Hoopesvision - Salt Lake City, Utah Area

Professional Golfer Mike Reid Wins Another Major Tournament

By Hoopesvision on August 31, 2009

23 August 2009 Professional golfer Mike Reid sank a 12 foot birdie putt, beating John Cook in a one-hole-playoff and winning the Jeld-Wen Tradition tournament. This was Mike’s second major win on the senior’s tour. Mike also won the Senior PGA Championship in 2005. Tears started to well as he hugged his son Daniel, who was his caddie. Reid commented, “He had a look on his face like, ´Well, what did you expect?´ I felt like I had just climbed Mount Everest.”
Known as “Radar” for his accurate driving off the tee, it was actually Mike’s putting that seemed the key to his win – ranking first in putts per Green in Regulation, and second in putts per round. If you ask Mike, however, it was his son’s presence as a caddie that made the difference.
Mike had LASIK surgery at Hoopes Vision in 2004, and has felt that his vision was greatly improved. Read more of Mike Reid’s LASIK experience here.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Hoopes Vision LASIK Video Contest Semi-Finalists Announced

By Hoopesvision on August 26, 2009

It was much harder for our celebrity judges to select the semi-finalists than they had anticipated.  Our celebrity judges included Kerry, Bill and Gina from X-96 radio, General Gridlock from K-BULL 93 radio, Big Rog from 97.5 The Blaze, and the Jazz Bear. We had a total of over 90 LASIK videos submitted. There were many great entries, and it was obvious so many of you could really use LASIK surgery. There were a lot of great funny videos and several heart-felt submissions. Thanks to all of you for the time and effort spent creating these LASIK videos that were submitted from all over Utah. We hope that the $1000 off blade-free LASIK surgery coupon you received for submitting your video will help express our gratitude to each one of you who helped make this contest so much fun. You can view the semi-finalists in each LASIK video category by visiting www.hoopesvision.com/contest. Please vote for your favorites. (The site looks like it will let you vote as often as you want, but to keep it fair, it will only submit one vote per i.p. address per day.) Good luck to all the semi-finalists in the Hoopes Vision LASIK video contest.

Posted in Lasik in Utah, Utah LASIK contest |

Blade-Free IntraLASIK Provides Greater Safety and Better Vision

By Hoopesvision on August 12, 2009

The two most important concerns for patients considering laser eye surgery are clear vision and safety. No one goes to their LASIK surgeon asking for the “second or third safest procedure” or asking to see “close to the best I can”. The new IntraLase™ iFS laser, currently available in Utah only at Hoopes Vision, improves upon previous version of blade-free LASIK to help patients obtain the safest procedure that gives the very best possible vision.

Prior to IntraLase™, step one of the LASIK procedure involved making a thin fl ap of corneal tissue with a motor driven metal razor blade called a microkeratome. Although still considered to be quite safe, it was the riskiest part of a LASIK procedure. If a serious complication were to occur, it usually was the result of a microkeratome mishap or malfunction. IntraLase™ replaces the metal blade with a silent, computer-guided laser resulting in a procedure that is up to 100 times more accurate than a bladed microkeratome. This gives greater assurance that step one of the LASIK eye surgery will be more accurate and safe, giving patients the best LASIK results possible.

Hoopes Vision obtained Salt Lake City’s first IntraLase™ laser over five years ago and have performed over three times more IntraLase™ procedures than any other surgeon in the state. As of 2008, Hoopes Vision was the second highest volume IntraLase™ provider in the nation. Recently, other Utah centers finally obtained this incredible and miraculous new technology.

The IntraLase™ laser utilizes a focused infrared beam of light to create “photodisruption” below the corneal surface, without generating heat or ablating tissue. It creates a near perfect planar cap, with uniform thickness throughout, rather than being thinner centrally, thicker in the mid-periphery, and thinner again at the cap edge as with the traditional razor blade technology. Due to this added precision, thinner flaps can be made, which allows more tissue to remain untouched. This is a more conservative approach to surgery and even means that some patients who were previously not candidates for LASIK due to thin corneas, potentially may now be able to have surgery.

Benefits of IntraLase™ include: a safer procedure, more accuracy, up to 100 times more precision, less dry eye, and a higher chance of attaining 20/20 vision or better. Dr. Phillip C. Hoopes, Chief Surgeon at Hoopes Vision, remarked on their experience with IntraLase™, “We have not experienced any serious flap complications normally seen with bladed microkeratomes such as buttonholes, incomplete fl aps, off-centered flaps, or epithelial abrasions or defects. Eyes are also less dry after IntraLase™.” It is predicted that in the future, most flaps will be made with a laser beam instead of a blade.

