Dr. O’s Blog

LATISSE™ (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.03% is a novel treatment for hypotrichosis of the eyelashes, which is another name for having inadequate or not enough eyelashes. This product has just been introduced and Dr Olkowski of EyeSight Hawaii is one of the first to offer it to his patients.

It is the first and only prescription treatment approved by the FDA to grow longer, fuller, darker lashes in people with inadequate eyelashes. LATISSE™ comes is a bottle of solution with 60 sterile, disposable applicators. One drop is applied every night to the base of the upper lashes with a sterile applicator. After as little as 8 weeks of consistent use, LATISSE™ users can expect to experience longer, fuller and darker eyelashes with full results in 16 weeks. If the application of LATISSE™ is stopped, lashes will return to their previous appearance over several weeks or months. LATISSE™ does not replace mascara but mascara can help compliment the results that LATISSE™ will provide.

I am pleased to offer EyeSight Hawaii patients another service that has already proven to be quite popular: BOTOX® Cosmetic. This is a simple, nonsurgical, physician-administered treatment that I do here in our office. For people between the ages of 18 and 65, BOTOX® can smooth those frown and brow lines for up to 4 months. And rest assured, it is the only treatment of its type approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

BOTOX® is available for both men and women, does not require any anesthesia and patients are free to go about their day right after their treatment with no downtime. If you would like to discuss how you can benefit from BOTOX®, just contact my office and we will be happy to schedule an appointment. 

Click here for more on BOTOX® at EyeSight Hawaii.

People often ask us about iLASIK. What is it? iLASIK is AMO’s innovative combination of IntraLase^® technology with the Advanced CustomVue^® treatment using VISX^® technology.  This is the first laser vision correction that is completely personalized for each patient resulting in the best possible visual outcome.

The iLASIK process begins with our WaveScan. We can get an accurate blueprint of each individual eye and we use this information during the surgery. Next, we use the iLASIK lasers (the Intralase and the VISX) to create the flap and perform the vision correction. These two state-of-the-art lasers used together offer the safest and most accurate laser vision correction possible.

If you think iLASIK might be right for you, EyeSight Hawaii offers free LASIK consultations on Oahu, Maui and in Kona and Hilo on the Big Island. Many people have been thinking about laser vision correction for quite some time and are just waiting for the right time and the right technology. If you’ve been waiting, now’s the time. Call our office to schedule your free LASIK consultation or if you have questions. Our staff is here to help and we look forward to taking care of your eyes and vision. Aloha!

EyeSight Hawaii patients have another option for cataract surgery. Bausch & Lomb has introduced The Crystalens HD™. This is the fourth generation of the only FDA approved accommodating intraocular lens (IOL). I was one of the first to offer patients the Crystalens technology and am happy to offer this latest HD version.

Crystalens is a revolutionary new breakthrough in vision enhancement. Unlike standard implant lenses, the Crystalens restores vision at all distances and in most cases eliminates the need for glasses and contacts for everyday tasks. It is an intraocular lens replacement for cataracts that focuses like the eye’s natural lens did before these patients turned 40 years old.  It allows seamless focusing up close, far away and at all distances in between, giving patients their best possible vision.

The Crystalens is the result of more than 14 years of research and development.  The lens works by moving in a backwards and forwards motion in the eye in response to pressure changes in the front and back of the eye that result from relaxation and contraction of the ciliary muscle.  This muscle inside the eye is responsible for focusing the eye in younger patients.  As a result, patients experience the same vision they had when they were younger, for most, without the inconvenience of glasses.  In contrast, standard intraocular lenses only restore distance vision; therefore patients may still require glasses or contacts to see up close and all points in between. This lens brings us one step closer to the eyes we were born with. I’m seeing a positive response from my patients, in most cases they are returning to the hobbies and activities they love without distance or magnifying glasses or other corrective lenses—the impact on people’s lives is dramatic when they get back to the best vision possible enjoying the activities that used to be a challenge such as reading, driving, sports and hobbies. 

Click here for more on Crystalens and Cataract surgery at EyeSight Hawaii

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Contact our office to schedule a Crystalens Cataract evaluation with me.

Our 4th Annual Hawaii Future Physicians Symposium was another successful event for Hawaii’s high school students. We had six doctors and six medical students voluteer to come speak to high school students and both attendees and presentors had a wonderful time.

This year for the first time, the Symposium was held in the Queens Auditorium which is an excellent venue for this event. Each presentor talked about his/her medical specialty and discussed the good and bad of that specialty. Students watched PowerPoint presentations filled with amazing photos and had the opportunity to ask questions during and after the presentations. Some of our attending students had also attended last year’s Symposium and some have already told us they plan to attend next year!

