Eye Care and Laser Vision Correction in Nevada
May 11th, 2012
People’s respective lifestyle choices are entirely their own. Whether to eat junk food, to smoke, or to consume alcohol etc. It may not occur to us what the impact of our lifestyle choices will have on our health; including our eye health. Physicians understand the cause-and-effect relationship outlined in scientific research that can lead to certain types of eye diseases. It is up to them to effectively communicate these risks to their patients. For example, overweight or obese individuals are at higher risk for diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
One of the biggest challenges that eye doctors face in educating their patients is that patients’ primary care physicians overlooked the opportunity to pass on this pertinent, health-conscious information. Another challenge is that when patients complain of certain ailments, primary care physicians might prescribe medicines that disrupt eye health without making the patient fully aware of the risks. Some medications hinder the pressure inside the eye, rendering it susceptible to Glaucoma.
It’s not entirely a physician’s’ fault. We are constantly bombarded by television news, internet and print sources of contradictory information about our health, our medications, etc. Furthermore, the information is sometimes slanted by advertisers skewing the information even more. A good eye doctor will ask his or her patient for a complete medical history, medications, and lifestyle preferences. At that point, if there are any risk factors like carrying extra weight, special medications or smoking, your doctor will go over the risks associated with them.
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May 1st, 2012
Last Saturday our staff participated in Las Vegas’s Relay For Life organized by the American Cancer Society. Shepherd Eye Center’s clinical supervisor, Beth along with technician Missy and windows representative Tony competed on Team “Pirates of the Cure-abbean” to raise nearly $1,000.00 US dollars! The entire event raised $50,000 toward research for a cure and patient care.
The Relay For Life began at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 27th. The team members took turns completing the marathon until it wrapped at 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning! We are so proud of our staff for helping the Las Vegas community. Great job, girls!
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March 29th, 2012
3/29/2012 Dr. Adam Rovit of Shepherd Eye Center addressed the Clark County School District nurses today in an effort to raise awareness on dyslexia, learning disabilities and vision problems in school-aged children. Dr. Rovit de-bunked myths about standardized tests that identify dyslexia; they do not exist, and there is no valid evidence that vision therapy (i.e. muscle training movements, tracking exercises) has any significant improvement on vision.
Dr. Rovit stressed the importance of catching eye issues early on; specifically between K through 2nd Grade. He urged a multidisciplinary approach to identify kids with eye problems through schools screenings, their pediatricians, and a pediatric ophthalmology screen as a final method to determine the exact condition of any eye problem hereditary or otherwise abnormal.
The school nurses asked many questions and explained the challenges of testing especially young kids like pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. Dr. Rovit recommended a couple of easy visual acquity charts they could use, and that they should try to get the child to reach 20/25 or 20/30. Higher than that (say 20/40 or 20/50) would warrant a trip the the pediatric ophthalmologist. Nurses also explained that middle school and high school-aged children were defiant against glasses. They asked Dr. Rovit how they could encourage these kids to wear their glasses.
Dr. Rovit pointed out that many of these middle school and high school students have gotten by cheating with their “good eye”. But, he pointed out, that puts their “good eye” at risk if they play sports or have active lifestyles. He reiterated the importance of identifying vision and eye problems in kids age 7 or younger to avoid vision setbacks in adulthood. In addition to offering his expertise to the school nurses, Dr. Rovit generously volunteered to examine 12 needy children from the CCSD who have severe eye problems at no charge.
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March 16th, 2012
Today is the last day of Jill Halvorson’s tenure as Clinical Supervisor with Shepherd Eye Center. Jill was hired about 10 years ago when she replied to an ad in the Las Vegas Review Journal from Minnesota. She relocated to Las Vegas and worked as an optician for the next two years; during which time she earned an MBA.
Jill was promoted to Clinical Supervisor shortly after earning her MBA because of her demonstrated strengths analyzing inefficiencies within the practice then devising practical strategies that overhauled the entire patient process maximizing its efficiency and effectiveness. In addition to improving areas of weakness internally, Jill successfully earned the respect and cooperation of Shepherd’s diverse and colorful collection of expert ophthalmologists on staff. Jill’s diplomacy with our physicians helped the company to make decisions as a team, and to put to goal of the greater good above any individual gain.
Most recently, Jill accepted a promotion with the Minnesota Eye Consultants. This move will bring her closer to her dear friends and family.
Shepherd Eye Center is saddened to see her go, but also extremely excited for her to return home (home is where the heart is!). We want Jill to know she will always be a part of our family at Shepherd Eye Center.
