Advanced LASIK Procedure Now Offered at The Lennar Foundation Medical Center

The most advanced LASIK vision correction procedure — already offered by Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, part of the University of Miami Health System, at its downtown Miami and Palm Beach Gardens locations — is coming to The Lennar Foundation Medical Center on UM’s Coral Gables campus next week.

Patient is prepared for LASIK surgery.

The Laser Vision Center at the Lennar Center will treat patients using the Allegretto 500 Laser, which features a guidance system that follows the actual topography of each patient’s eye. This permits individualized treatment that is unique to each patient and corrects all of the aberrations in the patient’s cornea. The result is crisper, clearer vision correction than is available with eyeglasses, contact lenses or other LASIK systems.

“Some patients notice a dramatic difference immediately after the procedure, and almost all patients recover from any discomfort quickly enough to drive themselves to a follow-up check the next morning,” said Sonia H. Yoo, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, who will be one of the Bascom Palmer surgeons performing the procedure at the Lennar Center.

Still, said Yoo, not every patient is a good candidate for LASIK surgery. Conditions that typically disqualify a patient are having dry eye, a cornea that is too thin or irregular astigmatism.

“Where you choose to have your laser vision correction is critical,” said William W. Culbertson, M.D., another Bascom Palmer surgeon who will be treating patients at the Lennar Center, and professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami Miller school of Medicine. “We have 35 years of experience with refractive surgery, and we have trained on every piece of equipment available, including the new Allegretto 500. Our patients can be confident that they are receiving the best LASIK treatment in South Florida.”

Ben Riestra, M.B.A., chief administrative officer at the Lennar Center, is excited about the opening of the Laser Vision Center.

“The concept behind the Lennar Center is bringing UHealth’s unmatched outpatient specialty services to Coral Gables, closer to where many of our patients, and prospective patients, live,” he said. “The Laser Vision Center will be one more way we provide both close-to-home convenience and state-of-the-art clinical treatment.”

To make an appointment at the Laser Vision Center, call 305-326-6575.

Tags: Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Ben Riestra, LASIK, Lennar Foundation Medical Center, Sonia Yoo, William Culbertson