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O P H T H A L M O L O G Y
***
PHACO HANDPIECE
REPAIR
Complete
handpiece
rebuild on most
major brands
Advanced Optisurgical Inc. has over
30 years of combined experience
repairing phaco handpieces.
All repairs are performed at our facility
in Lake Forest, California USA.
• New Ultrasonic Motor
• New Connector
• New Cable and Strain Reliefs
AOI also carries in stock phaco
accessories such as tips, sleeves,
cautery cables, pencils and forceps,
I/A handles and tips, vitrectomy
cutters, and infusion sleeves.
Call AOI for Information
800.576.1266 or 949.580.1266
***
Stonecipher, MD, director of the Laser Center
in Greensboro, N.C., which offers similar
advanced treatments. "I used to spend 30 minutes going through all the variables, covering
every possible detail, only to have people say,
'You're the doctor. What do I need?'" says Dr.
Stonecipher.
Eventually, he boiled the discussion down to
2 questions: "I say, 'You've come to me for a
consultation. You've determined you have a
problem. You can't see because of cataracts.
Do you want to be without glasses?' Usually
about 60 to 75% say they would like that. The
second question: 'Are you willing to pay extra?'
If yes, we can move forward."
He's careful not to make assumptions about
what the answers will be. "With a lot of
patients, you think they can't afford some
type of premium channel," he says. "But it
turns out they can."
The biggest obstacle, says Dr. Stonecipher,
is what happens when older patients go home
and tell their offspring what they've decided.
"Unfortunately, the people who most often
put an end to the plans are the children. They
say, 'Don't spend my inheritance. You're 83
years old, you don't need this.' Patients go
home after deciding to have the procedure
and then they get talked out of it."
The best preemptive strike may be to
