In The News: The Eyes Have It
By Wendy Marinaccio - Los Altos Town Crier
Published: August 18, 1999
Dr. Daniel Beers uses a laser procedure called LASIK (Laser in-Situ Keratomileusis) to correct certain refractive vision problems.
Special to the Town Crier
Two local doctors perform LASIK surgery to correct nearsightedness
Some people may be able to eliminate their need for eyeglasses with a 15-minute laser surgery at Peninsula Eye Physicians and Surgeons in Mountain View.
"Got a minute? Get Lasik!" states a brochure for Drs. Mark Volpicelli and Daniel Beers, who use a laser procedure called LASIK (Laser in-Situ Keratomileusis) to correct certain refractive vision problems.
"We both had (the procedure). He did mine, I did his," said Volpicelli, a Los Altos resident who graduated from medical school at the University of California at San Diego.
The two doctors met at an ophthalmology conference in 1995 and started practicing together soon after.
The office moved to its current location at 1174 Castro St. three years ago.
Volpicelli and Beers said the capabilities of laser surgery have expanded exponentially in recent years. They can treat nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Volpicelli said more than 1,100,000 in the United States have undergone LASIK, and he and Beers see between 500 and 750 patients each year.
"The chance of seeing 20/20 or 20/25 ... is about 80 percent," Beers said. Volpicelli said 98 to 99 percent can pass their driver's license test, which requires 20/40 vision, without glasses after LASIK.
"The results are so good, there's a lot of word of mouth," said Beers, who lives in Mountain View.
Recently Beers performed LASIK on Margie Sanchez, whose husband already had had the procedure. A friend was coming the next day to have LASIK as well.
During her LASIK procedure, Sanchez reclined in a chair while Beers put several sets of drops in her eye. He wore tan socks and no shoes, as the laser is operated with foot pedals. After the eyedrops sank in, Beers had Sanchez focus on a flashing red dot as he used a device called a microkeratome to cut a protective flap in her cornea. There is just a "little pressure sensation, not a sharp pain," Beers said.
Sanchez looked comfortable as the laser reshaped her cornea, the part of the procedure that allows her to stop needing glasses. After a few minutes, Beers replaced the flap, and Sanchez said things were already in better focus.
About 10 minutes later, Sanchez walked out the door with her husband. He happily told Beers he had recently put on his old glasses but couldn't see with them since his LASIK procedure.
Volpicelli said results are almost immediate. "Most patients drive to their appointment the next day," he said.
LASIK costs about $4,800 for two eyes, and usually isn't covered by insurance, which considers the surgery to be cosmetic. Volpicelli said about 95 percent of patients pay for their own procedure, but Peninsula Eye Physicians offers financing programs.
The cost includes surgery, pre-operation exams, medication, follow-up exams for a year and enhancement procedures if necessary.
"Patients think (their uncorrected vision) is debilitating enough to take care of it," Volpicelli said.
The doctors offer a free clinical screening to determine if a candidate can undergo treatment. The screening involves making a topographical map of the eye to look for peaks or valleys in the cornea that render the patient ineligible. A patient also must be over 18 and not pregnant to have LASIK.
Beers said he became interested in eyes during his rotation in ophthalmology during medical school at the University of California at San Francisco. He said he enjoyed working with his hands and doing the math involved. "It was the right mix for me," he said.
His colleague, Volpicelli, said "I went into ophthalmology for a couple of reasons." His father, who was a physician, recommended the field, and it also has an interesting blend of "medicine, infectious diseases and a chance to fix things," Volpicelli said. There is "precision, surgery, good results and minimal pain for the patients."
Peninsula Eye Physicians also do PRK, a procedure that removes the protective flap entirely and allows the cells to grow back in. About 5 to 10 percent of their patients choose this procedure.
For more information, call 961-2585.