Dan Enjoys Being Glasses-free After Lens Replacement Surgery

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Last updated 8/5/2024
Dan - Odyssey Lens RLE patient

Woodworking machine rebuilder by day and veteran LA bassist by night, Dan Malouin’s world is shining brightly after undergoing a refractive lens exchange (RLE) under the skillful hands of Dr. Avneet K. Sodhi Gaur.

 

RLE is a surgical procedure performed to correct refractive errors in the eye. It involves removing the eye's natural lens and replacing it with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL) to improve vision.

 

Dan, 66, noticed that his declining eyesight had made simple things dangerous. “Before RLE surgery, I was carrying my bass cabinet down steep stairs, and I almost took a dive because of my poor depth perception,” he remarks. Reading music charts on stage was very difficult. Reading small print on simple instructions required a magnifying glass.

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The journey to receiving a lens exchange 

As a boy, Dan had perfect eyesight until his late 40’s, and a defective welding helmet damaged his vision. “I believe It kind of toasted my eyeballs,” says Dan. “Age adds to it.”

 

From then on, Dan began wearing the glasses one buys off the rack in a drug store. Because he had the same amount of dysfunction in each eye, he could wear the same glasses for reading and driving. The problem was that the glasses annually needed to become more robust. “It was really accelerating,” he says. It affected my daytime mechanical work. Worse yet, my poor vision added stress to playing important music gigs around Los Angeles requiring charts, notes, and adjusting audio gear or cues across the stage. Recognizing important associates across a large venue was impossible.

 

Dan tried using contact lenses for a while but found them bothersome. “Getting them in was easy but getting them out was a pain.”

 

The decision for RLE eye surgery 

After the aforementioned close call on the staircase, Dan decided it was time to move forward with a permanent solution to his deteriorating vision. After examining Dan’s eyes, Dr. Gaur recommended a lens implant using Johnson & Johnson’s Odyssey lens, a new technology she and Dr. Kerry Assil had been beta testing at the Assil Gaur Eye Institute with startling results. 

 

With the Odyssey lens, eye doctors can now achieve sharp vision for multiple focal points in both eyes, just like the natural lenses in young, healthy eyes.

 

Odyssey lens’ benefits include:

  • Improved contrast and ultra-crisp vision.
  • Offered the clarity and flexibility of the attributes of a young person’s eye.
  • Reduces light that may cause glare and haloes.
  • Promoting clear vision at any distance.

 

Up early at his home in Redondo Beach on the day of the surgery, Dan was naturally a bit nervous about having eye surgery. However, after the preparation had been set up, the lens exchange procedure was quick and easy. “It only took about five minutes for each eye,” he says. “It’s amazing how fast it goes.”

 

It’s a better life after refractive lens exchange surgery 

With his new multifocal vital glasses with glasses with lens glasses a thing of the past, Dan is no longer concerned about stairs or having to wear increasingly strong glasses. 

 

“My life has gotten a lot safer,” he says. “I can see in traffic so much better. This has been life-changing.”

 

This is especially true at his machine shop in South Central Los Angeles, where he runs DW Obsolete Inc. “I can avoid a multitude of potential dangers a lot more clearly now, especially at night leaving the shop,” says Dan. “I also see better around the shop, so I don’t bump into things.”

 

Dan recommends that older people invest in refractive lenses. As his mother aged, she was much more prone to falling. In retrospect, he believes that a lens exchange may have helped her navigate the world more clearly. “The lenses do help your general health,” he says. I see so much better driving and recognizing traffic situations far ahead- and that keeps my insurance costs down.

 

 I enjoy playing music so much more now- my new eyesight is connecting me much more with my bass, the audiences, and renewed friendships. There were so many times I missed recognizing or seeing someone from the past. So many friends have complimented my new “look”

 

He also advises people not to balk at the expense of the lenses and recommends spending the extra money on the best possible solution. For example, people often pay $400 for a pair of glasses and then sit on them, so they must be replaced. Great eyesight never goes out of style.

 

 “Spend the extra money on good lenses,” he says. The improvement has far exceeded my expectations.! This was a check I enjoyed writing, I’ve already got back my investment driving in LA since my surgery!

 

Kudos for the Assil Gaur Eye Institute 

Dan has nothing but praise for the Assil Gaur Eye Institute. “They’ve got it together. That’s why the most important people in the world come there,” says Dan. “They have referred famous patients such as Laker stars Lebron James and Anthony Davis. ”

 

Dr. Gaur receives nothing but sterling reviews from Dan. “She’s a lovely doctor and very competent,” he says. “Dr. Gaur is super-knowledgeable and very efficient with her time. To top it off, she has a great bedside manner.”

 

“I’m a poster child for Odyssey lenses,” he says. “Having them has helped me enjoy my quality of life.” “I’m 20/15 now, just incredible.”

 

Why trust Assil Gaur Eye Institute with your vision correction? 

Dr. Kerry Assil has gained industry-wide respect for his extensive knowledge, inventions, and contributions to cataract and refractive surgery.

 

His esteemed partner, Dr. Gaur, is a Board-Certified and fellowship-trained Cataract and Refractive Surgeon and Glaucoma Specialist.

 

With over 40 years of combined experience assisting patients with eye health, Drs. Assil and Gaur are among the most experienced eye surgeons in the United States.

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