Hallandale Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/22/2018 -- You will have to excuse Dr. Henry Cherrick if he spends more time than usual looking at the lake behind his home. For nearly 10 years - both of his eyes had started to develop cataracts - and while he really never noticed that things were going downhill - it took a trip to the DMV to change everything. He then realized that he had been slowly losing his vision. "I knew I was having problems with my left eye," Dr. Cherrick said. "When I failed the eye test to get my license renewed; that was it. Something had to be done - I was not living a quality life, not being able to see very well."
When his own ophthalmologist Dr. Alan Lane sug-gested he go visit Dr. Stanley Braverman at The Braverman Eye Center's new state-of-the-art facility in Hollywood, it was indeed a life-changing decision.
"From the first time my wife and I met with Dr. Braverman, it was amazing," Dr. Cherrick, 78, said. "He not only found that I needed to get my left eye done, but said I had cataracts in both eyes."
Because of the pre-surgery workup (chest X-ray, EKG, etc.) that is required for cataract procedures, Dr. Cherrick opted to have both surgeries done within three weeks - and the results completely blew this one time dean of dental and medicine at UCLA, completely away.
"I really never have had problems with my eyes in the past - other than wearing glasses for the past 30 years," Dr.
Cherrick said. "Someone who was a pathologist like myself and constantly putting my eyes to use with a microscope, sharp eye sight has never been an option."
But even though he felt that his eye sight has always been okay, after the left eye, Dr. Cherrick's opinion changed - in a hurry.
"I have to tell you that having that left eye done was amazing," he recalled. "From watching a video to going over all the scenarios, I was ready and anxious. The results were impressive - to say the least" with the Symphony Extended Depth of Focus lens implant.
While it took just over five days to see things starting to come into "focus" - Dr. Cherrick began noticing improvement immediately. In fact, on the sixth day, he started to see things like never before.
"I could not recall ever seeing colors as vivid and sharp," he said. "I also could read the paper without glasses, which I really had never been able to do. I was ready to get the other eye done." I didn't even think I had a cataract in my right eye until I had the left eye done and realized how poorly I was seeing out of the unoperated eye.
The second eye surgery came three weeks later and after that surgery, life has never been better. He can now see colors - vibrant and bold - and things that he never realized existed before - are indeed a major focal point.
"I had worn a shirt for years and never realized it was blue," he laughed. "I can sit outside all day and look at the colors and everything I never noticed be-fore. I also find myself watching a lot of TV to see those colors pop out like never before."
With both surgeries out of the way, Dr. Cherrick and his wife are living a great life - and this time around - seeing everything."I cannot say enough about the staff at the Braver-man Eye Center," Dr. Cherrick explained. "My wife and I love Dr. Braverman!"
What Are Cataracts?
A cataract is formed when the natural lens of the eye, responsible for focusing light and producing sharp images, becomes cloudy and hardens, resulting in a loss of visual function. The lens of the eye is clear at birth but is one of the first parts of the body to show the effects of aging. A cataract is painless and usually develops gradually over several months or years. The onset of a cataract in one or both eyes may cause decreased night vision, impaired depth perception, and increased color distortion.
Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss among adults age 55 and older. In fact, poor vision from cataracts affects 60 percent of all adults over age 60. However, cataracts also can result from injury, heredity, or medications, so they can affect people of all ages.
Understanding that no two conditions or patients are the same, Dr. Braverman analyzes the patient's symptoms, performs a comprehensive eye exam, and may test for glare disability and contrast sensitivity be-fore making a diagnosis. The final decision to proceed with the surgery belongs to the patient.
Your optometrist or Dr. Braverman may prescribe glasses, medication or surgery depending on your symptoms, complaints and age. Usually surgery will not be recommended until glasses no longer work to make you visually happy. In the case of clear lensectomy surgery, the patient cosmetically wants to get rid of their glasses, but they are out of the LASIK treatment range.
