The Dr. Shealy Advantage

The Shealy Eye Laser Center is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana and has performed nearly 40,000 refractive surgeries with 20,0000 strictly related to laser vision correction since 1996. Dr. Shealy was the "Featured Ophthalmologist by the American Board of Eye Surgery in 2004". The Shealy Eye Laser Center is the first in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan to offer the Allegretto Wavelight Laser for Wavefront Optimized Ablations and among the first in America to offer A-Cat or aberrometry-guided Wavelight Ablations using the Wavelight Ocular Analyzer, the most recently approved FDA laser upgrade in 2006. This analyzer is linked to the Allegretto Wave Laser for treating previous patients with higher order aberrations, associated with nighttime glare and haloes, from laser treatments.

Our center is solely dedicated to laser vision correction and has been since 2004. We use primarily non-invasive Advanced Surface Ablation for safety-first considerations. This lessens the risk of ectasia, reduces dry eye side effects, and has been found to be more upgradeable in the future to presbyopic LASIK, multifocal implants, and NearVision CK for presbyopia. Our patient demographics are 20% Indiana, 35% Michigan, 33% Ohio and the balance within the United States and several foreign countries. We have performed laser vision correction for 180 service men and women in the "world-wide war against terrorism"; mostly serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2004, our practice was completely revolutionized with the acquisition of an Allegretto Wavefront Excimer laser from Erlangen, Germany. Theo Seiler MD, Ophthalmologist and Physicist, who was the first in the world to perform excimer photo ablation, built this from the ground up. The ranges of -12.00D of myopia and -6.00D of astigmatism and +6.00D of hyperopic with +6.00D of astigmatism, makes it the highest capability laser in the world and is the preferred laser of choice in the world. The laser has a Gaussian 0.9mm-flying spot, with it's wave optimized to preserve the normal corneal contours or K readings, while maintaining the natural curvature of the cornea. Retreatments after Allegretto Wavefront Optimized LASIK and Epi-Laser have been virtually reduced to less than a ¼%.

Our most recent advancement in 2008, is to offer flap LASIK with the DaVinci Femtosecond Laser and thin flap LASIK with a new mechanical blade. The reason for using the DaVinci Femtosecond laser or thin flap LASIK is that it is safer than previous flap making devices. No claim has been made by any of the companies that the return of vision in the patient is any faster than with surface treatment or older microkeratome LASIK procedures with a flap or cap. This conclusion is drawn from conversations held with sales staff of the companies that sell the DaVinci Femtosecond Laser.

Biography

Thomas Shealy, MS, MD, Ph.D. candidate, no dissertation or research project submitted, has dedicated his career to the restoration and preservation of vision, our most precious sense. His career in ophthalmology began after studying advanced physics and chemistry at Purdue University, receiving a Masters Degree, then becoming a Ph.D. candidate in 1971. He then attended medical school at the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo and received his Doctorate of Medicine in 1974. From 1975 to 1978 he was Chief Resident in Ophthalmology at the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo. Later he became a board certified specialist in cataracts in 1994, and was recertified in 1998, as well as becoming certified in incisional refractive surgery in 1995 by the American Board of Eye Surgery. He served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Medical College at Toledo from 1978 to 1983. He recently became board certified by the American Board of Eye Surgery for LASIK or laser vision correction in 2001.

Dr. Shealy has been very active professionally with other laser refractive surgeons, nationally and internationally. As an active member of the American Board of Eye Surgery, American Academy of Ophthalmology, and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, he has been progressive in pursuing the latest ophthalmic surgical technology. He is an active member of the American Society for the Advancement of Laser Technology. He has served as an advisory ophthalmologist for the United States House of Representatives Congressman's FDA oversight committee. He was the American Board of Eye Surgery's featured Ophthalmologist of the month in May, 2004 for LASIK Surgery.

Dr. Shealy, is the first ophthalmologist in the world to undergo automated lamellar keratoplasty (ALK) to correct his own presbyopia so he does not require glasses for reading. The Shealy Eye Laser Center serves the greater Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan region and has performed nearly 30,000 LASIK or laser vision eye surgeries to eliminate/reduce the need for glasses or contact lenses.

The son of a Lutheran pastor, he has been active in community service in the resettlement of eastern European immigrants, serving as a business leader in the community. He is married with three children; two sons and one daughter, and enjoys golfing, exercise, time at the lake, jogging, gardening, and traveling. He was discharged honorably from the United States Marine Corps in 1971 after military service during the Vietnam War.

In 2004, he dedicated his practice solely to laser vision correction, corneal relaxing incision, and NearVision conductive keratoplasty. The results of NearVision keratoplasty was not permanent enough for the patients to be cost effective. He learned that monovision presbyopia gave longer acceptable results; whereas, NearVision CK was found to need continual upgrading and was unpredictably hit and miss. It was seen to be most effective in patients who had residual nearsightedness after laser vision correction surgery, but was not any more advantageous than multifocal implant technology which was learned to be unpredictable in terms of near and intermediate visual outcomes. It was only favored over multifocal implants because of its non-invasive nature.

