Dr. James Salz Is Among the First Doctors in Southern California to Offer Treatment of Farsightedness with Alcon’s Wavefront-Guided CustomCornea® Procedure

Dr. James Salz (www.drsalz.com) becomes one of the first laser eye surgeons to offer treatment of farsightedness, as well as nearsightedness. With FDA approval, Dr. Salz can now treat people affected by farsightedness, or people who have difficulty seeing objects close up, with the wavefront-guided CustomCornea® procedure on the Alcon Ladar-Vision excimer laser. Previously, only people affected by nearsightedness, or people who have difficulty seeing objects at a distance, could be treated with the CustomCornea® procedure. Dr. Salz is affiliated with the Laser Eye Associates, which had been one of the 5 United States FDA study centers for the CustomCornea® Alcon trial and is the medical monitor of the National Alcon FDA studies for Wavefront-Guided LASIK procedures.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 6, 2006 -- Dr. James Salz (www.drsalz.com) becomes one of the first laser eye surgeons to offer treatment of farsightedness, as well as nearsightedness using the Wavefront-Guided CustomCornea® Procedure of the Alcon excimer laser systems. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) recently approved the expanded use of this unique laser system to include the wavefront-guided treatment of farsightedness with or without astigmatism. This approval was the industry's broadest wavefront-guided hyperopic indication for Alcon's CustomCornea® procedure on both the LADAR6000(TM) laser and the LADARVision(R) 4000 System. Consequently, laser eye surgeons are able to treat hyperopia and hyperopic astigmatism (+0.75D to +5.00D sphere with up to -3.00D cylinder) in addition to the current range for myopia and myopic astigmatism.

Laser Eye Associates had been one of the 5 United States FDA study centers for the CustomCornea® Alcon trial. Dr. Salz is the president of Laser Eye Associates, Inc. Dr. Salz is the medical monitor of the National Alcon FDA studies for Wavefront-Guided LASIK procedures. With this FDA approval, Dr. Salz can now treat people affected by farsightedness, or people who have difficulty seeing objects close up, with the wavefront-guided CustomCornea® procedure on the Alcon Ladar-Vision excimer laser. Previously, only people affected by nearsightedness, or people who have difficulty seeing objects at a distance, could be treated with the CustomCornea® procedure.

According to Dr. Salz, “roughly one-fourth of the population is affected by farsightedness, and our ability to now use the CustomCornea® procedure to treat our farsighted patients will ensure that they enjoy the same successes that our nearsighted patients have been realizing with the CustomCornea® procedure.” Dr. Salz presented the results of this study at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in March of this year and his presentation was awarded the “Best Paper of the Session.” For additional details on this study, please see http://www.sbwire.com/news/view.php?sid=6530.

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