Nor had I spoken to any individuals who wished they had never had the procedure — of which, I have since learned, there are plenty.
On April 13, 2007, I had the surgery. Dr. Belmont’s colleague examined me the next day. My vision was a little blurry, but apparently that was normal. Dr. Belmont said that everything looked good on subsequent visits, too. But the blurriness never went away.
At night, I saw halos around streetlights; neon signs bled; the moon had two rings around it like Saturn. My eyes felt sore, a result of dry eye, which also causes sporadic blurriness.
Dr. Belmont told me that sometimes women of a certain age who are undergoing hormonal changes or who take certain medications get dry eye. It would have been nice if I’d known my advanced age (39) might be problematic before I sat in the chair.
I cut out all prescription and nonprescription pills. Didn’t help. The doctor told me to use Refresh Plus, over-the-counter drops that temporarily help dry eye. The drops cost around $12 a box; I go through two boxes a week. She also prescribed Restasis eye drops, which can help increase tear production. They didn’t for me.
True, I no longer wear glasses. But the 20/20 line on the eye chart is blurry. I can make it out only if I squint, and it takes about a minute to read. My doctor views this as proof of the surgery’s success.
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The above story is from a woman who had eye surgery, and the true story was published after her doctor put it down as being a success ,, did it go on the record as such? As for that matter, there is no national data base to record failures on !! So where do they get the 94 percent success rate? From the woman above?, from me? Horrible system when so many of us can be harmed and these types of doctors keep on going
Protect yourselves,, do not go to these greedy money hungry butchers.. My experience was with Dr Porter and Dr Downing at the Downing McPeak vision center, here in Bowling Green , this is the main body of it. I know what she means, see when I went to Dr Porter , he also told me my surgery was a sucess !! And that the vision would improve,, etc yada yada yada,, then went to one of the owners of the center Dr Downing who tried to " improve " my outcome , which at least they were admitting that I had gotten cme and now my vision went from 20/40 to 20/100 with the likelihood of getting worse !! Not what I consider success Porter and Downing are in Bowling Green KY ,surgery at Glasgow,, at a center they own so that they can be even more greedy and cover up their mistakes even more easily !!!!
Showing posts with label Downing and McPeak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Downing and McPeak. Show all posts
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
So, You Still Trust Your Doctor?
By now you know about my personal experience at Downing McPeak vision center in Kentucky.
I have posted about various doctors being caught performing unnecessary surgeries, in fact, statistics show that cataract surgery is one of the top surgeries performed unnecessarily.
I have written about doctors who cheat and scam the insurance companies, steal from Medicare, to chase those bucks that give them the luxuries they crave.
I have shown you where doctors will settle cases out of court , with the signed agreements that it never be disclosed, so even if you search to find out how many times they have been sued, you will never find the true amount of times.
I have personally seen , sloppiness, uncleanliness, lying, and every trick in the book to fool people into surgeries they should not have, and without the information given to them that they should have, I have seen doctors who are supposed to be upstanding citizens , who supposedly do charity work, go to other countries to " help " ( of course lots of that are free vacations with many tax write offs and some pay )
All of the above and more trickery than you can imagine, has lined the doctors pockets, left people with worse health, and left our health care system in shambles.
Hopefully this administration will finally put through health care for all people, and along with that hopefully , some oversight that will protect us from those doctors who care more about their wallets and less about your health, but in the end, it is up to the individual to protect themselves, don't blindly trust your doctor, research, research , research, then get second opinion, take someone with you that will have a clear head and listen, tape record your visit and listen to it later.
And,,,,, REPORT those doctors who cheat, steal and lie.
I have posted about various doctors being caught performing unnecessary surgeries, in fact, statistics show that cataract surgery is one of the top surgeries performed unnecessarily.
I have written about doctors who cheat and scam the insurance companies, steal from Medicare, to chase those bucks that give them the luxuries they crave.
I have shown you where doctors will settle cases out of court , with the signed agreements that it never be disclosed, so even if you search to find out how many times they have been sued, you will never find the true amount of times.
I have personally seen , sloppiness, uncleanliness, lying, and every trick in the book to fool people into surgeries they should not have, and without the information given to them that they should have, I have seen doctors who are supposed to be upstanding citizens , who supposedly do charity work, go to other countries to " help " ( of course lots of that are free vacations with many tax write offs and some pay )
All of the above and more trickery than you can imagine, has lined the doctors pockets, left people with worse health, and left our health care system in shambles.