Cataract Surgery: What To Expect
Thanks to new advancements, this is a great time to have cataract surgery. Your eye is like a camera. It has photographic paper (the retina), and a camera lens. Two excellent options exist for cataract surgery. The choice is yours. Traditional Cataract Surgery is the removal of your cloudy natural camera lens, which is usually dissolved using high frequency ultrasound through a small (less than 3 millimeter) opening. If your eye qualifies, the second option, Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery can now be done using state of the art Femtosecond Laser technology to assist with parts of the cataract surgical procedure, including softening up the cloudy camera lens.
This Femtosecond Laser Assisted Surgery reduces the amount of high frequency ultrasound needed. Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery takes a delicate procedure and refines it even more, so that the surgical precision is unparalleled. The computer-guided accuracy of the laser compliments your doctor's skills with today's latest technology. An artificial man made lens is then placed inside the eye where the cloudy lens used to be.
There are several types of high quality premium vision lenses that can be used, giving you potentially better results than with a standard basic lens. After the surgery, eye drops are given to the patient to aid in the healing of the eye, which takes a few months, but the patient is able to return to normal activity almost immediately after surgery and usually sees well within just days. If the eye is otherwise healthy, cataract surgery is successful in more than 98% of patients and they enjoy improved vision after the procedure. Cataract surgery continues to improve. Recent developments include no-stitch surgery, topical anesthesia, surgical correction of astigmatism, new upgraded premium lens designs, Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery, and Dr. Braverman's newly trademarked LACE™ procedure. The LACE™ procedure, if you are deemed a candidate, can nearly always guarantee that the patient will need no glasses for distance vision, and no glasses for distance or near vision if a multifocal lens implant is used. At the Braverman Eye Center, we are proud to offer the advanced AMO CATALYS® Precision Laser System, for unsurpassed Femtosecond Laser Assisted cataract surgery performance.
About Dr. Stanley Braverman
Dr. Stanley Braverman is a Voluntary Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine and the Anne Bates Leach Eye Hospital/Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. He is also an Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor at the Nova Southeastern School of Optometry. In addition to treating patients, Dr. Braverman, a board certified ophthalmologist, has been a medical researcher, and is the inventor of several eye surgical instruments, and author of many articles for medical journals. Dr. Braverman's newly trademarked LACE™ procedure (Laser Assisted Cataract Extraction) provides the best possible cataract surgical results. He has lectured at professional meetings about upgraded lens implants, advanced cataract surgery and LASIK, both nationally and internationally. He has recently been recognized by Newsweek Magazine as one of the Fifteen Leaders in Laser Eye Surgery in 2011, and recently co-authored a book on Z Lasik that is being distributed internationally. You can find it on Amazon.com.
An initial cataract or LASIK consultation can be scheduled by calling the Braverman Eye Center at: 954-458-2112 or 305-374-8694. For additional in-formation please contact Regina Vasquez, Surgery Coordinator for cataract surgery, or Rosemary Hart-ford, LASIK Coordinator for LASIK surgery, or visit the Braverman Eye Center website at http://www.bravermaneyecenter.com - where you can watch a video of cataract or LASIK surgery and learn more about all of the latest advances in cataract surgery and upgraded lens implants, as well as LASIK Surgery, including Near - Far Multifocal PresbyLASIK, for patients over 40 years old who require glasses for both distance and near vision.
In addition to Dr. Stanley Braverman, a Refractive Cataract and LASIK Laser Vision Correction surgeon, your other subspecialty eye care needs can also be evaluated and treated. On staff at the Braverman Eye Center are Rashid Taher MD FACS and Tirso Lara MD FACS, Vitreo Retinal surgeons; Andre Sarraga MD FACS, Ophthalmic Plastic, Reconstructive and Cosmetic Surgeon; Aarup Kubal MD FACS, Complex Glaucoma Specialist; Jesse Pelletier MD, FACS, Corneal Surgeon; Eric Ciliberti MD, Neuro-Ophthalmologist; and Ryan Y. Hargreaves OD, Shalonda McCallum OD and Parul Jain OD. All sub-specialist surgeons at the Braverman Eye Center are Board Certified.