Perth Laser Eye Surgery News and Blog

Nov 2018 A to Z Ophthalmology  KL Malaysia

A south east Asian Ophthalmic Conference

Dr Chan was an invited speaker at this meeting with surgeons from many countries in this region.  He held a master class regarding techniques to improve SMILE laser eye surgery results and comfort for the patients.  With SMILE surgery the accuracy can be improved by skilful control of the laser at critical moments during the procedure.

Oct 2018 AUSCRS NOOSA

A Serious Conference with a light atmosphere

Recently Dr Chan was involved in a stage debate and spoke on topics around lens implant technology.

He was honoured to be sharing the stage with some of the highest regarded eye surgeons in Australia and in the World.

Find out more about the various unconventional tasks these speakers had to perform on-stage ....here. 

Treatment of High Astigmatism with SMILE 

Continual refinement in our results

We have been performing correction for astigmatism using SMILE for several years. As a quality control process, we periodically analyse our past results.

This year we chose to analyse patients who had high degrees of astigmatism before surgery.  The results were very positive and these patients had similar final vision and treatment accuracy comparatively to other patients.

However we did discover a small but consistent pattern in our figures.  Dr Chan presented our findings in a recent Zeiss SMILE user meeting. Adjustments to our technique to account for this small variance will likely improve our results further...click here to read our analysis

Jul 2018-New Purpose Built Clinic 

A three year project

It was clear that the Hollywood clinic needed to be expanded several years ago.  Parking had also been an issue.  

We decided to invest in a purpose built premises with direct street access and parking around the building.

Click here on the image to see the time lapse video of the building project.

Read more about the planning and execution of the project here...

May 2018 - Zeiss Asia Pacific Refractive Meeting in Shanghai

Dr Chan was a key speaker in this over 1000 surgeons Meeting

He talked about how SMILE laser eye surgery is different to LASIK and how to improve on SMILE surgery technique to deal with a variety of scenarios.

This year over 1000 surgeons in the Asia Pacific region attended the meeting.  Some of the surgeons in attendance are the leaders in refractive surgery in their home city as well as the region.

Dr Chan was humbled by the depth of experience in the audience and yet honoured to be invited as a key speaker in the main symposium. Click here for a short video on the venue.

Which Eye has an Artificial Iris?

Cornea and iris reconstruction 

This patient unfortunately was totaly missing a green iris in one of her eyes due to past trauma.

We created a silicone iris implant to match her other iris to improve vision, cosmesis and reduce glare read more

Feb 2018 - ANZ Corneal Society Meeting - Sydney

Keratoconus Collagen cross-linking Results

Dr Chan has been performing collagen cross-linking on Keratoconus since 2009.  To date, he has performed over 1000 cross-linking procedures which is one of the largest single surgeon case series in Australia.

In this year's annual Australian and New Zealand Corneal Surgeon Meeting, he presented some of his results. 

Oct- Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today (CRST Europe) magazine article

A decade of innovation in SMILE

Recently Dr Chan was invited to feature in a series of articles – published in leading eye surgery magazine Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today Europe (CRST Europe) – reflecting on a decade of innovation in SMILE, and the benefits of the procedure for both patients and surgeons.

He was honoured to participate alongside some of the world’s leading authorities on SMILE, including the German inventor of the SMILE laser technique and the Chinese surgeon that holds the record for the highest number of SMILE cases in the world (around 35,000)....read more

Oct 2017 Presentation Season - RANZCO Congress

Once every ten year the annual meeting of all the eye surgeons in Australia and New Zealand comes to Perth....read more

ASCRS Eye World interview

Earlier this year while Dr Chan was presenting at an Asia-pacific meeting of surgeons, Eyeworld magazine interviewed Dr Chan about the new SMILE technique and instrument that he had invented.  

Eye World is an American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeon (ASCRS) magazine watch the video here.

Sept 2017 The West has retracted the "cheaper cataract fix" article 

Today there was an updated newspaper article in the West Australian newspaper which corrects the previous "Cheaper Fix for Cataracts" article published 2 days ago.

The previous "Cheaper Fix for Catracts" article was also removed from the West Australian website.  

