Both Abbie Jones, 19, and her brother Kaden, 21, were tired of waking up every day and having to reach for a pair of glasses to help bring focus to their day.
“I’d worn glasses or contacts since I was 6 years old and it was just not fun anymore,” Jones said.
Her brother, who works for a utility company, didn’t want to worry about his glasses falling off or slipping during the workday.
Ready for a change, but just a bit nervous about what that change might involve, they both scheduled appointments for a consultation at the Omaha/Lincoln Eye Laser Institute. That was four months ago.
Today, they both boast of 20/20 vision without the need for either glasses or contacts thanks to their LASIK surgery procedures, which, coincidently, occurred simultaneously at the Omaha facility.
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“My life is completely different now,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“This is really why patients want a procedure like this,” said Dr. JoAnna Liu-Picchietti, O.D., and daughter of one of the company’s founders. “Patients who come here want to be able to wake up and see, wear cheap sunglasses, go the pool and splash around without worrying they won’t get an eye infection, watch their kids at a sporting event without squinting. These are simple things the average nearsighted person cannot do and, basically, they just want to live an active and social life without doing a preliminary function like searching for their glasses or inserting contacts to make it happen.”
Omaha Eye and Laser Institute, founded in 1985 by her father, Sao J. “John” Liu, M.D., and her uncle, Sao C. James Liu, treats patients throughout the entire Midwest at two office locations, Omaha and Lincoln. The company, which specializes in Bladeless Customized iLasik, Laser Cataract Surgery and the laser surgical treatment of many other eye diseases, has won numerous accolades. In addition to Readers Choice and Best of Omaha awards, the company is recognized as the most experienced in Bladeless LASIK — with more than 25,000 procedures performed — and as having the most advanced technology in both LASIK and Laser Cataract Surgery.
For most patients, having the procedure is a no-brainer, said Dr. Liu-Picchietti.
“They understand that it’s one of the safest procedures you can have on your face and body, that it doesn’t hurt, and the healing time is fast,” she said.
However, some patients can be more hesitant, and it may take them several years from the initial consultation to an actual surgery date because of those feelings.
Dr. Liu-Picchietti understands the nerve thing completely. She had LASIK surgery here more than 12 years ago, right after she graduated from optometry school.
“Of course, I wondered what it would be like,” she said. “Prior to my surgery I had never experienced a broken bone or stitches. I don’t think I ever had anything more than a paper cut. But our nursing staff here is exemplary. They talk to you throughout the procedure, explaining everything that is happening and, honestly, there’s nothing you will experience that you haven’t felt before. You feel some pressure, see shadows, flashes, maybe some gray. But that’s about it. Best of all, the procedure, I always tell people, lasts no longer than 15 minutes — about the length of four songs.”
Dr. Liu-Picchietti recommends that anyone considering LASIK start a conversation about it with someone else in their lives.
“If you’re in an exercise group, a book club or at a sporting event with other parents, bring up LASIK and you’ll realize so many people have had it done. I think that makes people feel a bit more comfortable knowing that others have experienced it and are doing wonderful,” she said.
Dr. Liu-Picchietti said that during a patient’s initial consultation, the doctors review the medical procedure in detail.
“We also run an ocular disease clinic here, and our doctors are really practiced in risk and limitations. We are very conscientious about our surgical procedures,” she said. “We want you to trust us from the minute you come into our facility. We are meticulous with our planning and calculations, and there is a lot of discussion on each case before every surgery.”
According to Dr. Liu-Picchietti, patients are instructed to refrain from using their contact lenses for two weeks prior to the procedure, giving time for the cornea to return to its natural shape. Following the surgery, patients are usually able to drive the next day, though they cannot swim, do heavy exercise or wear makeup for two weeks.
For more information, visit omahaeye.com.
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