The new iFS IntraLase™ laser is faster, more comfortable, and even safer than before. One of the key advantages to this new laser is it’s ability to create a bevel-in, inverted side cut to the corneal flap, where the flap edge tucks under the periphery of the cornea. This has been shown to maintain a stronger corneal structure and improve healing post LASIK surgery. Hoopes Vision is currently the only Utah LASIK center to have the new iFS IntraLase™ laser.

For more information regarding new iFS IntraLase™ technology, or to see if you are a candidate for IntraLASIK, please call Hoopes Vision at (801)568-0200, or visit www.hoopesvision.com or www.intralase.com.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Hoopes Vision Acquires Utah’s First iFS IntraLase™ Laser

By Hoopesvision on August 11, 2009

New iFS IntraLase laser improves blade-free LASIK procedure.

On Monday August 11, 2009 the new iFS IntraLase™ arrived at Hoopes Vision. We are excited to be the first Utah LASIK center to offer this new technology. Six years ago, Hoopes Vision introduced blade-free LASIK surgery to the area with the arrival of the Salt Lake Valley’s first IntraLase™ laser. This laser revolutionized the LASIK procedure by replacing the metal bladed microkeratome with a silent, computer guided laser. The IntraLase™ procedure was safer, more accurate and produced statistically better visual acuity. The new iFS™ laser improves upon previous versions of IntraLase™. The new iFS™ laser is faster (creating a flap in 9 seconds), more comfortable for the patient, and creates a smoother surface. Perhaps the biggest change is the ability to make an inverted, bevel-in edge for the corneal flap. This modification allows the LASIK surgeon to tuck the edge of the flap underneath the periphery of the cornea rather than resting on top. This has been shown to create stronger flap adherence, with less chance of striae (wrinkles) post LASIK. The corneal flap can also be created in an elliptical shape which has shown added benefit for patients with astigmatism. Currently this newer safer IntraLASIK technology is only available in Utah at Hoopes Vision.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Top 10 LASIK Surgeons

By Hoopesvision on August 9, 2009

Being selected for a prestigious list featured in Forbes Magazine represents a major achievement, whether it’s the best small companies in America, technology’s top deal makers, the best U.S. colleges – or the top LASIK surgeons.

Last summer, Hoopes Vision was named One of the Top 10 Most Dependable Laser Eye Surgeons in the Country by Goldline Research. The list was published in the July 2008 issue of Forbes magazine.

Goldline Research is an independent market research fi rm that evaluates professional services on behalf of consumers nationwide. The organization conducted a rigorous review of LASIK vision care centers across the country and evaluated them on the basis of six important criteria: 10 or more years in practice; minimum of 25,000 laser vision correction procedures performed; certifi cation by the American Board of Ophthalmology; specialists in LASIK and Refractive Surgery; excellent references; and state of-the-art equipment.

Why is this important to you as a consumer? It means an unbiased third party has done the research necessary to qualify Hoopes Vision as a vision care practice that consistently delivers excellent results, has highly qualified and experienced surgeons and is committed to the best technology. It is a matter of having trust and confi dence in Hoopes Vision to surgically correct your vision for permanent, life-changing benefits.

According to Goldline Research, the company’s research guides are created to streamline the decision-making process for consumers by helping them identify the leading services providers in the country who can meet their needs.

The Goldline Research list is just one of many acknowledgements that Hoopes Vision has received in the past few years. Laser Vision Centers named Hoopes Vision one of the top 50 practices and top 100 surgeons in the country in 2001. Consumers’ Research Council of America named the practice one of America’s Top Ophthalmologists and Refractive Surgeons every year from 2004 through 2008. Wavelight, Inc. presented Dr. Hoopes with the prestigious Accento Award in 2005.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Sporting a New Look

By Hoopesvision on August 8, 2009

Most people who wear contact lenses can tell you about a time when one of their contacts has slipped out of place, or they have gotten a piece of dust under their lens. Most of us, however, can’t imagine that happening while upside down, twenty feet in the air, and traveling at 40 miles an hour. Heather McPhie of the U.S. Ski Team has had this happen. “As a mogul skier on the US Ski Team, every competition I compete in is important. Several times I have had my contacts blur while I am part way through my mogul run, or upside down in a backfl ip. This is the main reason I decided to have [LASIK] surgery.”

