July is Global Vision Correction Month

July is Global Vision Correction Month and members of the Refractive Surgery Alliance (RSA), a global professional organization of leading eye surgeons, celebrate by sharing their own vision correction surgery to raise awareness on social media, television and on the web.
“We are seeing a 11.8% increase in US LASIK volumes over 2019” reports Guy Kezirian, MD, MBA, RSA founder. “There are good reasons for it. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought vision to the forefront. Glasses can fog up with masks, so not needing to wear glasses becomes essential. The virus brings on new risks with contact lenses since COVID-19 causes conjunctivitis (pink eye). Both glasses and contact lenses make it difficult to keep hands away from the face. Vision correction makes glasses and contact lenses unnecessary.”

Global Vision Correction Month launched in 2019 in celebration of the 20-year anniversary of the FDA approvals for LASIK. Last year RSA Member surgeons from 13 countries participated, operating on over 500 eye professionals. This year we 48 surgeons from 14 countries participating in Global Vison Correction Month. “We can confidently say that Vision Correction Surgery has evolved over the last 20 years – just as much as cell phones, cars and televisions have evolved – it is extraordinary,” says Greg Parkhurst, MD, former RSA president and founder of Parkhurst NuVision in San Antonio, Texas. “Vision correction surgery delivers true, permanent results, is now affordable for nearly everyone and often less costly over time than glasses and contacts, while providing immeasurable lifestyle and safety benefits. It is not just for celebrities and rich people.”

The idea of doctors and surgeons sharing their own surgical experience is novel. “At Williamson Eye Center we perform surgery on many professional athletes, and lots of people hear about that. What they don’t often hear about is how often eye surgeons elect to have laser vision correction on themselves, which is reported to be 5x more often than the general public. This is because we know more than anyone how impactful modern vision correction is. It is truly transformational, often restoring vision to a level considered to be better than perfect.” says RSA member Blake Williamson, MD.

Vision correction impacts people around the globe because of the functional benefits it provides. First-responders, military, actors, athletes, and television personalities are especially likely to have vision correction. Vision correction is increasingly common in the developing world as well, permanently replacing the need for glasses and improving opportunities for jobs and education.
“The Zaldivar Institute in Mendoza, Argentina has been involved in research and development of procedures for decades” says Roger Zaldivar, MD, RSA President. “Modern Vision Correction is truly advanced. We have many procedures and we can treat adults of all ages. LASIK is the most studied procedure in all of medicine, and now we can even correct reading vision in middle age with lens procedures. The impact of our work is very positive. I am honored to be involved with this amazing organization, the RSA.”

Participating RSA Members include:

Thomas Abell, MD – Abell Eyes, USA
Juan G. Arbelaez, MD – Muscat Eye Laser Center, Oman
Shamik Bafna, MD – Clear Choice Custom LASIK Center, USA
Leonard Bley, MD – Laser & Microsurgery Institute/ NY Lasik, USA
Marc Bosem, MD – CorrectVision Laser Institute, USA
Francesco Carones, MD – Carones Vision, Italy
Y. Ralph Chu, MD – Chu Vision Institute, USA
Lourens Coetzee, MD – Envision Centre for Sight, South Africa
Arthur B. Cummings, MD, FRCS – Wellington Eye Clinic, Ireland
Michelle L. Diaz, MD – Atlantic Eye Institute, USA
Paul Dougherty, MD – Dougherty Laser Vision, USA
Ali Fadlallah, MD, MS, PhD – UltraLasik Eye Center, UAE
Joaquín Fernández, MD, PhD – Qvision, Spain
Andrei Filip, MD, PhD – Ama Optimex Eye Clinic, Romania
Joshua Frenkel, MD – Wang Vision Institute, USA
Gregory Hayden, MD – Hayden Vision, USA
Mitch Jackson, MD – Jacksoneye, USA
Dylan Joseph, MBChB, FCOSA – Dr Dylan Joseph, South Africa
Michael Keil, DO – Keil Lasik Vision Center, USA
Guy M. Kezirian, MD, MBA – Refractive Surgery Alliance, USA
Lance Kugler, MD – Kugler Vision, USA
Keith Liang, MD – Keith Liang, MD at Center for Sight, USA
Robert Lin, MD – IQ Laser Vision, USA
Michael Manning, MD – Gulfcoast Eye Care, USA
Lisa McIntire, MD – Heart of Texas Eye Institute, USA
Erik Mertens, MD, FEBOphth. – Medipolis, Belgium
Richard Miller, MD – Miller Eye Center, USA
Brett Mueller II, MD, PhD – Parkhurst NuVision, USA
G. Peyton Neatrour, MD – Beach Eye Care, USA
Todd Nickel, DO – Heaton Eye Associates, USA
Richard Norden, MD – Norden Laser Eye Associates, USA
Gregory Pamel, MD – Pamel Vision and Laser Group, USA
Gregory Parkhurst, MD – Parkhurst NuVision, USA
Randal Pham, MD, MS – Aesthetic and Refractive Surgery Medical Center, USA
Isaac Porter, MD – Porter Ophthalmology, USA
Jay Rudd, MD – Aurora LASIK, USA
Ehsan Sadri, MD – Visionary Eye Institute, USA
Matthew Sharpe, MD – SharpeVision MODERN LASIK, USA
Steven B. Siepser, MD – Siepser Laser Eyecare, USA
Raymond Stein, MD – Bochner Eye Institute, Canada
Aleksandar Stojanovic, MD, PhD – Smile Eyes AS, Norway
Matthew Swanic, MD – Las Vegas Eye Institute, USA
Suphi Taneri, MD – Zentrum für Refraktive Chirurgie, Germany
Tom Tooma, MD – NVISION Eye Centers, USA
Aaron Waite, MD – Waite Vision, USA
Mark Wevill, MBChB, FRCS – Laser Eye Birmingham, UK
Blake Williamson, MD, MPH, MS – Williamson Eye Center, USA
Roger Zaldivar, MD – Instituto Zaldivar SA, Argentina

RSA Member practices around the world will celebrate Global Vision Correction Month by performing surgery on fellow eye surgeons, optometrists, family members and the people in their communities and then sharing these experiences on all forms of media.

Last year, Dr Williamson had his own eyes corrected with a LASIK procedure during Global Vision Correction Month 2019. Here is his story…

The RSA is also inviting the public to upload videos about their experience with vision correction during Global Vision Correction Month.

Uploads videos of your Vision Correction Experience Here…

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