News and Technology

Plan now, save up to 30%!

Have you thought about LASIK but didn't think you could afford it? TLC Laser Eye Centers has great news! By utilizing your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) through your employer, you can set aside tax-free dollars now... to pay for LASIK later. FSA enrollment periods are brief and yours may open soon. Before you set aside funds for your FSA, find out if you're a candidate for LASIK. Then see your Employee Benefits Advisor for details..

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TLC Rockville Uses Most Recent, Proven Technology

No two eyes are alike and TLC Laser Eye Centers recognizes that every refractive condition deserves the right technology. At TLC, we keep our focus on providing the safest and most advanced technologies to our patients.

LASIK is a two-step procedure that reshapes the middle portion of the cornea,

• Step One: In order to get to this middle portion of the cornea, a flap must be created so this outer surface layer can then be moved aside. This flap is created with either the microkeratome surgical blade or the IntraLase® laser. The IntraLase laser allows for an all-laser LASIK procedure also known as Bladeless LASIK. Click here to learn more.
  
  
• Step Two: This step occurs when the laser actually treats (ablates) this middle portion, reshaping the eye for improved vision and a very rapid recovery time. The types of lasers we use for Step two are:
  
  
  • The VISX STAR S4 ActiveTrak™ Excimer Laser System which is used to treat nearsightedness and farsightedness with or without astigmatism. It incorporates the VISX patented variable-beam technology with the new 3-D ActiveTrack eye tracker system that works without pupil dilation. This laser represents next-generation laser technology and reflects our continuing commitment to offer our patients high-quality treatment for each individual condition.
    
    
  • The Allegretto Wave Excimer Laser corrects spherical and astigmatic prescriptions. Refractive errors and higher order aberrations are corrected in a single step using the laser beam’s smaller diameter combined with high-speed scanning capabilities. The Allegretto is a high speed scanning spot laser that allows delivery of 200 laser pulses per second.

Independent U.S. Navy Study Presents Benefits of Custom LASIK Procedure

Study Reflects Results Shown by TLC Custom LASIK Patients

A collaborative study just released by the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force demonstrates the superiority of Custom LASIK, or wavefront, a state-of-the-art laser vision correction procedure. The study was released in conjunction with the recent national meeting of the 31st Annual Symposium of American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery held in Washington, D.C.

Captain Steve Schallhorn, MD, director of refractive surgery at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego said, "With wavefront-guided procedures we're getting better quality of vision, better clarity, better night vision, and better contrast sensitivity than we did with conventional laser eye surgeries." Col. Robert Smith of the Air Force Warfighter Refractive Surgery Program agrees. "While conventional laser correction procedures are good, wavefront-guided vision correction is ratcheting up our expectations."

Custom LASIK is the advanced procedure that uses a tool called the wavefront analyzer to measure the way light passes through your eye. Custom LASIK is able to address and correct "higher-order" aberrations, which are distortions thought to cause problems such as halos or glare. The study confirmed the benefits available to patients by showing that Custom LASIK patients did not report experiencing night driving halos or glare while conventional LASIK patients reported an increase in halos. Most patients experienced a satisfactory resolution in halos after three months.

Same Technology Approved by NASA is Available at TLC Laser Eye Centers

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) has announced the approval of Bladeless Custom LASIK vision correction for their astronauts - the same bladeless custom technology that is also available nationwide at TLC Laser Eye Centers.

NASA's approval came following a review of extensive military clinical data using the same two lasers employed in our Bladeless Custom LASIK. The research showed that the use of the combination of technologies provided superior safety and vision - results TLC Centers agree are unparalleled.

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TLC Laser Eye Centers and Dr. Whitten Chalk Up Another Masters Winner With Johnson

ROCKVILLE, MD, April 9, 2007 - Who's keeping score at The Masters? TLC Laser Eye Centers (TLC) and Dr. Mark Whitten. This year they added Zach Johnson, the surprise winner of The Masters 2007, to the long list of their own LASIK patients who are Masters Winners.

Unlike everyone else, TLC and Dr. Mark Whitten keep score by counting the number of their LASIK patients who win this prestigious tournament. The 2007 Masters winner, Zach Johnson, had LASIK to correct his vision with Dr. Whitten in October of 2005 at the TLC Center in Rockville, Maryland.

Here are some surprising statistics:

• For 6 of the last 8 years, The Masters has been won by players who had LASIK with Dr. Mark Whitten at TLC Laser Eye Centers (TLC). That's a winning average of 75 per cent for players who had LASIK, beginning with The Masters in 2000.
• This year, not only The Masters' winner - but two of the three golfers who tied for second place - had their vision corrected with LASIK.
• At least 13 golfers competing in this year's Masters had LASIK -- and 11 of those players had LASIK at TLC Laser Eye Centers with Dr. Mark Whitten.

Dr. Mark Whitten, the Lasik surgeon who corrected Johnson's vision, has performed more than 80,000 LASIK procedures. Dr. Mark Whitten is the doctor of choice who has corrected the vision of numerous golfers on the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours - as well as other professional athletes.

"I couldn't be prouder of Zach," Dr. Mark Whitten said after yesterday's win. "It makes me feel good to know that he didn't have to worry about his vision and that I played a small part in that. The win however -- that was all Zach."

Advances in technology over the last ten years have changed LASIK with wave front technology that can "map" the eye's surface to permit the correction of imperfections not even detectable in the early years of LASIK. Today, LASIK can also be done without a blade and with new lasers that produce precise results with fewer side effects and less time under the laser than in previous years.