It’s A Wonderful Life for Mike with 20/20 Vision and New Odyssey IOLs

A lifetime of struggling to see 

Mike battled extreme astigmatism and a significant amount of nearsightedness (myopia) for 40 years, relying on glasses and contacts. But even then, he could never get his vision better than 20/40, about half as acute as most people. His glasses were so thick they could burn ants or start fires.

Mike could not see a person sitting across the table from him and worried he would be unable to run from his house in case of an earthquake.

“People would ask me what line I could read on the eye chart. I would tell them I can’t see the eye chart at all,” he says, adding that he couldn’t even see the big E.

Looking for a better way 

Weary of constantly trying to see the world around him, Mike began researching eye lens replacement surgery. He first studied the best surgical facilities in the area for vision correction. He came up with Assil Gaur Eye Institute, where he was impressed with celebrity athletes and A-list movie stars who all chose AGEI for their vision correction. 

After identifying the optimal surgical center, Mike explored the staff and was duly astounded by Dr. Assil, who has performed 70,000 eye surgeries throughout his stellar career.

After Mike’s initial examination, Dr. Assil noted that “the internal lens in his eyes had completely stiffened, and he could not see any range of distance either.”

Because Mike’s natural lens was impacting his vision, laser vision correction wouldn’t be sufficient to correct his refractive error. PRK and LASIK surgery reshapes the cornea using special lasers to improve a patient’s vision. The only way to fix Mike’s vision problems was to replace his stiffened lens with a multifocal IOL.

Ground-breaking eye lens surgery 

After using prescribed eye drops for a week, Mike was ready to undergo the life-changing surgery. 

“I put my faith in Dr. Assil and his team,” he says. “And it came out better than I ever expected.”

Though there are several intraocular lens (IOL) options, Dr. Assil and Mike agreed on the newest and best to restore his eyesight — the Odyssey toric lens. Johnson & Johnson’s Odyssey lens, a new technology Dr. Kerry Assil had been beta testing at the Assil Gaur Eye Institute for the past year, has now been released to mainstream eye surgeons. 

The multifocal lens allows patients to achieve sharp vision for multiple focal points in both eyes, just like the natural lenses in young, healthy eyes.

Nervous but hopeful for the first time in his adult life that he would be able to see, Mike was ready for his clear lens extraction “To be honest, I didn’t know what was going to happen,” says Mike.

“After his lens implant, Mike sees 20/20 for both distance vision and near vision,” remarks Dr. Assil of Mike’s RLE surgery.

Watching the world go ‘round 

Mike celebrated his post-surgery recovery by reading car license plates on his way home. “It’s a life changer,” he notes. “For 59 years, I’ve been blind.”

Mike is still adjusting to not having to search for his glasses or put his contacts in and take them out. He doesn’t even need reading glasses!

“I paid $16,000 to have an RLE in both eyes,” he says. “I told the doctor I would have paid a million for what I got. Life changer isn’t a strong enough description.”

Why trust AGEI for your RLE? 

Under Dr. Assil’s leadership, the Assil Gaur Eye Institute has assembled a team of top ophthalmology specialists from around the country who continue AGEI’s tradition of offering patients the highest quality of specialist eye care in the United States. In keeping with AGEI's founding principles, our doctors have managed to keep their clinics comfortable and familiar, much like family-run medical practices used to be.

Today, AGEI is nationally recognized for its compassionate, patient-centric care, commitment to pioneering advances in ophthalmology, and dedication to supporting its patients' and community's health and well-being.

State-of-the-art treatments are available for all eye conditions, including glaucoma, eye cancer, ‌vitrectomy, cataract surgery, macular disease, eye nevus birthmark removal, floaters, dry eye, and diabetic eye conditions.

We remain laser-focused on our founding mission of providing exceptional laser eye surgery in a compassionate and caring environment. We continue to be driven to advance the field of ophthalmology (eye disease) and give back to our community.

Please call (866) 945-2745 or make an appointment online.

We are conveniently located for patients throughout Southern California and the Los Angeles area in or near Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Culver City, Hollywood, Venice, Marina del Rey, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, and Downtown Los Angeles.

Read more glowing patient testimonials about AGEI’s ophthalmologists.