We also want to warn Minnesota Eye Consultants that while Jill is extremely bright and highly driven, she is also a borderline chocoholic…have a stash of Peanut Butter M&M’s waiting for her!
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February 3rd, 2012
Blepharoplasty is eyelid surgery that improves the appearance of the upper eyelids, lower eyelids or both. It is often done for cosmetic purposes, but can also be medically necessary if the sagging skin and the folds it can create interfere with your vision. The surgical procedure is usually done on an outpatient basis. To help determine if blepharoplasty is right for you, medically or cosmetically, call Shepherd Eye Center to schedule a consultation with our expert occuplastic surgeon, Dr. Ravi Reddy
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January 26th, 2012
Last summer, stem cell experts injected the eyeball of two, blind patients at UCLA with embryonic stem cells to see what might happen. The results were published in the latest issue of Lancet. The purpose of the study wasn’t necessarily to restore the blind patients’ vision. Instead, the purpose was to prove that stem cell therapy was safe to use in humans. Prior to this experiment, stem cell therapy was only used in lab animals.
Experts injected one eye of each, blind patient with embryonic stem cells. Within four months, the two patients showed improvement in reading letters even though they remained legally blind.
Embryonic stem cells can transform into any cell of the body so scientists want to use it to create replacement tissue. Stem cell research has been controversial because human embryos are destroyed to harvest cells. For the complete news article, click here
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January 19th, 2012
Pterygium (pronounced tur-IJ-ee-um) is a growth of fleshy tissue on the conjunctiva that extends over the cornea caused by dry eye and environmental elements like ultraviolet light, wind or dust. When a pterygium gets red and irritated, lubricant eye drops or ointments can soothe the inflammation. If it gets big enough it can cause some visual interruption. Say the drops and ointments don’t work, then the abnormal tissue can be surgically removed. Despite surgical removal, occasionally pterygium grows back. The best way to avoid recurring growth is to limit exposure to the environmental factors; primarily ultraviolet light, believed to cause them.
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January 13th, 2012
Six months ago, Shepherd Eye Center added the DSEK procedure to its menu of comprehensive ophthalmology services. DSEK is a less invasive, alternative surgery that replaces the traditional corneal transplant or cornea graft procedure in the event that the endothelial layer of your cornea swells due to disease or trauma.
DSEK stands for Descemet’s Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty. DSEK takes less time and heals faster than a full cornea transplant. However, the nature of this particular procedure requires extreme precision. The risks involved include dislocation of the donor tissue since it is held in place with an air bubble instead of sutures, or graft failure in that the endothelial cells just don’t cooperate leaving the cornea swollen.
Only a handful of ophthalmologists nationwide perform DSEK. Our expert ophthalmologist at Shepherd Eye Center, Dr. Steven Hansen, conducts this procedure and Dr. Robert Taylor will start performing it as well this spring at Shepherd Eye Center in Las Vegas, NV.
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January 11th, 2012
Are you ready to ditch your eye glass frames and contact lenses once and for all this year? There are all sorts of sports and outdoor activities like swimming, hiking, boating or cycling that are stifled by wearing glasses or contacts. Shepherd Eye Center can help get you out of glasses or contacts for good by performing PRK Laser eye surgery. Shepherd’s eye surgeons use the VisX S-4 laser with CustomVue wavefront mapping technology to customize your laser correction treatment giving you the sharpest vision possible for your eyes. Call us at 702-731-2088 to schedule a consultation and determine if you are a candidate for PRK Laser eye surgery or visit our website for more information about our surgery services.
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January 6th, 2012
Presbyopia. Is it an African country near Ethopia? A rare blood disorder like anemia?
Nope! Presbyopia is a condition that occurs inside our eyes as we age. Presbyopia refers to the “diminished power of accommodation arising from loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens and/or loss of ciliary muscle function, as occurs with aging”.
In Latin, Presbyopia literally means “old sight”. Basically, it’s a refractive condition where the elasticity of the lens is lost, hindering the eyes’ ability to focus up close. This is a natural part of the aging process. Changes usually become apparent around age 45.
Presbyopia is often confused with Hyperopia (farsightedeness) because both conditions make it difficult to see up close; but for different reasons. Hyperopia (farsightedness) is caused by the anatomy of your eye, where Presbyopia is caused by the normal aging process.
There are several options for presbyopia correction including eye glasses, monovision contact lenses or refractive surgery.
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