Our attendees are also invited to submit essays for our Future Physicians Scholarship and we would like to congratulate this year’s winner, Amy Ige from Punahou. We always receive many quality essays and this year was no exception. And we expect to see more great essays next year too!

Thank you to all the students who attended, to the presentors who voluteered their time and to Queens. You all helped make this event possible and we look forward to seeing you again next year!

Mahalo Hawaii! EyeSight Hawaii was again voted one of Hawaii’s Best Laser Eye Centers by the readers of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the MidWeek.  We are proud to have earned your trust and appreciate the continued support from our patients throughout the state.

It is such a wonderful compliment each time a patient votes for us or refers us to his/her family and friends.  This is the second award we’ve won this year and our whole staff is so excited to have received this recognition.

We look forward to continuing to provide people all over Hawaii with the best eye care and laser vision correction possible.

 Aloha and Mahalo! 

EyeSight Hawaii is proud to have earned the 2008 Best of Honolulu Award for Laser Surgery. We were selected by the United States Local Business Association (USLBA) to receive this prestigious award.

We are honored to have received this recognition of achievement for our dedication to our patients and their eye care. We continue to offer the latest technology in laser vision correction while providing the highest patient care. Our motto is Vision for Life because our patients are like family to us and we want to take care of their eyes and vision for life.

We would like to thank you all for your kind support and referrals. The greatest compliment we receive is when our patients trust us so much they refer us to their family and friends. 

We look forward to caring for your eye care needs and wish you Vision for Life.
 

Many people don’t know that it is possible to have Laser Vision Correction after having had cataract surgery. So, if you’ve had cataract surgery and are still wearing glasses, you may still be a candidate for LASIK no matter what your age. I did LASIK on my father when he was 75 years old and he now reads and drives without glasses and he loves it!

So why do people need glasses after cataract surgery? This surgery entails removing the cloudy cataract and putting in a replacement lens. There are several types of replacement lenses a patient can choose from. Traditional monofocals lenses only allow a person to see well at one distance. With this traditional type of lens, if a person needed glasses before surgery, s/he will still need glasses after surgery. Upgraded lenses such as the Crystalens allow patients to focus near, far and in between which means, no glasses.

If you are interested in Laser Vision Correction and would like to come see us for a free LASIK Consultation, please be sure to let us know about any past eye surgeries you’ve had. We look forward to helping you have Vision for Life!

March is National Eye Donor Month so I would like to take the opportunity to talk to you about donating your organs, including your eyes, yes, your eyes!

As a Corneal Specialist, I perform corneal transplant surgeries, as well as LASIK and cataract surgeries. In order to perform a corneal transplant, we need donor tissue. Most of the time, we are able to match donated tissue with a patient who needs a transplant. However, sometimes, donor tissue is not available and we are unable to proceed with a surgery and must reschedule it for a later date. This is frustrating and disappointing for both the patient and the surgeon. Once corneal transplant surgery is completed, our patients are extremely grateful to have their eyesight back and it is was possible thanks to donors.

EyeSight Hawaii works with the Hawaii Lions Eye Bank and Makana Foundation to match donor tissue with patients needing corneal transplants. I am proud to be an Associate Medical Director at the Hawaii Lions Eye Bank which is a non profit organization dedicated to restoring sight and enhancing life through eye donation and awareness. For more information, including how to become a donor, visit http://www.hlebmf.org. If you would like to be an organ donor, make sure your family knows and you have it documented. That way there is no question.

As always, we wish you Vision For Life!

Now is the time of year when many people make New Year’s Resolutions. We encourage you to add “Keep My Eyes and Vision Healthy” to your list. Many people neglect their eyes and don’t pay attention to them until there is something wrong.

For people living in sunny Hawaii, one of the most important things you should do is protect your eyes against damaging sun rays. Just wearing sunglasses is not enough. Make sure you are wearing UV protecting sunglasses. UV protection is especially important for our patients who have just undergone eye surgery but is something we recommend for everyone, even children. When you purchase sunglasses, look for UV Protecting information. You want ones the block 99-100% of both UV-A and UV-B rays. When you’re looking for suglasses for your children, you want to look for the same 99-100% UV Protection. When should children start wearing UV Protecting sunglasses? It’s never too early to start.

Note: Polarized does not mean UV Protecting, though most polarized sunglasses also have UV Protection.

 Wishing you a Happy, Healthy New Year and Vision for Life!

 EyeSight Hawaii-Dr. Olkowski