Volume II Issue 18

Originally published, Sunday, June 17, 2001

What do you really know about your LASIK surgeon?

Adolfo Rivera and James Lewis, MD immediately before LASIK surgery. Mr. Rivera’s daughter (see inset) had successful LASIK by Dr. Lewis months ago.

photography by Sue Cross

The single most important element in your LASIK operation is your surgeon!

Guest Editorial
Jose C. Amram, BSEE

I met James Lewis, MD, nearly two years ago. My background is engineering and I’ve spent nearly a decade maintaining excimer lasers throughout South America and the United States. I am proud to have worked for Lambda-Physik, Nidek, Icon, and Lasersight.
Nidek sent me to perform routine maintenance on his laser. Lewis spent hours observing me clean, adjust, calibrate, and tune the device. He was full of questions. This is unusual. Surgeons usually ask me to turn off the light when I’m finished fixing their machine.
The next day I stayed and watched Lewis operate. I have been in hundreds of operating rooms and have seen thousands of LASIK procedures. I was impressed. I suspect that is the reason I asked him to perform my LASIK surgery.
I am happy to report a terrific result. I see 20/20 in the left eye and an outrageous 20/10 in the right. Dr. Lewis knew my job required virtually a perfect result. He did not let me down.
I live in Florida and routinely fly from one operating room to another. I was in the ideal position to pick my LASIK surgeon. Results were more important to me than convenience.
Lewis will not compromise on care. He is always trying to refine the procedure, improve his technique, or upgrade his equipment. He is passionate about the surgery and maintains operating suites that rival any I have seen. His staff is professional and compassionate. And I know I wasn’t treated any differently than the next guy.
I’ve described Dr. Lewis as one of the last remaining intellectuals in LASIK. He studied mathematics at Princeton. He uses his computer expertise to improve the nomograms that configure the laser. He wrote the software that gave me my visual results. I think that proves my point.
Lewis trained at Jefferson Medical College and was an Ophthalmology resident at Duke University Eye Center. He did a corneal fellowship in Adelaide, South Australia. He ran the Cornea division of Hahnemann University for three years before going into private practice.
Very few of the surgeons I visit still contribute to the science of LASIK. Lewis is involved in Level 1 FDA-studies and what I suspect will be ground-breaking work on astigmatism for corneal transplant patients.
Finally, Lewis, does more than LASIK surgery. He has one of the largest cataract, implant, and transplant practices in the region. Lewis works exclusively at Wills Eye for these procedures. He has been one of the top surgeons at Wills Eye for years.
I have been behind the scenes in large LASIK practices, fancy Universities, and giant corporate centers. I have worked with doctors with large reputations (and even larger egos).
I picked the best place for LASIK. I picked Dr. James Lewis.

Debbie Breig, head LASIK surgery technician helps Dr. Lewis plan laser settings.

Dr. Lewis checks the post-operative appearance of his LASIK patient.