Dr. Thomas Tooma, laser eye surgeon at TLC has been awarded the highly regarded Vision Award for his outstanding work correcting the vision of thousands of patients over his twenty-five year career in laser eye surgery.

The Vision Awards(TM) takes place every year recognizing “People of Vision.” Since 1972, the Vision Awards has been successfully raising awareness for blindness and other vision impairments through an awards ceremony that recognizes leading visionaries in both the medical and entertainment fields. Through the fundraising efforts of the Vision Awards community, the organization has taken great strides in improving the quality of life for the vision impaired and promoting ocular research. The admirable goal of the Vision Awards is to one day put an end to blindness.

Other award winners during the night’s festivities included such notable visionaries in the entertainment industry as Wes Craven, Brett Ratner, Tony Shalhoub, Katie Couric, Andy Garcia, Forest Whitaker and Ted Turner.

Thomas Tooma was one of only a handful to be honored for scientific and medical endeavors in the field of vision correction and research. “To share the stage with such notable scientists, doctors, actors and directors is just an incredible honor,” stated Dr. Thomas Tooma. “It was all for such a great cause and I know the Vision Awards truly succeeded in raising awareness for vision impairment

For the 625 attendees of this year’s Vision Awards, it truly was an enjoyable and worthwhile evening. Dr. Thomas Tooma is currently a LASIK surgeon and Medical Director of Southern California for TLC Laser Eye Centers.

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Lasik might be your solution to a universe without contacts. But as with all surgery procedures, Laser surgery carries some risk. You want to be confident in your doctor and comfortable with the procedure. Learn some tough questions to ask your Lasik surgeon to ensure that laser eye surgery is the best decision for you.

Ask for Your Lasik Surgeon’s Qualifications

Much of your success with laser eye surgery relies on having a good Lasik surgeon. A well-practiced surgeon has been performing laser eye surgery for at least three years. Find out which refractive procedures are most commonly carried out, and the frequency with which they are performed. A qualified professional should have completed at least 500 refractive procedures in recent years.

Ask Your Lasik Surgeon About the Success Rate

Find out how many patients of Thomas Tooma have achieved at least 20/40 vision, as well as, a success percentage for 20/20 vision or better. According to the Quality Standards Advisory Committee (QSAC) the national average success rate for 20/40 vision is 90 percent, 65 percent for 20/20. If your Lasik surgeon states percentages well-exceeding the national norm, ask for a follow up with evidence. Keep in mind, these percentages represent an average success rate and are not the answer to your individual success with Lasik surgery.

You will also want to find out the percentage of patients of Thomas Tooma that have had complications six months after Lasik surgery; the national norm is three percent. Again, if the doctor claims a spotless record, ask for evidence.

Ask About the Number of Patients Your Lasik Surgeon has Denied

Because a number of people simply cannot qualify for laser eye surgery due to age and health conditions, among other considerations, you are looking for evidence of rejection. You want to be sure that Thomas Tooma follows standard practice for selecting patients. The amount may vary for each doctor, but should be greater than zero.

Ask About Lasik Equipment

Look for a surgeon like Thomas Tooma whose equipment is approved by the FDA. Check the doctor’s answers by learning about typical equipment uses and verify that your procedure is appropriate for that equipment. Equipment use may not directly correlate with FDA standards, but the equipment itself needs to be approved.

Ask if Lasik is Right for You

Your doctor can provide a professional opinion about your candidacy for refractive eye surgery after a proper consultation and medical eye exam. Among many considerations, the surgeon will need to verify that you are at least 18, have a healthy medical history and have not experienced fluctuations in your vision for the past 12 months. Thomas Tooma can provide some insight into how your doctor evaluates laser eye surgery candidacy.

Ask Questions About Risks and Complications

Thomas Tooma will explain that all surgical procedures involve a certain level of risk. Results are not guaranteed and may not last. Ask the Lasik surgeon to identify complications you may be at risk for based on your medical history and the condition of your eyes. Some patients experience double vision, glares and halos, among other possible complications. Lasik surgery can also cause dry eyes and inflammation. If complications do not subside within six months, it may be necessary to have an additional, corrective procedure.

What is Lasik Surgery and Recovery Like?

Laser eye surgery is an outpatient procedure. Thomas Tooma will provide you with details about the procedure, the recovery process, as well as, a list of post-operative directions. Most patients report minimal discomfort, which usually subsides hours following the procedure. Your vision may improve up to 90 percent the day following the surgery. But expect to experience periodic fluctuations in vision and sensitivity to light.

Thomas Tooma will outline ways to care for your eyes following the procedure. Highlights on the list include the need for protective eye wear, prescription eye drops and rest. While healing depends on the person, most patients find that they can return to work the day following the procedure.

Ask Your Lasik Surgeon About Financing Options

Be sure to ask Thomas Tooma about the many Lasik financing options. You may be able to enter into a payment plan directly with the doctor. Many options offer qualified laser eye surgery patients a zero interest, or low-interest monthly payment plan for Lasik surgery patients.

tom tooma

Millions of people have undergone successful LASIK surgery. Even some great athletes have chosen the surgery to improve their vision. These people depend on having good vision to excel in their sports.

LASIK surgery seems like a scary proposition. Can’t you go blind? Well, there is some risk. Let’s see what has happened to some athletes that have had the surgery.

Tiger Woods might be the biggest athlete in today’s world of megastars. He had the operation in 1999. His eyes now see at 20-15, better than normal (20-20).

Hitting a baseball is considered one of the most difficult things to do in sports. Excellent vision is critical to be able to hit well. Many baseball players have chosen to use LASIK to help them see the ball better.

