Gold & Red Eye
Golfers Go to Gulani to Get the Red Out
Cutting edge, top of the line, innovative, gutsy … all of these terms and more have been used to describe some of the world-class professional golfers that will be converging on Ponte Vedra Beach during the next two weeks to compete in the 36th Annual PLAYERS Championship (TPC) golf tournament.
Those same terms – cutting edge, top of the line, innovative, gutsy – are being applied to a local eye surgeon who has developed a suture-less surgical procedure that totally eliminates a common golf-related eye condition called pterygium. An unsightly wedge-shaped growth that, if left untreated, may eventually cover the cornea of the eye and adversely affect vision, pterygium are usually the result of exposure to sun, wind and sand.
“We see a lot of golfers with pterygiums and we usually counsel them to wear sunglasses with ultraviolet protection to prevent further damage, but when they are advanced enough to require surgery, we refer them to Dr. Gulani,” said Ponte Vedra Optometrist Todd Bowman “Dr. Gulani has done a good job of providing the latest surgical techniques such as grafting, which has helped a lot in preventing recurrence of pterygiums after surgery.”
“Technological advances today allow us to strive for surgical elegance along with visual perfection,” declared Arun Gulani, the internationally recognized eye surgeon who has developed a unique array of surgical techniques for pterygium and a related eye malady called pinguecula. The Gulani Three-Step Technique combines his innovative “Iceberg Concept” (going to the root of the pterygium and removing the entire growth), delicate “No-Stitch” stem-cell surgery using human placenta, and the application of Tissue Glue during surgery. When performed in concert by Gulani, using Diamond surgical instruments of his own design, the eye surgeon’s procedure for eliminating pterygium and preventing its recurrence has changed the outcome dramatically.
Two years ago, Bowman referred his patient, Mark Sonnebron, to Gulani. An avid golfer, Sonnebron had an advanced pterygium in his right eye. “I had done a lot of on-line research on pterygium surgery and found that it is typically barbaric,” said Sonnebron, describing a technique that involved harvesting good tissue in the upper eye and grafting that new tissue in place. “A doctor in California had modified that procedure and it sounded like the only option. I was prepared to fly out there when Dr. Bowman told me about Dr. Gulani.”
Instead of taking a 3,000 mile flight, Sonnebron took the ten minute drive to Gulani Vision Institute on Gate Parkway in the Southside and listened in awe as Gulani asked, “Why damage the eye further by cutting out good tissue? Why not cut out the offending growth and allow human placenta to completely heal the area once and for all?”
Upon doing further research, Sonnebron discovered that people from California were flying to Gulani Vision Institute … in fact, people were flying in from New York, London, and the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa to seek Gulani’a common sense cutting edge approach.
Two years later, Sonnebron’s eyes are totally clear just like they were next day after surgery and he is very careful to wear UV Sunglasses when golfing. He often refers fellow golfers to Gulani. “He’s the only doctor I’ve ever been to that doesn’t get annoyed with twenty questions,” Sonnebron said of Gulani. “In fact, he wants you to question him, because he is always striving to raise the bar on eye surgery.”
Recently, Gulani raised the bar even higher on his Three-Step Technique by performing it for the very first time in Northeast Florida using 3D Technology. Local golfer and noted oral surgeon, Dr. John Zongker, became one of the first in the World to undergo this futuristic procedure, which Gulani performed using a 3D IMAX-like screen rather than the smaller microscope traditionally used for eye surgery.
“When you look through a surgical microscope, you see an enhanced view, but your depth of field is limited,” said Zongker. “With the 3D, Dr. Gulani got a greater depth of field and I saw that as a big advantage for me.” Zongker, as with all of Gulani’s pterygium patients, was amazed that his eye was completely clear the next day after surgery. “There was almost no discomfort and I was back in my office a couple of days later,” said Zongker. “My son-in-law has a pterygium and I’ve recommended he let Gulani take care of it. He’s with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and if I had any reservations whatsoever about this surgery, I wouldn’t refer him. I feel extremely comfortable with the expertise of Dr. Gulani.”
Dr. Patrick Domingo, the optometrist who referred Zongker to Dr. Gulani, is also extravagant in his praise of the innovative Jacksonville eye surgeon. “Gulani is a passionate perfectionist,” says Domingo. “He did my wife’s Lasik surgery and she wishes she had done it sooner.” Domingo’s wife, Cindy Cousins, is also an optometrist. “Both of us refer our patients to Dr. Gulani and they are always thrilled with the results. There is no doubt he loves what he does.”
Avondale Optometrist, Dr. Dana Nolan, is another of a growing number of eye doctors in Florida who look to Gulani for advanced lasik. “He’s a fantastic surgeon,” she says. “He’s always one step or two ahead of everyone else.” Nolan noted that she was one of the privileged few to observe Gulani’s new 3D surgery on Dr. John Zongker. “We were all wearing 3D glasses and the huge screen had a depth to it that showed us every surgical detail he was performing. It was as if we were watching the future of eye surgery unfolding right before our eyes.”
Back on the golf course and looking forward to watching the world’s greatest golfers face the challenge of the famous 17th hole at Sawgrass during THE PLAYERS Championship in May, Zongker expresses both his personal and professional admiration for Gulani. “He’s amazing,” he says. “I wouldn’t entrust my eyes to anyone but the best.”