Cataract is a common problem and surgery funding is generally fully covered by private health insurance or public hospital in Perth to start with anyway.  The claim of cheaper surgery with an additional device was misleading.  

We thank Cathy O'Leary, Medical Editor from the West Australian for listening to our opinion and quoted Dr Chan's comments.  

Sept 2017 Cheaper Cataract Fix - True Cost of Cataract Surgery

Today there was a newspaper article in the West Australian newspaper quoting a new technology at “a fraction of the cost of normal surgery”. We would like to explain this article in detail in this blog.

Chan Smile Instrument advertised in a national doctors magazine Medicus 

Dr Chan's invention is finally in production after 8 prototypes and nearly 2 years of development.

Is it now available internationally and locally in Australia for surgeons performing SMILE laser eye surgery.

Corneal implants for near vision correction – more than meets the eye

During the past few months we’ve been receiving enquiries from patients keen to learn more about a “lens implant to remove reading glasses for $3,000”. These enquiries are in response to a recent media report out of the Eastern States featuring a “new” type of corneal implant/inlay that promises a pain-free procedure in 12 minutes.

Unfortunately this is not always the case, as we hope to explain here......

August - Western Australia Vision Education WAVE conference 2017

WAVE is the largest optometry annual conference in Perth.  Dr Chan was invited to speak on Pterygium surgery and laser corneal and cataract surgery.  The presentations covered SMILE laser eye surgery, LASIK, and laser assisted corneal transplantation and laser assisted kera-ring implants.

He also discussed advanced pteryigum treatments including sutureless techniques and laser keratectomy associated with pterygium surgery.  

Beyond the laser, how to choose your laser eye clinic

If you are considering laser eye surgery and have felt overwhelmed by the amount of information available, chances are you are not alone.

It can be a daunting task to research laser eye surgery on your own. From unscrambling popular surgical acronyms and deciphering different treatment costs, to choosing from countless clinics claiming to have the best technology and most experience, there is a lot to consider. Read more

Without knowing it, we have performed over 500 SMILEs a while ago 

It won't be long before we reach 1000.  SMILE has become exponentially more popular since mid last year.  There is a similar trend around the world.  LASIK, PRK and Lens Implants are still very much part of what we do.  We have performed thousands of lens implant surgery for instance.  Proportionally more patients are choosing SMILE in our clinic.  

Mar 2017  -   With SMILE gaining popularity,  a Perth clinic is false advertising SMILE

This business responsible for the advertisment only provides PRK(TEMLA). This is a google search on 20th March 2017. If you click on the ad then only a booking form appears. They do not perform SMILE surgery. There will be more clinics in Perth offering SMILE later this year but this clinic is not one of them either.

Why are most Doctors wearing glasses and
not having laser eye surgery in Perth?

We frequently hear this question: why are most doctors still wearing glasses and why are your staff and family wearing glasses? These questions are angled at the issue of trust regarding our laser eye surgery or lens implant surgery. We feel that these questions are fair. Since we believe in the treatment so much, then why aren't we using it ourselves?...read more

2017 - Finally another clinic will be offering SMILE in Perth later this year

Just as we predicted, another large provider of Laser eye surgery will be committing to SMILE laser eye surgery as well later this year. It is a significant step for laser eye surgery in Perth. The investment for SMILE surgery is upwards of 7 figures. This development shows the commitment of the industry to a newer more advanced standard.  ...Read more

2017 - There is a write-up on SMILE in the West Australian

SMILE is finally in the newspaper in Perth. Hopefully more patients wearing glasses and contact lenses can benefit from this knowledge. ...read here

2017 - We are on the radio!  Have you heard us yet?

Wait for it........ You may have heard our radio ads starting January this year. Many of our happy patients have strongly advocated for us to broadcast our services to the greater public... and we have listened.  We hope this has helped many of you in finding and knowing what we do.

2016 -AUSCRS - new SMILE laser vision surgery technique 

AUSCRS stands for Australian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. AUSCRS has an annual meeting for laser eye surgery surgeons to discuss latest developments in the field of refractive surgery. This meeting has a unique "unplugged" atmosphere which is unique in the world of medical conferences. This environment is in keeping with the "fair dinkum" Australian way and allow surgeons to speak freely about their field. This meeting was, in fact, founded by a Perth surgeon over 20 years ago.

