Nurse with “Only Seeing” Eye: Post 16 cut RK, post Vitrectomy, Subluxed Cataract with High Irregular Astigmatism and macular degeneration to Gulani Vision! #gulanibeyond2020
“How does a person who cannot see find an eye surgeon? Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Debbie Barron and I am the daughter of Mary Hammack, a patient of Dr. Arun Gulani in Jacksonville, Florida. My mother, a retired registered nurse, was one of the first patients to have RK (radial keratotomy) surgery back in the 1980s. This procedure had only been done for one year in the US and was done by hand back then, not with the new laser technology that we all know of today. This procedure was supposed to be the beginning of no more glasses. However, she lost her night vision and a whole lot more.
Background History
In 2000, my mother was having a hemorrhage in her right eye. She went to a retinal specialist who again did a laser procedure by hand which destroyed the retina in her right eye. She is now in her early 40s and can only see out of one eye and cannot drive at night. In 2005, she had another hemorrhage in her left eye. She is now diagnosed with wet macular degeneration. She found an outstanding retinal specialist who has been treating her for this deteriorating disease for the past 10 years. She makes a 2 hour trip one way about every 3 months if there is no hemorrhaging for a check up. If she has a hemorrhage (active bleed), she receives an injection straight into her eye while she is awake to stop the bleeding.
In 2014, her cataracts were developing in both eyes which impacted her vision even more. She has no vision in her right eye, hemorrhages in her left eye and now cataracts on top of that. She needed to find a doctor who would perform cataract surgery on post RK patients who have wet macular degeneration. I hear the devastating news and search for a few weeks on the internet because she cannot see to do this herself. I say my daily prayers and ask GOD to help me find a way to help my mother see again. Within 2 days, I come across Gulani Vision Institute. I read and read, trying to determine if this would be the answer to our prayers. I send an email and ask, does this doctor perform cataract surgery on 35 year post RK patients with wet macular degeneration? Within 1 hour, we had an email back saying YES! We scheduled an appointment to meet with Dr. Gulani as soon as possible.
Right Eye Procedure
We immediately searched for plane tickets and a place to stay in Jacksonville. I live in Columbus, Ohio and my parents live in Elkins, West Virginia. This would typically be a 10 hour drive! Upon arrival at Gulani Vision Institute, we were greeted and taken back with little to no wait time. Dr. Gulani spent many hours doing testing, gathering baseline data and developing an individual plan for how to treat this cataract located within what he calls “The Lion’s Cage”. He explained every detail, spent as much time as she needed and answers all of our questions. He was very confident that he could perform this risky surgery with all of the odds against him. He assured us he would spend his own time over the weekend developing a plan of attack. Surgery day arrives and Dr Gulani is ready with his plan, mother is ready for surgery and we are in the waiting room. I am expecting her to be in surgery for 2 hours and within 20 minutes they call us back. Dr. Gulani meets us right off of the recovery room and says,”supreme, supreme, Mary did supreme”! We were so relieved that he could go in between 8 cuts done by hand and remove this cataract. This man is one of a kind! He calls her that evening to check on her status. How many doctors nowadays, calls patients on their own time! For the first time in 30 years, she can see the big E on the eye chart the next day during her check up visit. We fly home the next day after having the cataract removed.
Left Eye Procedure
It is now October 2015 as we return to Dr. Gulani’s office to begin the plan to remove the cataract on her left eye that has 16 cuts made by hand that are also irregular in length and depth. This is her precious eye, the one with some vision left! Many surgeons have said no, I cannot take the risk but Dr. Gulani is here to prove to other eye surgeons that this can be done! Again, Dr. Gulani performed many tests during this visit as well and develops another amazing plan to remove this cataract. We go to the surgery center for her procedure and await the news. Dr. Gulani again delivers outstanding news that the surgery was a success. We go into the recovery room and celebrate another successful eye surgery. Dr. Gulani takes great pride in his work and this is very evident in the way he performs the surgeries with all patients, in his consultations and when seeing patients in his office. We are all so happy and thankful to find such an amazing surgeon. My mother is now 2 months post op and is now seeing better than she ever has in her whole life! She does not have to wear glasses except to read. She is a new woman! Her independence is back and she feels as though she is regaining her abilities to help others in the way that she did before she was losing her sight.Gulani Difference
Dr. Gulani is very passionate about how he treats each individual eye. Dr. Gulani exhibits professionalism along with personalism, meaning he treated us like family. During many of our visits, he would give us his personal opinion of what he would do if this were his mother. He genuinely cares about the patient and their families. He spends countless hours each day saving eyesight in patients who have been told, “there is nothing else I can do for you”. He does not settle for that, he goes to work to find a solution and exhibits the passion and expertise to help people. Dr. Gulani takes great pride in his work and in his ability to teach other doctors that they too can perform these same surgeries. He is on the leading edge of innovation as he has developed his own instruments that is used daily in his practice. He selflessly teaches around the world giving his time to others in an effort to educate fellow eye surgeons.
My family would highly recommend Dr. Gulani to any person who is having issues with their vision. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for his expertise in the ever changing world of vision. He is clearly the BEST eye surgeon in the world as evidenced by all of the patients he treats from around the globe! Again, Dr. Gulani is an amazing eye surgeon and an even better man!”
– Debbie M.