Hopefully this administration will finally put through health care for all people, and along with that hopefully , some oversight that will protect us from those doctors who care more about their wallets and less about your health, but in the end, it is up to the individual to protect themselves, don't blindly trust your doctor, research, research , research, then get second opinion, take someone with you that will have a clear head and listen, tape record your visit and listen to it later.
And,,,,, REPORT those doctors who cheat, steal and lie.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th, Let Freedom Ring
The 4th of July represents everything that this country stands for, freedoms, goodwill and hope.
It isn't really free though, we all have an obligation to work to make this country a better place for ALL people. We do have an obligation to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, one of those peoples being the elderly, the very young and the disabled. While looking at the statistics and the cases of doctors who have ripped off medicare by not providing the correct service to the elderly, or performing unnecessary procedures against others to line their own pockets, this is sad, and this demands our attention, a few of the horrendous cases listed below involve doctors taking advantage of the elderly, young kids, and even the mentally handicapped, we must stop fraudulent doctors from these practices, if you know of a doctor who is performing unnecessary procedures, or ripping off our system by over billing medicare, going into nursing homes and mistreating those there, get together the proof, turn them in, by doing so , you can even collect part of the recovered funds and help the unfortunate in doing so, help this country by keeping our health care cost down, saving taxpayers by stopping abuse of taxpayers monies, and keeping the quality of health care high. The Obama administration has promised to crack down on medical fraud, if you know of a doctor who is cheating the system and the patients, turn him in, here are some outrageous cases that have been caught....-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip J. Gabriele, 44, and his wife, Marcella Gabriele, both of Granger, are accused of falsely and fraudulently diagnosing cataracts and other disorders in patients and performing unnecessary surgeries, according to a statement issued by assistant U.S. attorney Donald Schmid.
The indictment alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, the defendants altered patient charts and records after the fact, in an effort to make it seem as if diagnoses were accurate and correct,
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/47925197.html
The Gabrieles were found dead in their home, an apparent murder, suicide, only days after a 15 count indictment was handed down, investigation had been ongoing for a couple of years and now it will never be known exactly how many unnecessary surgeries were performed on adults and children ,,, June 19,2009
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An ophthalmologist accused of conducting unnecessary eye surgery on mentally ill residents of adult homes in New York City surrendered to the authorities yesterday and was charged with health care fraud, officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/24/nyregion/24HOME.html
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Cataract Removal
In 1993, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research warned that many operations to remove a cataract, or clouded lens of the eye, are not necessary. In those cases, the clouding had probably reduced visual acuity, but not enough to bother the patient. Despite the warning, the number of cataract operations has continued to rise -- an increase that far outpaces the rise in the older population.
The best objective indicator that you might benefit from the surgery is having a cataract that reduces your visual acuity to 20/150 even with glasses. But subjective factors are more important: If the cataract does not hamper your daily activities, you don't need surgery, regardless of what any test shows.
If you suspect you have cataracts, you may want to avoid having your initial evaluation performed by an ophthalmologist whose practice consists mainly of cataract surgery -- one who works in a special cataract clinic, for example. Some evidence suggests that such doctors perform a greater proportion of cataract surgeries on minimally impaired eyes than other eye doctors do. (((( I WISH I had known this before going to Downing and McPeak Vision Centers ))))))))))
It isn't really free though, we all have an obligation to work to make this country a better place for ALL people. We do have an obligation to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves, one of those peoples being the elderly, the very young and the disabled. While looking at the statistics and the cases of doctors who have ripped off medicare by not providing the correct service to the elderly, or performing unnecessary procedures against others to line their own pockets, this is sad, and this demands our attention, a few of the horrendous cases listed below involve doctors taking advantage of the elderly, young kids, and even the mentally handicapped, we must stop fraudulent doctors from these practices, if you know of a doctor who is performing unnecessary procedures, or ripping off our system by over billing medicare, going into nursing homes and mistreating those there, get together the proof, turn them in, by doing so , you can even collect part of the recovered funds and help the unfortunate in doing so, help this country by keeping our health care cost down, saving taxpayers by stopping abuse of taxpayers monies, and keeping the quality of health care high. The Obama administration has promised to crack down on medical fraud, if you know of a doctor who is cheating the system and the patients, turn him in, here are some outrageous cases that have been caught....-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philip J. Gabriele, 44, and his wife, Marcella Gabriele, both of Granger, are accused of falsely and fraudulently diagnosing cataracts and other disorders in patients and performing unnecessary surgeries, according to a statement issued by assistant U.S. attorney Donald Schmid.
