CK - Conductive Keratoplasty

Wang Vision Cataract and LASIK Center, Nashville, Tennessee

New Vision Treatment For Baby Boomers To Reduce Need For Reading Glasses Performed For First Time In Middle Tennessee
Reading without bifocals is within reach for as many as sixty-million Americans

Nashville, Tennessee, March 18, 2003 - Middle Tennessee residents who struggle to read a newspaper, menu or computer screen, or find themselves constantly repositioning reading material to find the right focus, now have a new option in vision correction. CK-SM (Conductive Keratoplasty SM), the latest FDA-approved procedure for Baby Boomers who are farsighted and would like to reduce their dependence on reading glasses, performed by Dr. Ming Wang at Wang Vision Institute in Nashville, Tennessee.

On Wednesday, March 18, 2003, Dr. Wang performed the first CK procedure in middle Tennessee. "CK utilizes the controlled release of radio waves, instead of a laser or scalpel, to reshape the cornea," said Dr. Ming Wang, a staff ophthalmologist of Saint Thomas Hospital and a research associate professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University. "In the CK procedure, there is no cutting and no removal of tissue. The minimally invasive CK procedure takes less than three minutes and is done in my office with only topical eye drops for anesthesia." Dr. Wang described.

A Harvard and MIT graduate, Wang is one of the few LASIK surgeons in the world today who holds a doctorate degree in laser physics. He has been at the forefront of research and technological innovations and has been a leader in introducing new laser vision technology to the state in the past several years. He was the first to introduce world's first 3-D corneal topographic technology and was state's first and only surgeon that performs the revolutionary bladeless all-laser LASIK procedure. He is frequently consulted by surgeons from around the world and is the only surgeon in the state of Tennessee that performs the new Custom-CAP treatment to treat LASIK complications. Having performed over 10,000 LASIK procedures, and on more physicians than any other Tennessee surgeon, he is considered to be a "doctors' doctor". In additional to refractive surgery, Wang is also at the forefront of innovation of new eye reconstructive surgeries to restore vision in eyes that have been previously diagnosed as irreversibly blind. He founded a new biotech company which manufactured the world's first amniotic contact lens to reduce trauma-caused corneal scar and blindness based on his US patent on the technology.

Now Wang is among the group of leading physicians in the nation to begin offering the CK procedure to their patients. The procedure was designed specifically for people over the age of forty, who generally have been seeing well until mid-age, farsighted and would like to reduce the dependence on reading glasses. Farsightedness is the most common vision disorder in America. It affects more than sixty-million Americans - a full fifty-five percent of adults over age forty, many of whom consider the need for glasses a sign of aging. The condition may cause difficulty reading the paper or seeing the alarm clock, and many find driving at night challenging. Some also experience eye fatigue at the end of the day or when reading in poor lighting. However, consumer research shows that, prior to the approval of CK, very few people between the ages of forty to sixty even considered vision correction surgery, as these Baby Boomers tend to be more conservative and risk-averse than their younger, nearsighted counterparts. CK now offers these farsighted patients a minimally invasive alternative to restore their vision, particularly their near reading vision.

About the CK Procedure: CK is performed using a small probe, thinner than a strand of human hair, that releases radio frequency energy. The probe is applied in a circular pattern on the outer cornea to shrink small areas of corneal tissue. This circular shrinkage pattern creates a constrictive band (like the tightening of a belt), increasing the overall curvature of the cornea. The use of RF energy is one of today's most advanced surgical techniques. In addition to its use in CK, RF technology is being used in prostate cancer therapy, back surgery, even cardiovascular procedures.

Wang Vision Institute, Palmer Plaza,

1801 West End Ave, Suite 1150,

Nashville, TN, 37203,

(615) 321-8881, (615) 321-8874(fax),

drwang@wangvisioninstitute.com, http://www.drmingwang.com.

© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.