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Credentials

Education:

• BS cum laude, Chemistry and Mathematics, Capital University Columbus, Ohio 1968

• Physics teacher, Antwerp, High School, Antwerp, Ohio 1968-1969

• United States Marine Corps, Camp Lejune, North Carolina 1969-70

• Purdue University; MS, Ph.D. candidate, Lafayette, Indiana 1971

• Medical College of Ohio; MD, Toledo, Ohio 1975

• Medical College of Ohio; Chief Resident in Ophthalmology, Toledo, Ohio 1975-78

• Medical College of Ohio Asst. Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology, Toledo, Ohio 1978-83

• Medical Director, Chief Surgeon, Ohio Indiana Eyecare Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana and Toledo, Ohio 1979-2002

Board Memberships:

• National Board of Medical Examiners, 1975.

• American Board of Ophthalmology, 1981.

• American Board of Cataract Surgery ,1994.

• American Board of Refractive Surgery ,1995.

• American Board of Cataract Surgery (recertified), 1998.

• American Board of Eye Surgery for LASIK, 2001.

Licenses:

• Physician

• Surgeon

Surgical Affiliations:

• Shealy Eye Laser Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Professional Memberships:

• American Academy of Ophthalmology

• American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery

• American College of Eye Surgeons - Fellow (Board Certified in Refractive Keratotomy)

• International Society of Refractive Keratoplasty

• American Board of Eye Surgery (Certification in Cataract Implant Surgery)

• American College of Surgeons - Fellow

• Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce

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Certification

Certification is the ultimate commitment to quality eye surgery.

Tremendous advances in technology have revolutionized eye surgery, thus creating a need for a certification process to ensure that quality eye surgery is performed.

The American Board of Eye Surgery (ABES) is the only medical certification board that tests eye surgeons with respect to their medical knowledge and their actual surgical skills, including surgical techniques, surgical ability, frequency of complications, and the visual outcome and improvement following surgery.

Before you decide to have LASIK, ask about the American Board of Eye Surgery (ABES) Certification Program. Call 1-888-335-0077 for the names of eye surgeons certified by ABES in your community, or visit their web site at www.aces-abes.org.

Dr. Shealy is 1 of only 3 ophthalmologists in Indiana, and the only ophthalmologist in the Fort Wayne area, to have obtained this certification.

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Ask The Doctor

An Interview with Dr. Shealy

Question: How did you become involved in refractive surgery?
Answer: I have been interested in the application of physical science to medicine ever since receiving advanced degrees in mathematics, physics and chemistry back in the early 1970's. I was offered scholarships to Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, Purdue University of Indiana, University of Minnesota, and several other academic universities.

Question: Where did you go to medical school?
Answer: After being discharged from the United Stated Marine Corps in 1971 I was interviewed at three medical schools; the University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University, and the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo. I chose the Medical College of Ohio because it was small and I could receive more one-on-one training, and was able to perform more surgery during my residency program.

Question: What interested you in Laser Refractive Surgery to eliminate glasses?
Answer: I became intrigued in reading about and meeting Professor Fyodorov, the world-famous Russian eye surgeon who developed radial keratotomy. Also I have become acquainted with Dr. Theo Seiler of Germany, a pioneer in excimer laser surgery, and Dr. Luis Ruiz of Columbia, South America, a pioneer in lamellar surgery.

Question: What is the most common refractive procedure you perform today?
Answer: Nearly 100% of our patients undergo Advanced Surface Treatment with the Allegretto Wavefront Optimized or Wavefront Guided Treatment. This has produced the highest quality of vision that I have seen in my practice of 35,000 eye surgeries, over the last twenty-five years with the least amount of complications for "safety minded" patients. We've seen, produced, or managed every laser complication known today, as of February 2007. We have also owned four excimer lasers and have used four microkeratome systems in our practice.

Question: What percentage of your patients need glasses for driving?
Answer: 99.5% of our patients do not need glasses for driving; however, presbyopic patients may wear glasses occasionally for night driving, to refine their vision. 98% of our patients state that they see better than they have seen with any pair of glasses or contact lenses. We have collaborative experience with Steve Hollis, who has owned 11 laser platforms and has performed over one hundred thousand eye surgeries until February 21, 2007.

Question: What percentage of your patients need glasses for reading?
Answer: Nearly 90% of our patients can have their need for reading glasses reduced from complete dependence to part time wear, unless they have cataracts for which we will refer to other centers for cataract surgery. We refer patients to the most experienced ophthalmologist with each type of multifocal lens technology, practicing either locally or nationally.

Question: What does the microkeratome do?
Answer: The microkeratome forms a thin flap of cornea in the LASIK procedure. This procedure has been largely abandoned in our practice due to improvements in laser vision correction when performed on the surface with non-cutting or epithelial separation devices. With the improvement in contact lens technology and pharmaceuticals, patients recover almost as quickly as with flap laser vision correction or LASIK. Dr. Shealy feels that making flaps or caps are more risky for patinets.

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260-486-0065 or toll free 1-800-644-6393!

Copyright © 2004-2008 Shealy Eye Laser Center
6036 Trier Road Fort Wayne, IN 46815
Tel: (260) 486-0065 or (800) 644-6393  Fax: (260) 486-3437
email: shealy@shealyeye.com

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