The Latest News from Hoopes Vision – Salt Lake City, Utah

Holiday Optometric Seminar

By Hoopesvision on December 9, 2011

The annual Hoopes Vision Holiday Optometric Seminar was held Wednesday, Dec. 7th at the Hilton Garden Inn in Sandy. Approximately 80 local Utah optometrists were in attendance as Hoopes Vision surgeons, Dr. Robert P. Rivera and Dr. Michael J. Bradley, discussed some of the newest advancements in ophthalmology including custom cataract surgery with the new LenSx cataract laser and corneal cross-linking for keratoconus. Throughout the year, Hoopes Vision offers several opportunities for Utah optometrists to educate themselves on the most current developments in the field of vision correction. We are honored to have many patients referred to us from these doctors and we enjoy working with them. This year we decided to mix things up by inviting the doctors to come dressed in their most atrocious holiday sweater. After delighting the group with their tacky tops, one lucky winner was selected.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

New Building Groundbreaking for Hoopes Vision

By Hoopesvision on December 1, 2011

We are happy about the recent groundbreaking of our new clinic and surgical facility in Draper! In an effort to serve our patients more efficiently and to accommodate future growth, we will be moving our main office in Sandy to a new 59,000 square-foot building. The three-story structure will be located between State Street and I-15 at 11820 South. Completion of the project is expected for Fall of 2012. Hoopes Vision staff and doctors were joined by representatives of the community and some of the key people involved in creating the future home of Hoopes Vision. Mayor Darrell Smith said a few words about the importance of “vision,” and the Jazz Bear mascot was on hand creating laughs. We are excited about this new adventure and look forward to watching the new building come to life!

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Hoopes Vision Discusses Flex Spending and New Custom Cataract Laser

By Hoopesvision on October 20, 2011

Dr. Robert Rivera, one of the surgeons at Hoopes Vision had a live appearance on Good Morning Utah Wednesday October 19. He discussed the upcoming changes to flex spending which will limit the amount that one can put into flex spending in 2013. Patients wishing to utilize full flex spending benefits for larger medical procedures such as vision correction surgery should consider putting flex spending aside now for next year.

Dr. Rivera also discussed the new LenSx laser that is available at Hoopes Vision. This laser automates many of the first crucial steps in cataract surgery, replacing the handheld surgical blades traditionally used with a computer-guided laser.

A good friend and patient of Hoopes Vision, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, was also in studio to discuss the GOP debate. General Shurtleff had LASIK surgery performed by Dr. Hoopes Sr. in 2002.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Dr. Robert Rivera Receives Award from Arizona Magazine

By Hoopesvision on September 30, 2011

Dr. Robert Rivera, MD, surgeon and Director of Clinical Research at Hoopes Vision, recently received the prestigious “Readers’ Choice Award” from Lovin’ Life after 50, a retirement lifestyle magazine published in his previous home state of Arizona. Along with the honor came a commemorative statue as well as a plaque, which now resides in the patient waiting area of his new clinic – Hoopes Vision.
Dr. Rivera has been honored numerous times over the course of his career, by various medical and professional associations, for his contributions to research in ophthalmology. Among all those prestigious awards, however, this one has its own special place, as it was the result of direct votes from patients. This Readers’ Choice Award is testament to the high regard in which Dr. Rivera is held by the people of Phoenix, something that’s sure to be repeated here in greater Salt Lake City. Congratulations to Dr. Rivera from all of us here at Hoopes Vision!

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Hoopes Vision is Gephardt Approved

By Hoopesvision on September 26, 2011

For years, people in Utah have trusted Bill Gephardt’s word. As host of the popular and long-running local KSL TV News segment “Get Gephardt,” he investigated dishonest businesses and service providers, holding them accountable for their actions. Since retiring from active television duty in 2010, he has launched the next phase in his consumer advocacy career: Gephardt Approved. Now, rather than rooting out unscrupulous businesses, he seeks out the best of the best, investigating their business practices and professional reputations thoroughly before declaring them “Gephardt Approved” and backing their services with his own guarantee.
We are proud to announce that Hoopes Vision is the first and only eye surgery center in Utah to be Gephardt Approved, for our achievements in LASIK, cataract surgery, implantable lenses (ICL), and other vision correction procedures. The honor wasn’t bestowed lightly: Bill spent considerable time researching clinical and surgical success rates, interviewing doctors, and visiting our clinic and surgery center on multiple occasions to witness first-hand the level of patient care Hoopes Vision delivers. Only after his thorough investigative process did he declare Hoopes Vision to be Gephardt Approved, profiling our clinic on his website (GephardtApproved.com) and backing us with his well-known guarantee.
Trust is everything when choosing any kind of service provider, but rarely is it as vitally important as in the realm of eye surgery, where you may truly have only one chance to “get it right.” We know that Utah trusts Bill Gephardt, and we’re honored that Bill trusts Hoopes Vision.