In the world of professional sports, Heather is certainly not alone. Many athletes are looking to LASIK surgery to improve their game. Vision is critically linked to performance in sports. Professional athletes have a greater need for sharp vision than most, and test their vision under demanding circumstances. The ability to see the spin on a fast ball, or accurately read the slope of the green can make the difference between winning and losing. The ability to see well without worrying about glasses or contacts translates into confi dence and a competitive edge. Besides clarity of vision without worry of eyewear mishaps, many athletes report better peripheral vision and better depth perception after LASIK surgery.

When LASIK was fi rst approved nearly fourteen years ago, many athletes understood what a benefi t good vision without glasses or contact lenses could be, but few were willing to jump on board and risk a multi-million-dollar contract for the possibility of better vision. However, recent improvements to LASIK surgery, such as safer blade-free IntraLase and wavefront-optimized treatments, have resulted in superior safety and better results than ever before. Today, LASIK surgery seems to be nearly as commonplace among top athletes as a personal trainer.

Many teams, understanding the importance of sharp vision for their athletes, have created alliances with an eye surgeon or LASIK center with whom they feel they could trust their player’s vision. Several professional sports teams in Utah have recently selected Hoopes Vision as their “offi cial LASIK provider,” giving their athletes a starting point should they be interested in vision correction surgery. The Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, Utah Flash, and Miller Motorsports Park have all selected Hoopes Vision as their offi cial LASIK provider. Over the last several years, Hoopes Vision doctors have corrected vision of many athletes including: former professional basketball players Devin Durrant and Natalie Williams, the Utah Jazz Bear, Utah Flash Fox, Utah Flash assistant coach Dale Osborne, former professional football player and University of Utah coach Kris Hill, former University of Utah quarterback Lance Rice, Real Salt Lake assistant coach and former MLS player Robin Fraser, U.S. Ski Team members Landon Gardner and Heather McPhie, world record speed skater Nate DiPalma, former Chicago White Sox baseball player and all-star Vance Law, professional motorcycle racer Shane Turpin, and professional golfers, Boyd Summerhays, Clay Ogden and Mike Reid.

Of course, one need not be a professional athlete to enjoy the benefi ts of LASIK surgery. “Most of our patients have some form of physical activity in which they are expecting to fi nd more enjoyment without the constraints of glasses or contact lenses. It may be jogging every day, or a weekly game of basketball, or even just waterskiing once or twice a summer,” said Dr. Phillip Hoopes, chief surgeon at Hoopes Vision. “I think a lot of people are expecting LASIK to help them in whatever sport they play regularly, but people are often surprised at the numerous ways LASIK enhances the rest of their life.”

Professional golfer Mike Reid had LASIK surgery expecting it to make things more convenient on the golf course –which it did. But, according to Mike, the way it affected his daily life was just as important. Mike recalls, “You don’t realize how much more full your life is when you can have that pick-up game of basketball, or grab your nine year old and start romping around the house. Just a thousand little things like that have made my life a lot better. Not just more convenient, but more full…more rich. What you don’t expect are all those other moments that come and go quietly and don’t make much notice when they happen, but they all relate back to that decision to get this (LASIK) done and get it done right.”

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Night Time Vision and LASIK

By Hoopesvision on August 7, 2009

Night time halos and glare have always been a common concern for patients considering LASIK. Early on, in the history of LASIK surgery, it was expected that many patients would have some increase in halo and glare at night. Lasers designed to perform traditional treatments and even wavefront guided treatments tend to fl atten the cornea and induce or create spherical aberration. Finally, new lasers (Allegretto Wave® and Zeiss MEL80®) have been designed from the ground up to incorporate wavefront principles in every treatment, and maintain the round prolate curve to the cornea rather than fl attening it. These lasers can preserve or improve quality of vision in regards to glare and night driving glare providing better vision both day and night.

The key is the ability of these new lasers to perform a wavefront optimized procedure. The use of wavefront optimized ablation prevents or reduces the induction of spherical aberrations. This results in a better night vision and less sensitivity to glare. The natural shape of the human cornea is aspheric. This means that all light rays meet in one sharp focus point. The Allegretto Wave® and Zeiss MEL80® laser systems perform an ablation with the objective of maintaining a natural postoperative corneal shape, thereby preserving the cornea’s asphericity. Every treatment is customized to the patient’s individual refraction and corneal curvature.