This year it was held in Port Douglas and Dr Chan presented in the film festival part of the meeting. He spoke about the new SMILE technique and latest instrumentation.... read more

2016 - First Visumax laser assisted corneal transplantation in Perth

Corneal transplantation is a 100 year old treatment. The main reasons for corneal transplantations are keratoconus, corneal swelling and corneal scarring. Traditionally corneal transplant is performed using a circular cookie-cutter blade which is limited in accuracy. Using the Zeiss Visumax laser, which is accurate to 10 microns, to perform this surgery has resulted in  the cornea being in a much better position, geometry and stability after surgery.

We are proud to be the first to perform Visumax laser corneal transplantation in Perth. The curve interface of the Visumax is ideal for corneal transplantation as there is less pressure on the eye and less distortion created by the interface unit. This curved interface also translates into more comfort for patients during LASIK or SMILE laser eye surgery ... Read more

2016 - APEC Refractive meeting in Bangkok
Introducing a new SMILE instrument and technique to the world

The 2016 APEC Refractive Meeting was held in Bangkok this year. Over 500 delegates from around the world attended this event.

Dr Chan has been developing a new instrument and technique for SMILE laser eye surgery to improve patient comfort and result. In our experience this new instrument and technique has made the procedure even more painless. The vision on the first day after surgery is also more consistent and sharper. We are hoping that more surgeons would take up this advanced technique in the future. ....see video

2015 - first 100 SMILES - a milestone for Perth laser vision surgery

In a blink of an eye, we have performed 100 SMILE laser eye surgeries in Perth. Our patients have been very happy with the results. We have been blessed with seeing our patient’s life change overnight. The excitement and joy in the waiting room on Friday mornings is amazing. One of our non-laser patients told us that we would not need any marketing if the public can hear the happy conversations between our patients in our waiting room.

Happiness is also very common with LASIK. The surprise to us is the lack of pain with SMILE....read more

2015 - One of our transplant patient's story is in the Newspaper

One of our happy transplant patient's story is in the papers. Many of our patients are young and have problems with their vision. It is very rewarding for us to see their life turn around after successful treatment.

Some of these patients have been seeing us for many years. We have had the priviledge to get to know their family and friends over time as well.

2015 - Visumax installation and
First SMILE laser eye surgery in Perth

This is not our 1st new laser installation.  Dr Chan has used 5 different laser systems in his career.  We were expecting hours of presentations, training and simulations from the laser company.  In our experience, the Zeiss installation and training process have been by far the most comprehensive and efficient. 

As for the Laser, the Visumax laser is a lot larger in size when seen inside the theatre.  The machine is very heavy and yet so delicately balanced such that no weight is actually on the patient’s eye......Read more

2015 - Visumax laser installation delay

The new Visumax Laser will be installed next to the Alcon Allegretto Wavelight laser in Perth Eye Hospital. We have been performing laser eye surgeries in Perth Eye Hospital for many years. So far, we have offered LASIK and PRK for laser vision correction. We are very excited that we will be the first in Perth to offer SMILE laser eye surgery as an advanced option.

The advantage of a certified hospital conforming to national health standard is that the surgeon and our patients can have the confidence in the sterility of the operating theatre and the expertise of the nurses and allied staff. Everything inside a hospital has to be regulated to the most stringent standards. The downside is that... Read more..

Our New Website - A portal for advanced Perth Laser vision information

We have been needing a website since 2009.  Up until now Dr Chan believes in services through referral from other Doctors or Optometrists only.  We have been providing laser eye surgery and lens implant surgery for over 6 years without a website.  According to the Allegretto laser company representatives, we are the only clinic without marketing and even a website.  Even then, through the word of mouth, and referral we have had thousands of patients.

The change this year is SMILE. We believe that this technology will be able to change the face of laser eye surgery in Perth. We will be installing this new technology later this year. With the arrival of this exciting technology we want to spread the news to everyone in Perth.

The website has been a bigger job than the team had envisioned.....read more,