Posted in Lasik in Utah, lasik news in utah |

Sandy City Healing Fields 2011

By Hoopesvision on September 9, 2011

The terrorist attacks of September Eleventh in 2001 had a horrific impact on us as a nation and as individuals. At this time of year, we are reminded of the lives that were lost during this tragic event and of the strength of our country to come together and rise above the disaster.  Each year since this horrific event, a “healing field” consisting of more than 3,000 American flags – one for each victim – has been constructed on the grassy area of the Sandy City Promenade located just west of our office. As we look out our office windows, we are in awe by this beautiful display and filled with a sense of hope and American pride. This year marks the 10^th anniversary of the attack on our country.  In honor of those who risked their lives, the 2011 Utah Healing Field Memorial will feature the dedication of a new monument titled, Hope Rising. The monument consists of a 9ft-tall bronze statue that depicts the three firemen who raised the American flag at Ground Zero, after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. At Hoopes Vision, we feel very fortunate to have this breathtaking demonstration just outside our doors to serve as a reminder of how fortunate we are to live in this great country. Thank you to all the military, police, firefighters and other public servants who work so hard to keep us safe. It has been our pleasure to get to know so many of you throughout the years.

We invite anyone interested to come and experience the power of this exhibit now through September 13^th – and if you’d like to get a view from above, feel free to join us today on the fourth floor of the One Sandy Center.

Posted in Events |

ICL Seminar

By Hoopesvision on September 7, 2011

Dr. Robert P. Rivera conducts live ICL surgery-please be aware, this video contains actual surgery footage.

One of the hallmarks of Hoopes Vision is our commitment to continuing education – both internally, as we strive to stay at the forefront of vision correction technology, and externally, as we provide classes and seminars for our peers within the eye care community. As part of this commitment to gaining and sharing knowledge, Hoopes Vision hosted a historic seminar on Wednesday, August 31st: a live broadcast of an implantable collamer lens (ICL) surgery.
As over 75 local eye doctors watched from a conference room at the Hilton Garden Inn, and many more across the nation and around the world observed via live web stream, Dr. Robert P. Rivera performed an implantation of the STAAR Visian ICL lens. Dr. Rivera, who joined Hoopes Vision this summer, is an internationally recognized expert in implantable lens technology, and the most experienced ICL surgeon in the country. He has trained surgeons across the globe in the ICL procedure.
Dr. Rivera demonstrated his Short Interval Bilateral ICL Procedure, a protocol he pioneered at his previous practice in Arizona. The short interval procedure involves operating on both eyes at the same visit, a revolutionary improvement over the traditional protocol of operating on the patient’s eyes on two separate occasions – often days or even weeks apart. Dr. Rivera talked the audience through the roughly twenty-minute surgery, explaining that the patient in the demonstration surgery was severely nearsighted (prescription of -7.50 in one eye, -9.25 in the other!) and due to his relatively thin corneas, would not have been a suitable candidate for LASIK or PRK surgery. ICL surgery affords this patient, and many thousands of others like him, an opportunity for amazing vision that would have been impossible just a few short years ago.
Happy ending: one of the greatest things about ICL surgery in general, and the bilateral procedure in particular, is the incredibly fast recovery. Our demonstration patient, after a lifetime of being completely dependent on his glasses and contact lenses, was already seeing 20/20 out of both eyes at his post-op checkup the next morning!
The addition of Dr. Rivera and his expertise to the Hoopes Vision team, and the ICL seminar, are just another example of our ongoing commitment to representing the absolute best in vision correction. The ICL procedure is just one of the many exciting options available today for surgical vision correction. Our team of surgeons – Dr. Phillip Hoopes, Sr.; Dr. Phillip Hoopes, Jr.; Dr. Michael J. Bradley; and Dr. Robert Rivera – review each case and meet with each patient to discuss which of our available options will be the safest and offer the best possible visual result. This means that whether your best route to perfect vision is LASIK, PRK, ICLs, clear lens exchange, or a refractive cataract procedure with multifocal IOLs, Hoopes Vision is the name to trust for your vision correction needs.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

LASIK in the movies

By Hoopesvision on September 1, 2011

August 12th marked the theatrical release of Final Destination 5, the latest installment in the successful horror film series. For the uninitiated, the stock plot of the Final Destination series is a group of (invariably young and good-looking) protagonists who by luck or premonition avoid some fatal disaster or other at the beginning of the movie, yet are unable to “cheat death,” as they perish one by one in increasingly absurd, exotic, and horrible ways for the remaining 90 minutes of gore-spattered screen time.

We at Hoopes Vision were amused to see that Final Destination 5 features one character, the lovely and unfortunate Olivia, who suffers a “tragic LASIK accident.” Poor Olivia, who clearly must have been courting disaster by trusting her eyes to a cut-rate, corporate LASIK center, is seen all alone in a dimly lit surgery room, screaming and writhing under a malfunctioning laser, with no doctor or surgical staff anywhere to be seen. It’s harrowing stuff.

