Dr. Fred Mattioli: So, basically, what you have is called hyperopia.
Sean Jones: Oh, yeah, I [crosstalk] that in med school, the hyperopia, the third day at med school.
Dr. Fred Mattioli: You remember that? And then the presbyopia, that’s on the fourth day, so that’s the reading problem that we all run into in our 40s and beyond.
But the good thing is the scans that we did or the topography, in other words, the curvature of the cornea, the shape that the cornea has, is amenable to changing that shape with the laser, basically that’s LASIK. So LASIK, what it does changes, it changes the shape of the cornea and that helps the light focus in in the back of the eye so you don’t have to put anything in front. Farsighted or hyperopia eyes focus way back here. We’ve got to bring that light to the back.
The opposite is myopia or near-sighted. They focus in too soon so it’s still blurry. If you focus in front or behind this yellow tissue is retina back here, it’s going to be blurry. So I’m going to do something to help.
In your case, your distance is pretty good. You had a little bit of hyperopia, which is correctable with the LASIK. Now we run into the presbyopia problem, which is what we all get with the reading. That’s because this lens inside the eye is aged, pretty typical between 40 and 50. It doesn’t flex as much as it used to and so we have to keep pushing things out or pop on those magnifiers.
The way around that with LASIK is changing the shape of the cornea, but giving it the power it needs to focus up close. And then of course the other eye would be the hyperoptic correction for the distance.
Sean Jones: So you correct both eyes?
Dr. Fred Mattioli: We correct both in a format we call monovision, where you got one eye for far and one eye for reading. Basically that reading power is now on one side and your distance power’s on the other.
Sean, the treatment, LASIK treatment is done in about 10 minutes, that’s for both eyes, it’s pretty quick, using topical anesthetic.
Sean Jones: No pain involved?
Dr. Fred Mattioli: No pain. The numbing drops, topical drops, is all we need, numbs the surface, you don’t feel anything sharp or painful. There’s a sensation of pressure and temperature because this laser suites are a little bit cooler. When we lubricate the eye some people still sense that temperature. It feels like a cold drop. It’s obviously not painful. Pressure, not pain, but for pressure it’s probably about a 22nd feeling of a tightness on the eye. That allows the laser to do its job without the eye rotating and moving around.
Sean Jones: What are the risks?
Dr. Fred Mattioli: The risks are very minimal, serious risks, scars, infections, things that can make your vision worse instead of better. In fact, it’s so unusual. I had my LASIK done that 18 years now.
Sean Jones: Are we talking about tonsils coming out or like two stitches [inaudible 00:02:47]? What degree of risk?
Dr. Fred Mattioli: Really you have more risk from wearing contacts.
Sean Jones: Stitches?
Dr. Fred Mattioli: Yeah, from wearing contact lenses then with LASIK. Side effects, people talk about dryness, halo’s very common in the beginning, but long-term pretty unusual, very unusual. And of course, there’s treatments for those types of things.
One of the other things with monovision, it’s just getting your brain to adapt for X number of years. You’re both eyes are distance or both eyes reading and then 10 minutes we switch it on your brain so there’s some adaptation period. That’s why we’re going to do those contact lens [inaudible] to see what you think.
Sean Jones: Okay.
Creating a Customized Solution
Sean Jones further elaborates on how Dr. Mattioli and his staff fine-tuned the process to ensure he was a good candidate and the procedure would be customized to him.
So we going through the consultation, and we figured out what kind of LASIK surgery that I’ll need. And then we have to go through a process of now fine-tuning it. And that’s what I’ve been doing.
You’ve heard me talk about it time and time again, out of necessity, to make sure that the surgery is specific to me. And at that entailed playing with different combinations of what my eye needs would be, not just during the day when I’m at work or if I’m at school, but at night when you’re driving. There’s so many different combinations that need to be tweaked to make sure that you when you’re having the surgery, you do have your LASIK surgery. That is the proper surgery that mimics what you’re going to need to have the quality of life that you want to.
Sean’s Detailed Vision Correction Plan
With the help of Dr. Mattioli Sean Jones, a former football player, received the confidence he needed to take on LASIK eye surgery and finally lose the glasses and contacts.
If there’s anything I could tell you about Dr. Mattioli and his staff, they are perfectionists. I brag on them all the time. I said he has hands your eyes can trust. And I mean that. By that I mean that if you’re going to have someone operate on you, you have to trust that person. They’re your eyes. You only have two of them. And so that’s why we went through this process. That’s why we took our time. That’s why we went through the consultation. That’s why we tweaked it. We took even more time. And now I’m ready to have my surgery. Hey, I’m ready for my close up.
The Day of the Surgery
Sean Jones a former NFL player talks about his struggle with reading glasses and how Dr. Mattioli has helped him with LASIK eye surgery.
So it’s the day of the surgery, right? And so naturally, naturally you’re going to be going through some kind of anticipation. But listen, all the nervousness is out of the way because, like I said before, we’ve gone through the process that you know, you have a very good idea, of what your vision’s going to look like after the surgery. So now you just have this nervous anticipation, if nothing else, of what you’ve been looking forward to. It’s not anything to be afraid of, nothing to be concerned about because, like I said before, it’s not cookie-cutter. You’re not leaving much to chance because you’ve done all the back work. Dr. Mattioli and his staff, they’ve put the legwork in also, and now you’re ready to roll. So there’s not much nervousness, but there is some anticipation because I know for a fact, guess what? Every month now, when I look at that line item that says readers, out the door. I don’t have to worry about that anymore.
The Struggle with Reading Glasses
Sean Jones a former NFL player talks about his struggle with reading glasses and how Dr. Mattioli has helped him with LASIK eye surgery.
All right, it’s me. I’m back. Listen, it’s been 15 minutes. That’s all. That’s all it took. And I’m back in the seat and I’ve just had my surgery. Let me try to walk you through it a little bit. Obviously, didn’t feel anything while the surgery itself was going on because your eyes are numb. And then when you get up, when you get out of the table, like I said, only 15 minutes. I did both eyes and the entire process only took 15 minutes from the time I left you guys last until coming back here, sitting in this chair. The surgery itself, like I said, you feel nothing, maybe a little bit of pressure. I’m hearing that afterwards, you move your eyes may feel a little scratchy, but I’m not feeling any of that right now because they have to numb your eyes to do the surgery.
Post-LASIK Surgery
It was just great to have that feeling. And once I got out of the table, off the table, I should say, the same kind of vision that I had from the contacts, now I had the visual without the contacts, which is what the purpose of the surgery was all about. Remember, like I told you, not cookie cutter, not like everybody does the same thing, but specific to me, Sean Johnson. You would think that you’d be afraid. Like I told you before earlier, you’re not afraid. I’m a big old football players, super bowl champion, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Scared? Me? Not me at all. Maybe a little. Okay. But you’re not going to be that way because you’re tougher than I am.
And plus, there’s nothing to be afraid of, like I told you, before you go through the process, take every step that’s necessary and in 15 minutes, and if it’s only one eye, obviously it’s less than that. You’ll be sitting in this same chair, just like I was with nothing but positive things to say, because Fred Mattioli and his staff have taken care of you. Like I told you before, I’ll tell you once again, hands your eyes can trust.
