This post was written by Marybeth Ramey

A few years ago I had LASIK for the reason most people aged over 45 do, I needed glasses to read otherwise known as having presbyopia. Due to the nature of aging, everyone will get presbyopia eventually because the natural lens is more rigid and the muscles in the eye are weaker resulting in less flexibility thus the natural lens is unable to focus while reading. I still believe it was the best couple of thousand ringgit I have ever spent. However what I am finding out with friends who have had LASIK years ago is that they have started needing glasses again for close up vision. Indeed, the LASIK technology has now been further improved upon resulting in a more intricate technology, yet just as safe and it is permanent. It’s called KAMRA and Vista Laser Eye Centers in all five locations (Bangsar, PJ, Johor, Penang and Klang) are one of the very few eye care providers in Malaysia that offer it.

Dr Shamala Ganesan, based in the Bangsar clinic and who has several years of overseas medical and ophthalmologic training, explained to me that the KAMRA inlay is a mini-ring with an opening in the center much smaller than a contact lens and lighter than a grain of salt. The opening in the center of the inlay is called a pinhole, and allows the central rays to pass through to the eye; the peripheral rays that blur vision are blocked restoring near and intermediate vision. It also blocks unfocused light and only allows focused light to reach the retina. When light rays are focused, you have a wider range of vision – near, intermediate (computer) and distance.

In addition the inlay’s advanced design features 8400 high precision, laser etched micro-openings along the surface to help your cornea stay healthy. The inlay is gently implanted within the eye’s outer layer, the cornea, with local topical anesthesia taking less than 20 minutes for the entire procedure. There is no downtime or stitches just eye drops and occasionally a short period of dry eye.

KAMRA is only ever performed on one eye for people with poor near vision but good long distance vision. If you are thinking of getting LASIK because you have poor distance vision, Dr Shamala advises getting it at the same time with the KAMRA inlay.

I must admit to being very impressed with Dr Shamala and especially with her attentive and kind support staff all of whom made me feel as if I were back in a USA clinic with their emphasis on customer satisfaction and comfort. .ey are thoroughly trained in not only ophthalmology but in providing a full range of excellent patient care. When you walk into a Vista clinic you feel the warmth of the staff unlike in larger more corporate eye hospitals. This reduces patient stress and anxiety and makes communication much more effective, at least it did for me especially given our eyes are uniquely sensitive and critically important as most important sense.

Vista and Dr. Shamala also offer a revolutionary cataract procedure called The Custom Cataract Laser using the FDA approved LenSx which she assures me is not just for cataract patients but can be customized for patients older than 45 who have presbyopia and/or distance vision problems. Based on the same techniques and science as LASIK, it’s a blade free surgical procedure using laser making it up to 10 times more accurate than traditional blade surgeries where manual cutting is employed. The No Blade Cataract surgery is more precise giving better safety and predictability in surgical outcome.

Cataracts are the most common eye problem as we age. A cataract clouds the eye lens which causes blurred or reduced vision at all distances. In a healthy eye, light passes through the lens and is focused on the retina which in turn transfers the image into nerve signals that are sent to the brain. As cataracts form, the lens of the eye becomes clouded and the images sent to the retina are not as sharp or vibrant as they used to be.

“Traditionally a cataract patient underwent manual knife surgery to replace the natural lens with an artificial intraocular lens or IOL. Now we have the technologies in place to offer Custom Cataract Surgery involving the use of special advanced technology IOL’s and technologies that are specifically designed to help people see near and far. This has been very successful in reducing a patient’s need for glasses,” Dr. Shamala explains. She goes on to say,“Since presbyopia will afflict everyone eventually due to aging, scientists have now developed an even a more advanced surgical procedure called Refractive Lens Exchange or RLE to replace the natural lenses of your eyes with multifocal intraocular lenses or IOL’s that are different from traditional ones in that it helps focus near, far, and in between and in most cases the patient will never have to use glasses again.”

Vista Eye Laser Centers have received multiple industry and community awards and are active participants in charitable based organizations such as .e Rotary Club. Dr. Shamala is representative of all Vista’s eye doctors and their personnel, possessing true excellence and a sincere commitment to provide the highest quality of care to their patients.

Dr Shamala is giving a public seminar on Eye Care Surgery on the 12th and 26th Nov. at the Jalan Maarof Clinic. Free of Charge with refreshments. She would love to meet our expat readers! So do make plans to drop by.

Vista Eye Specialist Bangsar
139, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, 59000 KL.
RSVP by calling 03-2092 3937

Source: The Expat November 2011
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This article has been edited for ExpatGomalaysia.com