St. Luke’s Physicians Keynote Duke Ophthalmology Conference

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — A surgical procedure that has proven very successful in removing cataracts in older patients is now being used as an alternative to the popular LASIK surgery for patients over the age of 40, according to two prominent area ophthalmologists who were keynote speakers at Duke University Vision Symposium over the weekend.

James Gills, M.D. and Pit Gills, M.D. of St. Luke’s Cataract & Laser Institute spoke at the conference held May 17 & 18 in Durham and sponsored by The Duke University School of Medicine.  Their topic was Clear Lens Extraction And Replacement, or CLEAR for short. According to Dr. Pit Gills, CLEAR is often an excellent alternative for patients who are over 40 and are interested in refractive surgery, but may not be good candidates for LASIK.  Dr. Gills explains that, at about age 40, the eye’s natural crystalline lens, located just behind the pupil, becomes less flexible and loses its ability to focus on objects that are close up. That’s when many people begin to need reading or bifocal eyeglasses.

As in cataract surgery, the eye’s natural lens is removed during CLEAR and replaced with a plastic intraocular lens (IOL). The IOL is selected to provide vision based on the needs and the lifestyle of the patient. Dr. Gills says most patients prefer a distance focus, but others want to be able to read a menu or computer screen without glasses or contact lenses.  Another alternative is to correct one eye for near focus and the other for distance.  This “monovision” technique has been used with success by some contact lens wearers for many years.  The brain readily adapts to the two different lenses, and “decides” which eye to use depending on the distance to the object.

State-of-the-art ultrasound instruments are used to measure the eye for the correct lens prior to CLEAR surgery. The measurements are used in sophisticated formulas to calculate the precise power needed in the intraocular lenses that are implanted during the CLEAR procedure.

Another advantage of CLEAR, due largely to a procedure developed by Dr. Gills, is that astigmatism can be corrected, greatly improving the results of the surgery for many patients.

Dr. James Gills, was the first ophthalmologist in the United States to dedicate his practice to the treatment of cataracts via the use of intraocular lens implants.  He is known internationally for his contributions to improving cataract surgery, including the use of intraocular lidocaine to dramatically increase the comfort of the procedure. Dr. Gills also pioneered the use of intraocular antibiotics to help make cataract surgery one of the safest surgical procedures performed today.