In the Allegretto Wave FDA trials, patients who have had their vision corrected with a wavefront optimized treatment generally reported night time vision quality to be as good as or better than before LASIK. The doctors at Hoopes Vision were early adopters of this new technology, and are the highest volume Allegretto Wave® users in the country. Dr. Phillip Hoopes notes “We obtained our Allegretto Wave® laser in August of 2004, and soon replaced it with the faster Allegretto Wave EyeQ 400®. Our results, using newer wavefront optimized lasers, have been the best I have seen. Not only are patients generally very happy with their vision both day and night, but the need for enhancement procedures to be done later on has dropped to nearly two percent.”

The company Alcon Laboratories seems to share Dr. Hoopes’ view. They have been impressed enough with the wavefront optimized technology that in 2008 they purchased Wavelight (the manufacturers of the Allegretto Wave®) and will be soon replacing their LadarVision® line of excimer lasers with the Allegretto Wave.

To see if wavefront optimized technology is right for you, please call (801)568-0200 and schedule a free consultation with a doctor at Hoopes Vision.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Which LASIK Laser is Best?

By Hoopesvision on August 5, 2009

It can be confusing for someone looking into LASIK, trying to compare LASIK centers. Each place you go, will tell you why their laser is best. The truth is, no single laser is going to be the best for everyone. If it were that simple, all doctors would use the same laser. Your eyes are as unique as your fi ngerprint, so it makes sense that a onesize- fi ts-all approach doesn’t work, right? That’s why Hoopes Vision has brought together what they believe to be the most comprehensive group of onsite LASIK lasers anywhere in the country featuring 6 of the most advanced LASIK lasers available in the United States today.

Their laser suite is home to the nation’s first purchased Zeiss MEL80™ laser, Utah’s fi rst Allegretto Wave Eye-Q 400™, the Bausch & Lomb Technolas®, the Alcon LADARVision®, and the VISX CustomVue™ with Iris Registration (iLASIK®) excimer lasers, as well as the new, safer IntraLase™ FS60 laser (see below) for fl ap creation. Having multiple lasers on-site, as well as multiple vision correction treatment options, makes it possible for the doctors at Hoopes Vision to choose a surgical plan that optimizes your best vision outcome.

Perhaps you will benefi t most from a custom wavefront iLASIK® procedure with the Visx CustomVue™ laser, or maybe a wavefront optimized custom treatment on the newest FDA approved Zeiss MEL80™ laser, combined with the safety of the IntraLase™ laser. Whatever technology you need to achieve the best results, chances are you’ll fi nd it here at Hoopes Vision. Dr. Hoopes remarks, “Having experience with, and instant access to such a wide choice of lasers helps us truly customize each patient’s treatment. We are fi nding, based on our experience, that the best results are being achieved with the IntraLase™ laser for step one, and a wavefront optimized treatment provided by the newer lasers like Wavelight’s Allegretto Wave™, or Zeiss MEL80™, and we feel very fortunate that we still have the other lasers on-site for the few times we feel they will be of greater benefit.”

To schedule a complimentary LASIK exam, and find out which laser will work best for you, call (801)568-0200.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |

Is LASIK Right for Me?

By Hoopesvision on August 2, 2009

It won’t cost you a dime to visit Hoopes Vision and get an exam and detailed professional consultation to determine if you are a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery. You will walk away from this visit knowing how LASIK works and what the advantages and risks are for you — all for free.

Patient education is just one example of the excellent service offered at Hoopes Vision, a vision correction center that specializes in LASIK surgery, cataracts and lens implants.

“We focus heavily on patient education,” says Phillip Hoopes Sr., M.D., the founder of Hoopes Vision and the author of books about LASIK, cataracts and lens implants. These books are free to anyone interested in LASIK or other vision correction procedures. “Patient education is key. We want patients who come here to know what the options are out there, and to feel confi dent in their decision of whether or not to have surgery.”

The practice was designed from the start to specialize in LASIK, other refractive surgeries and cataracts. The LASIK suite at Hoopes Vision is home to more lasers than any other center in Utah. The suite, with six laser devices, features the latest and safest technologies in laser vision correction. The doctors are able to tell you which laser technology will be able to best address your unique vision.

To learn more, go to www.hoopesvision. com, or call Hoopes Vision to schedule a detailed LASIK consultation. It’s free.

For a complimentary copy of “What You Should Know about LASIK and Other Refractive Surgeries” or “Cataracts and Implants: a Guide for Patients and Their Families”by Dr. Hoopes and Dr. Hoopes, Jr. please call (801)568-0200.

Posted in Lasik in Utah |