Lasik Eyes Surgery - CRSQA downplays nothing.

Author

CRSQA downplays nothing.

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2004-11-04, 2:10 am

>I recently read about a CRSQA certified surgeon named Robert Maloney
>in Los Angeles, CA who placed jewels in the conjuctiva area of the
>eye. What an idiotic thing to do. Is this doctor Maloney one of your
>best CRSQA? Do you stand by your certification of Maloney?

We certify surgeons based upon refractive surgery outcomes, not
jewelry implants. But I will say this; if someone is going to do
something like have jewelry implanted in their eye, they had better be
sure that their doctor is somebody who knows what s/he is doing.

>I've read your words on ectasia and the problems associated with
>LASIK. You miss the point every time. You claim to have "testified"
>against IOL's.

No, that was WizKid's claim. I did not testify for or against phakic
intraocular lenses. What I did was raise valid concerns that I wanted
the FDA Ophthalmic Devices Advisor Panel to consider and address
during their evaluation of whether or not that particular P-IOL should
be approved.

I was not the only one in the room with concerns. The panel split
50/50 on whether or not the Artisan/Verisyse lens should be approved,
with the deciding vote being cast by the panel's chairperson.

Oh yes, a SurgicalEyes representative read a statement into the record
too, although some of that statement did not relate to the device
under consideration, it was highly critical. Perhaps you should take
up your attack against what is left of them.

>You claim that ECTASIA is not common and rare.

Common and rare are relative terms. A doctor revealed in this forum
that in his first 3,000 patients the rate of ectasia was 3/50ths of
one percent. If you don't think that is rare, then so be it. Others
may disagree.

>You
>are mistaken. The proof is the patients who are suffering bad results
>from PRK and LASIK.

There is a difference between the rate of ectasia, and the rate of all
bad results no matter what their cause.

No one has said patients do not suffer bad results from PRK and LASIK.
In fact our organization has consistently stated that about 3% of
patients have some sort of unresolved problem at 6 months postop.
Ectasia is a relatively small component of that 3%.

>Glenn Hagele bills himself as a "patient advocate" and provides CRSQA
>certifications to LASIK surgeons. Unfortunately, Glenn Hagele is not
>really a patient advocate -- he actually provides marketing services
>to LASIK surgeons and companies, all designed to fool the public into
>thinking that the LASIK industry does a good job of policing itself.

I do not provide marketing services to LASIK surgeons and companies.
I ceased all outside consulting since founding CRSQA in 1998.

Most certainly certified surgeons include the fact that they are
certified by our independent consumer/patient group in their marketing
(we encourage this), but we don't do their marketing for them.

>Part of Glenn Hagele's job is to patrol internet forums to promote
>LASIK, and to discredit patients who have had bad outcomes, which he
>does with great zeal.

Patently untrue. Any reasonable person who reads our website or my
posts sees this.

>Glenn Hagele's attitude toward LASIK patients
>is revealed when he makes such statements as:
>
>I equate SurgicalEyes to a ant on the XXX of a cow I pass by going 50
>in my sports car.

Colorful, but I believe SurgicalEyes' demise is evidence that this
statement was predictive, even if pejorative. Their own board is
jumping ship.

>But what about the CRSQA certification -- is it any good? The fact is
>that Glenn Hagele is known for having certified and defending one of
>the most notorious LASIK surgeon in the industry. That surgeon's name
>is Dr. Glenn Kawesch.

Yes, and we decertified Dr. Kawesch about a year and a half before the
state of California finally succeeded in removing his license.

BTW, Dr. Kawesch is still certified by the American Board of
Ophthalmology. Take your rants to them.

Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance

Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org

http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org

I am not a doctor.

serebel

2004-11-04, 10:10 pm

I look at it this way, the airlines certify their pilots,yet, planes
still crash. Shit happens, we're all human.

SErebel