plastic implants that are placed in the cornea to give it a more natural spherical shape, which is sometimes lost from diseases like keratoconus.

As new procedures become available, our surgical team here at Mann Eye evaluates the new technologies to determine which will be beneficial to our patients. We strive to constantly offer a wide variety of safe, effective, proven procedures for the unique vision conditions of each of our patients.

This is just my first blog on why Mann Eye is the right choice for your eye care needs.  Stay tuned next month more information and updates.

--Dr. Wright