Even pitching needs good vision. Greg Maddox had LASIK surgery and turned around a 1-3 start into a 9 out of 10 game winning streak. His vision is 20-15 these days.

Maddox doesn’t think the surgery had anything to do with his improved pitching. He never felt it would help him on the mound. He had the procedure done to help him in his daily life.

Hitters would feel a definite benefit from improved vision. Both Jeff Bagwell and Bernie Williams have had the surgery. Because they have strong career stats, it’s hard to gauge the effect of the surgery on their performance at the plate.

It’s when you here these players talk about life after LASIK surgery that you get an idea of how it is for them. Maddox talks about how nice it is to just sit and watch TV now. Bernie Williams feels it is simply a miracle.

For Tiger there were a couple of helpful issues. He can have allergy problems. Wearing contacts with an allergy can make playing difficult.

Tiger felt everything was bigger, clearer, and closer than before the surgery. He feels this benefits him most in reading long putts. He sees the slopes in the greens in more detail, allowing him to see the line better.

With so many athletes trusting there livelihoods to this surgery, us normal people can have confidence that it’s safe. These guys are risking millions of dollars if things go bad. This operation has improved the quality of life for many. Many people.

Ophthalmology is a specialized field in medicine that deals with the medical aspects of human eyes which uses the latest technologies available today to enhance its approaches to treating the ill. LASIK eye surgery is one of the methods that is used to treat eye problems. People who shun eye glasses or contact lenses go for LASIK eye surgery. Custom LASIK is one of the types of these treatments. Wavefront is another term that is commonly used to refer custom LASIK. LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis.

Custom LASIK is performed only to those who qualify the examination of the physician based on the guidelines offered by the Food and Drug Administration Committee. So anyone and everyone cannot undergo this surgery. Your ophthalmologist will be able to advise you on your suitability for this type of eye surgery. If you do not qualify then your physician will be able advise on a suitable method of treatment.

Amongst the other forms of eye surgery procedures, Custom LASIK method is considered to be the most expensive form of treatment. However, not all forms of corneal aberrations can be corrected using custom LASIK procedure. Only aberrations such as astigmatism, hyperopia and myopia can be treated using this method. Your physician would be the best person who can decide on the type of LASIK treatment you would need.

Custom LASIK uses wavefront device for the diagnosis of the corneal faults. Using the wavefront device a 3D map is created to help the surgeon to decide the course of the surgery. Lot of people prefer LASIK eye surgery as the post operative problems are relatively lesser than the other forms.

There are number of steps to be followed for LASIK eye surgery. The preparation stage starts at least 7 days a head of the procedure. The patient is asked to stop the usage of any contact lenses he or she may have been using. During the preparatory stage the corneal thickness is measured to help the surgeon understand the problems in the cornea. The patient for Custom LASIK is prescribed antibiotics to prevent post surgery infection.

The Custom LASIK procedure involves creation of a flap in the cornea as the first stage and as the second step, the inner layer of the cornea is resized based on the aberration. During the eye surgery, the patient remains conscious and will be administered with local anesthetic in the form of eye drops.

Once the inner layer of cornea is reshaped the flap created in the previous stage of the custom LASIK procedure is put back to its original form. So special material is used to seal back the flap in the eye surgery. It heals naturally.

Once the LASIK eye surgery is completed, extra care should be given to the patient to ensure that there is no attack of infections after the Custom LASIK surgery. At the post operative stage the operated eye should be protected from the exposure to bright light by wearing protective dark glasses. Though Custom LASIK procedure is one of the most popular forms of eye surgery due to its lesser post operative effects, one should not take chances. Basic care and attention that is normally given for the LASIK eye surgeries should not be missed.

by Louis Zhang

An effective and affordable eye care option, Lasik’s eye surgery is becoming more and more popular throughout Canada and the US. The cost of Lasik eye surgery varies quite a bit, depending on the severity of your eyesight and what care you need after the surgery.

Corrective laser eye surgery stands as the most popular method of removing the need for glasses available today. This is due to the reduced cost of the surgery, which is much lower than it was when the technique was first developed.

The cost of such surgery is dependent on a variety of factors including the location of the surgery. Costs are different between America and Canada, between the different states in America, and between the various providers found in each location.

In Canada, the largest provider of Lasik surgery is Lasik MD, and it accounts for up almost fifty percent of all the Lasik surgery patients there. The cost of Lasik eye surgery in Canada are determined by the same factors that determine the cost of the surgery in the US. The following are the factors that determine the cost of Lasik eye surgery.

When pricing Lasik eye surgery, the cost for each eye is considered separately. One Lasik eye surgery is considered to be for one eye. If you need to correct both eyes you can expect to pay about double the cost.

Any new technology that is used in the surgery will also add to its cost. Most of the cost of Lasik surgery is derived from the high cost of the equipment used to conduct the surgery. The location of the surgery and the identity of the surgeon also play a part in determining the cost of the surgery.

Another factor which determines the cost of is the gravity of your sight problem. Let me give you an idea of the average costs of Lasik surgery in United States and Canada. There’ll be some difference but that won’t be too much.

Beware of some ads like ‘$500 per eye’. Very few people can get laser surgery at that price because their eye sight might have degenerated too much. An extensive laser eye correction would cost much more.

A recent study shows that the average cost of Lasik surgery is now less than $1,000. But these surgeries are done by inexpensive conventional excimer lasers or bladed microkeratomes not wavefront technologies. Modern wavefront technologies would cost you between $1,000 to $2,500.

While the cost of laser eye surgery was exorbitant a few years ago, it has begun to stabilize in recent years and is more reasonable than ever now. The ultimate price you pay for Lasik eye surgery can be a worthwhile investment; it is impossible to put a price on the freedom it offers you from glasses.

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