Lasik Eyes Surgery - Dallas Texas

Author

Dallas Texas

sam94773

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

OOh, nasty!

Most businesses cannot please more than 99% of the general public.
Dr. Boothe has done over 62,000 eyes, more than twice his nearest
competitor. I suppose that there would be some that are not happy.
Common sense tells you that if he has done that many cases, he must be
doing something right. There must be some reason why intralase sends
new users to learn from his technique.

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Statistically speaking (I have no idea of this doctor's actual
outcomes) a doctor who had performed 62,000 refractive surgeries would
have 1,860 patients who had an unresolved complication at the end of
the normal six month healing period, with 310 who had serious
complications that required significant maintenance or invasive
procedures for resolution. That is if the doctor performs at the
national norm. That is a lot of people, but the percentages are 3%
and 0.5% respectively.

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.

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

I didn't realize it until reading this message of yours. Isn't this
Dr. Boothe the same one that was mentiioned weeks ago as being the
primary advocate of the Intralase system?

How on earth could he have done over 62,000 eyes? Assuming he's been
doing PRK or LASIK for 5 years, that would be 12,200 eyes per year, or
60 new eyes every day he worked... Does he have a drive-thru lasik
window? Stick you head through a hole in the wall and he presses a
button? Something is very fishy here.

If he's done 62,000 eyes, its obvious that he's a high volume LASIK
mill. If you want a good meal, you go to a low volume restaurant that
has a chef - not McDonalds. If you want fine clothes, you go to Ralph
Lauren or Chanel or Vercace... not mass produced frocks from Wal-Mart.

On 24 Feb 2005 07:34:05 -0800, sam94773@aol.com (sam94773) wrote:

>OOh, nasty!
>
>Most businesses cannot please more than 99% of the general public.
>Dr. Boothe has done over 62,000 eyes, more than twice his nearest
>competitor. I suppose that there would be some that are not happy.
>Common sense tells you that if he has done that many cases, he must be
>doing something right. There must be some reason why intralase sends
>new users to learn from his technique.

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

When are you going to revise that 3% number? Whatever the criteria
is on that 3% number, I'm sure that it's lower than that now due to
improved techniques and equptment.
You might also point out that even the 3% lasik number refers to the 6
month post op healing period. Contact lens wearers have a 5%
complication rate that applies to their entire contact lens wearing
years... not just the 1st 6 months.

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 16:51:43 GMT, Glenn - USAEyes.org
<glenn.hageleSTOPSPAM@USAEyes.org> wrote:

>Statistically speaking (I have no idea of this doctor's actual
>outcomes) a doctor who had performed 62,000 refractive surgeries would
>have 1,860 patients who had an unresolved complication at the end of
>the normal six month healing period, with 310 who had serious
>complications that required significant maintenance or invasive
>procedures for resolution. That is if the doctor performs at the
>national norm. That is a lot of people, but the percentages are 3%
>and 0.5% respectively.
>
>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.

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

>When are you going to revise that 3% number?

We have found that virtually all refractive surgery related
complications have dropped dramatically, with the exception of LASIK
induced dry eye. That is the one complication that keeps the overall
percentage rate high. Remove dry eye, and the percentage of
complications falls through the floor. However, dry eye is a very
real complication that causes real problems so it will not be excluded
from our review.

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.

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Dry eyes and dryness in the months following LASIK are not to be
confused with dry eye. I'm sure this distinction has been covered at
least 50 times in the past 2 years. Please stop referring to the
dryness or dry eyes as "dry eye".
That is kind of like a person saying they have a tumor.. and not
clarifying if the tumor is benign or malignant.
Somebody has really convinced you that flaps are a bad thing. That
somebody is probably that idiot Trattler. Trattler's problem is that
he refuses to accept the fact that HE screwed up, and instead blames
the procedure. If he is so adamant about his ideas, he should stop
doing PRK, LASEK, LASIK etc. There is plenty of things
ophthalmologists do that do not involve a laser. He should consider
doing cataracts on 90 year olds.. that way he can bury his mistakes.

Here's the Ragnar tip of the year. Avoid any doctor who has ever been
associated with the Surgical Eyes website. Just the fact that they
would allow themselves to be included on that website shows they lack
a whole lot of wisdom.

