Collin County Living Well Magazine July/August 2016 | Page 24

Leading-Edge Technology Revolutionizes
Cataract Surgery and Lowered Costs

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By Key-Whitman Eye Center

f you have previously looked into cataract surgery, but
were put off by the expense, inconvenience and annoyance of the multiple drops needed post-surgery, now is
a great time to revisit your options. There has been a lot
of research showing the effectiveness of dropless cataract surgery in recently and how it can do away with the
negative experience of post-operative eye drops for some
patients. And there’s one other major improvement this advance offers patients:
Cataract surgery is now more affordable.
Cataract surgery is one of the earliest medical procedures
first documented in the 5th Century, B.C. by Babylonian
and Indian healers. Numerous advances have improved
the treatment since then. The first reported surgical removal
of cataracts took place in Paris in 1748.
Another major advance occurred in 1967 when an American physician performed a procedure to remove the lens
using only one tiny incision. In recent times, impressive developments including high-tech lens replacement and laser
technology have further revolutionized cataract procedures.
The most recent milestone in cataract surgery means patients can see more clearly with even less discomfort, little
to no requirement for post-operative eye drops and at a
significantly lower cost.
To assist patients with the increasing cost
of drops, it required a change.
Recognizing the patients’ need for a more affordable cataract surgery option was the main motive behind Key-Whitman Eye Centers eagerly pursuing the medication formulation required to perform its No-or-Low Drop procedure at its
North Texas locations.
“What we’ve seen in the past year and a half is an exponential rise in patient complaints about the rising cost
of drops at their pharmacies. Unfortunately, we have no
control over those costs, so until recently, we couldn’t do
anything to make it better.
We even had patients who would decide not to have cataract surgery, because the eye drops – even generics – were
so expensive at the pharmacies. (Drops can range from
$400-600 per eye.) Now, patients can have the surgery to
improve their vision without breaking the bank,” says KeyWhitman President and Chief Surgeon Jeffrey Whitman,
M.D.
The new dropless procedure
has been proven safe and effective.
Dr. Whitman heard about the breakthrough early on and
subsequently learned the process directly from the surgeon-

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COLLIN COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2016

inventor of the dropless procedure, Jeffrey Liegner, M.D.
“Even though its been making headlines of late, dropless
cataract surgery isn’t a brand new thing. We heard great
things about the procedure when a number of our colleagues had early access to the formula on a study basis,”
Dr. Whitman says.
Because Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, the company that manufactures the formulation, only recently had a pharmacy
presence in Texas, Key-Whitman turned to a Dallas compounding pharmacy nine months ago to create the same
formula for its practice. Consequently, Key-Whitman was
one of the first practices to perform the procedure in North
Texas.
According to Dr. Whitman, “We began rolling out the Noor-Low Drop procedure here on a case-by-case basis, and
the results have been terrific. Both the anti-inflammatory
and anti-bacterial effects have been as good or better as
what patients experienced with traditional drops, and without the surface irritation some people find with drops.”
Key-Whitman’s No-or-Low Drop approach
provides all the benefits of dropless cataract
surgery including an option for patients
who need some drops.
As Dr. Whitman explains, “The far majority of cataract surgery patients will be a good candidate for the dropless
procedure, but for those who are not, we also offer a low
or less drop option. The same company that manufactures
the medication formulation for the dropless procedure also
makes post-operative, all-in-one drops at a much lower
cost than the traditional drops. One of the qualities we like
about this pharmaceutical company is its consideration for
patient costs.”
If you are a candidate for the dropless cataract surgery,
your eye surgeon will place the medication in the eye at the
end of your cataract surgery.
“It doesn’t take any additional time, and patients don’t feel
a thing. The medication slowly dissolves over time, releasing the medication as you need it, so you experience the
same effect you would with traditional drops – without the
high cost, hassle or surface irritation,” says Dr.Whitman.
If you are NOT a candidate for dropless cataract surgery –
not to worry. With the No-or-Low Drop option, the majority
of medications are combined into a single formulation, so
in many cases, you only insert one drop 3x/day. That’s a
major improvement over the traditional treatment of three
drops, 3x/day during your recovery period (typically two
to three weeks).