Far from being upset or defensive at this terrifying depiction of the noble art of laser eye surgery, we were flattered! Evidently, the screenwriters didn’t think to write a death scene around LASIK until they were five films deep into the series and truly scraping the bottom of the idea barrel, making it manifestly safer than such suicidal practices as, for example:

- Driving a car or walking under a neon sign (Final Destination)
- Chasing pigeons, cooking on a gas grill, or riding in an elevator (Final Destination 2)
- Using a tanning bed, riding a roller coaster, or working at a hardware store (Final Destination 3)
- Standing near a chain link fence or owning a tow truck (The Final Destination)
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So you see? If you’re daredevil enough to chase pigeons or stand near a chain link fence, you probably have nothing to fear from LASIK!

Ultimately, the laser “malfunction” is not how Olivia meets her doom. However, in the interest of clarity and accuracy, we thought we’d point out a few differences between the LASIK surgery scene in Final Destination 5 and what happens in a real, blade-free LASIK procedure at Hoopes Vision. To compare and contrast:

Final Destination: Patient and doctor are all alone in the room.
Hoopes Vision: Doctor, patient, and at least three surgical technicians are present.

Final Destination: The surgery room is practically pitch dark, with shades drawn.
Hoopes Vision: There are no shades, but a large glass wall through which your family and friends may observe the procedure.

Final Destination: The patient and the doctor are both bare-headed and the doctor doesn’t even have gloves on until the second shot of the scene.
Hoopes Vision: The doctor and all staff in the room are wearing surgical caps, masks, and gloves. The patient is wearing a sterile cap and shoe covers.

Final Destination: The doctor gets up and leaves the patient all alone in the room mid-procedure, because of an “incomplete record.”
Hoopes Vision: Are you kidding?

Final Destination: Poor Olivia gets a face full of laser because she can’t reach the “Emergency Off Switch.”
Hoopes Vision: The laser doesn’t run, period, unless the surgeon is sitting at it, pressing a foot pedal, and looking at the patient’s eyes through the operating microscope.

Final Destination: Scary music is playing.
Hoopes Vision: Nice music is playing.

In all seriousness, we’re extremely proud here at Hoopes Vision of our outstanding record of safety and great surgical results. For over a decade now, our practice has been a reflection of Dr. Hoopes’ unique vision: commitment to the latest and safest technology, paired with a level of personal care and attention that is second to none. We were the first clinic in Utah to offer a free See Clearly Guarantee, assuring our patients that not only will they survive the procedure, but will have great vision – now and for the rest of their lives.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Real Salt Lake fan wins free LASIK surgery

By Hoopesvision on August 5, 2011

July 30th was Hoopes Vision night at Real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium where we sponsored “Health and Fitness Night”. Although the game was an unfortunate loss for RSL, one lucky fan won big. After receiving hundreds of comments on facebook from RSL fans stating why they wanted LASIK surgery, three contenders were selected to plead their case on the big screen at Rio Tinto stadium during half-time. Reaction from the crowd determined Matt Cieslak, a soldier who has fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, to be the winner of free LASIK surgery from Hoopes Vision. Congratulations Matt! The other contestants were thanked for their participation with a generous discount towards their vision correction procedures.

The doctors and surgeons of Hoopes Vision were recognized and thanked before the game for their role as the official eye care and LASIK provider for Real Salt Lake. One of our surgeons, Dr. Michael Bradley was given the honor of participating in the coin toss.

We are proud to support Real Salt Lake and wish them luck as the season continues!

Posted in Events |

Jackson Emery’s LASIK surgery at Hoopes Vision

By Hoopesvision on July 15, 2011

We were delighted to have former BYU basketball player and star, Jackson Emery, in our office yesterday for his LASIK surgery. Emery had expressed interest in LASIK surgery to his optometrist, Dr. Hooley, who promptly referred him to Dr. Hoopes.

He was highly motivated to retire his contact lenses following a well publicized incident during a game in Las Vegas against UNLV. In the first half of the physical contest, Emery got hit in the eye, which popped out his contact lens. Play was stopped as he went to the bench to put the lens back in, which was shown on the big screen at the Thomas & Mack, prompting boos from Rebel fans.”Everyone was booing me and my hands were shaking because my adrenalin was going,” Emery said. “It was one of those pressure situations.”

Jackson finished his senior year serving as co-captain of the cougars alongside Jimmer Fredette and Logan Magnusson. He was named the Mountain West Conference defensive player of the year and holds both BYU’s (passing Danny Ainge’s record) and the MWC’s all-time season and career steal records. Jackson and his wife, Charese, are expecting their first baby (a boy) this September.

Following an evaluation of his vision and eye health, it was determined that Jackson was a prime candidate for LASIK surgery and he eagerly decided to have his surgery the next day. At his post-operative appointment this morning, it was determined that Jackson is currently seeing 20/15 and his eyes are right on track with the healing process. Jackson told us that he was ecstatic with the results and looks forward to continuing his basketball career without the hassle of contact lenses. We wish him the best on his next adventure as he heads to Europe this fall, and congratulate him in advance on the new addition to his family.

Posted in Lasik in Utah, Sports and LASIK vision correction |