On Thu, 24 Feb 2005 22:14:58 GMT, Glenn - USAEyes.org
<glenn.hageleSTOPSPAM@USAEyes.org> wrote:

>
>We have found that virtually all refractive surgery related
>complications have dropped dramatically, with the exception of LASIK
>induced dry eye. That is the one complication that keeps the overall
>percentage rate high. Remove dry eye, and the percentage of
>complications falls through the floor. However, dry eye is a very
>real complication that causes real problems so it will not be excluded
>from our review.
>
>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.

theOmega

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Come on now, Ragnar. Check your math. Your about 16,000 procedures
over.
60 eyes x 5 days/week = 300 eyes
300 eyes/per week x 52 weeks/yr = 15,600 eyes/yr
15,600 eyes/yr x 5 yrs = 78,000 eyes.

But what if Dr. Boothe's been doing LASIK since '98?
That's 8,857 per year. 170 surgeries per week. And assuming most people
get both their eyes done, thats only 85 people a week or 17 people in a
5 day work week.

"An obvious high volume LASIK mill" is a rather bold a statement.

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

52 weeks a year? I assume this man takes vacations and doesn't work
on Christmas day, etc. He also probably goes off on business trips.

I highly doubt that he does surgery 5 days a week.. when would he do
his followups? Every patient has roughly half a dozen followups.

Dr. Boothe's high volume practice is indefensible... and that seems to
be the least of his problems. Someone was trying to infer that his
62,000 procedures was a GOOD thing... very experienced.. baloney.
It's called Lasik Mill.
Steve Martin did a movie called the Man With Two Brains in which he
portrays a brain surgeon. He develops a procedure of making the top
of the skull a screw top so he can quickly get back in again. He is
so efficient that he can do 2 brain surgeries at once.. one with left
hand and one with the right hand. Excessively high volume is a very
bad thing.

On 25 Feb 2005 12:55:01 -0800, "theOmega" <46plus2@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>Come on now, Ragnar. Check your math. Your about 16,000 procedures
>over.
>60 eyes x 5 days/week = 300 eyes
>300 eyes/per week x 52 weeks/yr = 15,600 eyes/yr
>15,600 eyes/yr x 5 yrs = 78,000 eyes.
>
>But what if Dr. Boothe's been doing LASIK since '98?
>That's 8,857 per year. 170 surgeries per week. And assuming most people
>get both their eyes done, thats only 85 people a week or 17 people in a
>5 day work week.
>
>"An obvious high volume LASIK mill" is a rather bold a statement.

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Rags; I started working with ophthalmology in the early 1980s when
they had the "cataract wars". At that time, a surgeon who did more
than about a hundred cataract patients a month was vilified and
ostracized by those in ophthalmology's ivory towers. The ophthalmic
organizations actually conspired against these "buccaneers" who would
be so bold as to serve too many patients at a time.

The funny thing was, they never brought up the issue of patient
outcomes. When reviewed objectively, it was those "high volume
cataract mills" that provided the best results and developed the best
innovations. Many of the doctors who were the targets of yesterday
are today respected for their knowledge and accomplishment.

Everything and everyone has his or her limits and I do suppose that
there can be too much of a good thing, but I personally believe that
the quality of the patient outcomes are a much better yardstick by
which to measure a surgeon than the quantity (or lack thereof) of
surgeries S/he performs.

That is not to say that everyone would be happy with the turnstile
mentality of a high volume practice. Some people feel they need more
one-on-one with the doctor than may be available in a high volume
practice. That's okay too. Low volume doctors can also be the best
choice...if their outcomes are at appropriate levels.

Obviously you don't like the "LASIK mills", but that does not
necessarily mean that patient outcomes are worse just because the
doctor does a lot of surgery.

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.

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Well.. when you have your LASIK done.. you go ahead to Dr. Rothman who
uses your CRSQA certification logo on his website even though he is
not CRSQA certified. Dr. Rothman is one of, if not the most
"experienced" LASIK surgeons in the country. He probably also holds
the world's record for complications. He is about 6'5. I would like
to take a trip to Las Vegas and saw his legs off at the knees so I can
see eye to eye with him. Sounds fair to me.

