Return to Vista in the news

Dr. Barrie Soloway, Surgical Director of Vista Alliance Eye Care Associates and Director of the Alcon / Autonomous LADARVision Center of Education in LASIK at the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary's Vision Correction Center, appeared in the April 2000 issue of the national health and fitness publication, Fit, where he was featured for performing the LASIK laser vision correction surgery on a Broadway actress, Rachel DeBenedet.

Fit magazine, April 2000

I Can See Clearly Now

Broadway actress Rachel DeBenedet went from being acutely nearsighted to having stellar 20/15 vision in less than a minute.  Hello, technology.

By Lisa Klugman

One day, last autumn, Rachel DeBenedet, 33, walked Manhattan's crowded, polluted streets like she had done many times before. This time, however, she was crying for joy. "I could see," she remembers.  "It was one of the most incredible feelings I have ever had in my entire life.  I can't even describe the feeling.  It was just like a feeling of immense power.  I could see." Overwhelmed and teary among blasé New Yorkers, Rachel stopped at the nearest pay phone to call the man responsible for her newly perfected vision: Barrie Soloway, MD, the director of the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary's Vision Correction Center, and the pioneer of corrective laser surgery for eyesight.  "I left a rambling, emotional message on their office answering machine," Rachel recalls.  "I just had to thank him right then and there.  Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

Dr. Soloway is used to this kind of gratitude. He's performed more than 5,000 vision correction laser procedures in the past four years.

"Everyone has been extremely pleased with the results." says Dr. Soloway.  "Except one guy was somewhat unhappy.  He complained when he could see slightly better in one eye that was 20/15 than the other which was 20/20."

No Pain, Lotsa Gain

So here's the deal: First, Dr. Soloway decides if you're a good "candidate" or not.  (The eyelaser field has its own vocabulary.  The patients are "candidates," the surgery is a "procedure," and if another procedure is required, it's not called another procedure, its called an "enhancement."  Got it?)  Whether you're nearsighted, farsighted, you're probably a good candidate, as long as your expectations aren't bizarrely off the map. Like weight loss, giving up your glasses isn't a miracle cure for everything that's wrong in your life. "Some people have crazy desires," Dr. Soloway laughs.  "Some folks ask if I can make them see through people's clothes! Dr. S. sends those nut jobs out the door to get on with their nutty lives. (Thank goodness the seeingthroughclothes surgery is still way off in the future!) Also, to be a candidate, your vision can't be exceptionally bad (we're talking thick, cokebottle glasses) and if your pupils are way larger than average, a special laser that works with a "larger optical zone" such as the Autonomous LADARVision should be used.

After you've received your "good candidate" thumbsup, you schedule your procedure, hop aboard the doctor's table, and stand by for the procedure, which includes a twinge of discomfort as you're given a drop of antipain juice. The doctor then steps in for a total of about twenty minutes, with the actual laser work taking a whopping 20 seconds. (Rachel's eyes took 35 seconds, as her vision was fairly bad.) During those 20 or so seconds, the surgeon changes the shape of the cornea, which enables a person to see objects that are further away, or closer, as the case may be.

People are then told to forget about wearing any eye makeup for a good two weeks.  They also shouldn't rub their eyes for a while, and they're told to go home and take a nap. When they wake up, their vision should be either perfect, or well on its way to stellar. Most experienced and well-known city docs like Dr. Soloway charge $5,500 for the whole shebang, which includes "enhancements," if that's necessary, but there are less expensive (albeit less experienced) doctors out there.

Rachel Today

Although Rachel had been wearing glasses since she was 9, and contacts since she started modeling at 13, she now takes the whole eyesight thing for granted.  "Sometimes I try to remember what that incredible feeling was like, of walking down the street that first day after my operation," Rachel says.  "But I don't usually think about it.  I spent more than 20 years reaching for my glasses or contacts every morning, and now I wake up and never even think about it."

If you don't want to be dependent on glasses or contact lenses call Vista Alliance Eye Care Associates, The New York LASIK doctors toll free at 1-888-NYLASIK (1-888-695-2745) for more information on any of our Vision Correction procedures (LASIK, INtacs, ICL or SRP), to schedule a personal evaluation to help you determine the right prodecure for you, or to register for one of our classes or  seminars