The indictment alleges that, as part of the fraud scheme, the defendants altered patient charts and records after the fact, in an effort to make it seem as if diagnoses were accurate and correct,
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/47925197.html
The Gabrieles were found dead in their home, an apparent murder, suicide, only days after a 15 count indictment was handed down, investigation had been ongoing for a couple of years and now it will never be known exactly how many unnecessary surgeries were performed on adults and children ,,, June 19,2009
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An ophthalmologist accused of conducting unnecessary eye surgery on mentally ill residents of adult homes in New York City surrendered to the authorities yesterday and was charged with health care fraud, officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/24/nyregion/24HOME.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cataract Removal
In 1993, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research warned that many operations to remove a cataract, or clouded lens of the eye, are not necessary. In those cases, the clouding had probably reduced visual acuity, but not enough to bother the patient. Despite the warning, the number of cataract operations has continued to rise -- an increase that far outpaces the rise in the older population.
The best objective indicator that you might benefit from the surgery is having a cataract that reduces your visual acuity to 20/150 even with glasses. But subjective factors are more important: If the cataract does not hamper your daily activities, you don't need surgery, regardless of what any test shows.
If you suspect you have cataracts, you may want to avoid having your initial evaluation performed by an ophthalmologist whose practice consists mainly of cataract surgery -- one who works in a special cataract clinic, for example. Some evidence suggests that such doctors perform a greater proportion of cataract surgeries on minimally impaired eyes than other eye doctors do. (((( I WISH I had known this before going to Downing and McPeak Vision Centers ))))))))))
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Google Your Eyesight
Use your search engine for what matters most to you, your sight
You can check with web sites that rate doctors to check out your vision care specialists, of course this isn't going to be totally truthful, supposedly ratings are given by customers , but I have found some that look like maybe the employees or even doctors have gotten on there and given " their " opinion, and who can tell? It is a start just a small step.
Check out a possible eye care center by looking at their website, is it informative? Is it open to questions, can you email them and ask for more information? Is it informing? Is it honest and truthful?
For example, I looked at Downing and McPeak on the web, they give " testimonials " from supposed customers about how great they see now , after lasik, does that give you the full picture? If a center doesn't at least state by the testimonials that there are some risks involved , then does that start showing you that maybe they are a money machine instead of a vision " care " facility?
Also on the Downing and McPeak site , notice that they tell you they were " awarded " as being a top lasik center by TLC vision corporation? Sounds good right? Until you look at who TLC is, they rent and sell equipment , provide staff etc to companies ,,,, like,,, Downing and McPeak, so this company, that Downing and McPeak say gives them kudos, have financial strings to their center, not exactly a trustworthy account , you can bet that TLC has given these so called " awards " to many many of their customers!!!
Even when you go to the glossary page , there are mistakes or half truths about what some of the conditions are. The term retinitis pigmentosa has a different definition if you look into it, they might be partially correct but not a very good professional explanation.
Can you email them? no
Under their doctors profile , have many of them published research papers in the professional journals?
Look for more substance in a Doctor for your eyes than just a slick little ad type page.
Slick Ads are usually for the production type companies that want to run you through surgery quickly and make the money quickly, they usually don't really take " care " of their patients.
You can check with web sites that rate doctors to check out your vision care specialists, of course this isn't going to be totally truthful, supposedly ratings are given by customers , but I have found some that look like maybe the employees or even doctors have gotten on there and given " their " opinion, and who can tell? It is a start just a small step.
Check out a possible eye care center by looking at their website, is it informative? Is it open to questions, can you email them and ask for more information? Is it informing? Is it honest and truthful?
For example, I looked at Downing and McPeak on the web, they give " testimonials " from supposed customers about how great they see now , after lasik, does that give you the full picture? If a center doesn't at least state by the testimonials that there are some risks involved , then does that start showing you that maybe they are a money machine instead of a vision " care " facility?
Also on the Downing and McPeak site , notice that they tell you they were " awarded " as being a top lasik center by TLC vision corporation? Sounds good right? Until you look at who TLC is, they rent and sell equipment , provide staff etc to companies ,,,, like,,, Downing and McPeak, so this company, that Downing and McPeak say gives them kudos, have financial strings to their center, not exactly a trustworthy account , you can bet that TLC has given these so called " awards " to many many of their customers!!!
Even when you go to the glossary page , there are mistakes or half truths about what some of the conditions are. The term retinitis pigmentosa has a different definition if you look into it, they might be partially correct but not a very good professional explanation.
Can you email them? no
Under their doctors profile , have many of them published research papers in the professional journals?
Look for more substance in a Doctor for your eyes than just a slick little ad type page.
Slick Ads are usually for the production type companies that want to run you through surgery quickly and make the money quickly, they usually don't really take " care " of their patients.
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