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 01:03:08 GMT, Glenn - USAEyes.org
<glenn.hageleSTOPSPAM@USAEyes.org> wrote:

>Rags; I started working with ophthalmology in the early 1980s when
>they had the "cataract wars". At that time, a surgeon who did more
>than about a hundred cataract patients a month was vilified and
>ostracized by those in ophthalmology's ivory towers. The ophthalmic
>organizations actually conspired against these "buccaneers" who would
>be so bold as to serve too many patients at a time.
>
>The funny thing was, they never brought up the issue of patient
>outcomes. When reviewed objectively, it was those "high volume
>cataract mills" that provided the best results and developed the best
>innovations. Many of the doctors who were the targets of yesterday
>are today respected for their knowledge and accomplishment.
>
>Everything and everyone has his or her limits and I do suppose that
>there can be too much of a good thing, but I personally believe that
>the quality of the patient outcomes are a much better yardstick by
>which to measure a surgeon than the quantity (or lack thereof) of
>surgeries S/he performs.
>
>That is not to say that everyone would be happy with the turnstile
>mentality of a high volume practice. Some people feel they need more
>one-on-one with the doctor than may be available in a high volume
>practice. That's okay too. Low volume doctors can also be the best
>choice...if their outcomes are at appropriate levels.
>
>Obviously you don't like the "LASIK mills", but that does not
>necessarily mean that patient outcomes are worse just because the
>doctor does a lot of surgery.
>
>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.

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

I know of your dislike of Dr. Rothman and considering the
circumstances under which you encountered him, I am not at all
surprised.

I do not particularly like the manner by which our logo is used for
the Las Vegas office where Dr. Rothman works, but that clinic is owned
by a surgeon who is CRSQA certified and does practice there. It is a
nuance that has the potential to misinform, but at this moment there
is little I can do to change the situation.

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.

extech

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Ragnar,
As far as Dr. Boothe taking vacations, he may take one week every 2-3
years. He works 6 days a week. Monday he performs surgery half a day,
Wednesday half a day and Friday beings at about 5am and lasts until
past midnight. I understand that he is now also doing surgery all day
on Saturday once a month also. On a Friday it is approximately 200 or
more eyes and it is a cattle drive. He yells and insults the staff
even in front of patients and has also been known to yell at a patient
if they were too"drunk" on the valium the he gives them when they walk
in the door for surgery.
Would you want to be a patient of his late at night after he has been
working since 5am?

theOmega

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Well, even if he took a month off, he would still be performing about
184 surgeries per week. Which is around 18 people a day.

And how can experience be anything but a good thing?

theOmega

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Cattle drive? I don't think anyone is forced into the place and if any
of them had reservations, I doubt they are forced to stay. Everyone has
a freedom of choice. Ragnar walked right out of LVI at the very last
minute.

Maybe Saturdays are convenient for his patients and as such, he is
willing to give up his weekend because that is what his patients need.

extech... nickname sounds like you've got a grudge.

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

you convinced me that the guy shouldn't be practicing medicine. I
recall the waiting room for one doctor's office I visited. It had
several rows of chairs set up like a bus station. If your doctor has
30 chairs in his waiting room.. you just might have a doctor who is
running a cattle drive.

On 28 Feb 2005 05:04:12 -0800, "extech" <sktmom44@grandecom.net>
wrote:

>Ragnar,
>As far as Dr. Boothe taking vacations, he may take one week every 2-3
>years. He works 6 days a week. Monday he performs surgery half a day,
>Wednesday half a day and Friday beings at about 5am and lasts until
>past midnight. I understand that he is now also doing surgery all day
>on Saturday once a month also. On a Friday it is approximately 200 or
>more eyes and it is a cattle drive. He yells and insults the staff
>even in front of patients and has also been known to yell at a patient
>if they were too"drunk" on the valium the he gives them when they walk
>in the door for surgery.
>Would you want to be a patient of his late at night after he has been
>working since 5am?

extech

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

I quit as most employees did due to harassment and verbal abuse. He
forces employees to work unreasonable hours and yells at them in front
of patients. This man needs"help". Boothe doesnt do anything without
the motive of lining his pockets. He has sloppy operating room habits
which is a danger to patients IE: changes gloves every 6-7 patients,
eating with his gloves on between patients, blades on the floor...shall
i go on.
I speak from knowledge and apparently you are making false assumtions.

theOmega

2005-03-19, 6:23 pm

Extech, I'm not making any false assumptions, I don't think. I'm just
trying to give the man the benefit of the doubt since you're POV is a
bit biased.

I am only playing devil's advocate in attempting to flesh out both
sides of the story.