The Eye Care Blog

Rudy Reyes, 28, has been through 27 surgeries since he was badly burned in the October 2003 wildfires, so he was a little nervous about undergoing a procedure to correct his eyesight.

He was legally blind without glasses according to ophthalmologist Richard Leung.
But Reyes saw immediate results after the 20-minute surgery at Scripps Memorial Hospital-La Jolla's Scripps Mericos Eye Institute.

"Walking out the door, I could read things I couldn't read before," he said.

Reyes is special. Over 65 percent of his body was burnt when he sprinted through the blaze that destroyed his home on Wildcat Canyon Road in Lakeside. He lost a finger and a ear and his fingers are useless now. However fire couldn't conquer his spirit. He's a speaker for the Burn Institute, has worked as a counselor at a camp for burned children and gives talks to children about the dangers of setting fires.

BTW: The San Diego County fire destroyed over 2600 homes in 2003. I was in Carlsbad at that time.

Reyes' eyesight was poor before the fire. The intense heat of the flames caused dryness in his eyes. The dryness meant Reyes couldn't wear contacts and that an older form of Lasik surgery wasn't the answer for him, Dr. Leung said.

The doctor used a newer form of Lasik surgery known as Intralase Lasik. The laser cuts a thinner flap on the cornea than a blade does. The flap is then lifted and the laser reshapes the cornea to correct vision.

Lets conclude with his post-operative remarks:
"I'm really psyched," he said. "This is so cool."

Link

Filed under Eye Treatment, Lasik Eye Surgery

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