DR. JOSEPH DELLO RUSSO

Dr. Dello Russo is interviewed by Refractive & Cataract Surgery Today

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:48:39 +0000

New York and New Jersey Laser Eye Surgeon Dr. Joseph Dello Russo was recently interviewed by trade magazine Refractive & Cataract Surgery Today. In the article, he speaks about the latest laser technologies and new techniques in the Ophthalmology field. Dr. Dello Russo discusses the evolution of the cataract and refractive surgery market and speaks about his practice, international experience and plans for the future.

To read the full interview, please click here

Dr. Dello Russo featured in The New York Times

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:09:24 +0000

Dr. Dello Russo was featured as a celebrity resident of Alpine, N.J in a recent article in New York Times’ Sunday edition. “Alpine has been a haven for entertainment and sports figures who want to hang their hats somewhere private: The Yankees pitcher C. C. Sabathia moved in last year; the rapper Sean Combs is a resident, as is the prominent laser eye surgeon Dr. Joseph V. Dello Russo Jr.”

To read the full article please click here

Watch the LenSar Video

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:22:30 +0000

Please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpgvW2C4yuQ to watch a video that further explains how the new LenSar technology works. You can read more about it in my previous post, which also includes an explanation about current cataract surgery technologies and the potential promise of the new device.

LenSar: New Laser Cure for Cataract

admin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:24:11 +0000

It is commonly believed that cataracts are treated (about three million procedures in the U.S. per year) with a laser device. Eye surgeons around the world need to spend a lot of time while counseling with patient who are about to undergo cataract surgery to explain it is currently not performed using a laser. But that may soon change since a new laser device shows promising results in this treatment. The beleaguered surgeon can then reassure his patients that they are being treated with a laser, which they have always presumed anyway.

There are 3 start-up laser companies who are working on laser technology that can treat cataracts. Dr. Joseph Dello Russo,who was part of the original team of doctors who performed the clinical trials of laser eye surgery, is affiliated with one of these companies, LenSar, who presented results from clinical trials on 10/24/2009 at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual meeting in San Francisco. The new laser has also been recently mentioned in professional publications (Journal of cataract and refractive surgery, September 2009).

Currently, doctors are using a device created in the mid 1970′s by famous eye surgeon Dr. Charles Kelman. While sitting in a dental chair having his teeth cleaned he realized that the sonic dental cleaner is able not only to clean the tar between the teeth but also to dissolve cataract, a milky growth on the lens of the eye. At least that is how he related to his epiphany, afterwhich he shouted “eureka! a safer way to cure my patients’ cataracts”. As they say the rest is history so humorously related by him in his memoirs “I DID IT MY WAY”. It would take another ten years for him to perfect the device and for it to become the standard of cataract surgery for the entire world. Who knows if he ever thought that his “eureka” moment would be heard forever and everywhere on the planet?

But Charlie was a bit of a devil, he was. Since the device would dissolve the lens he gave it in greek name “phacoemulsifier” (lens dissolver). Although the name had a scientific as well as some “snob appeal”, it did not easily flow off one’s tongue. Not to be deterred from doing it his way, Charlie later explained that it was “like a laser”. Lasers at the time were very new to medicine. And so cataracts were eventually explained by frustrated surgeons as being treated with a laser: “yes, yes, of course I will be using my laser on your cataract”, since prospective patients just knew that their friends had their cataracts removed by laser.

In 2000, Dr. Dello Russo invested in a new type of laser that would replace the blade used in lasik which was very new at the time. Dr. Dello Russo was intrigued by a start-up company known as INTRALASE, operating out of San Diego, California. Not only did he lend money to keep the company afloat for most of that year but he also ordered the very first two successful commercial lasers that were fabricated and sent to his offices in 2002.

Dello Russo has been first in recognizing emerging ophthalmic technologies. He admits to buying the first laser to be used for lasik in 1989, the first to buy the very first two Intralase lasers, the first to recognize an advance in lasik laser technology, known as the ATC laser (created by the same scientist, Ramndy Frey, Ph.D.) He admits to quite a few other “firsts”, but he says that is what added so much fun to his career: “I always kept my nose to the ground sniffing out what new device might be out there, start-ups needing a little extra push by the likes of me.” Finding a possible new emerging technology, latching onto it and then helping to launch it for the benefit of the world’s patients.

Back to 2004. LenSar was formed that year by scientist Randy Frey, Ph.D., Dr. Joseph Dello Russo, as well as a special team of proven professionals. The same wavelenght laser used in Intralase devices was utilized by Randy Frey to alter the nature lens of the eye. Creating a company with four walls and dedicated staff took up the first year of LenSar. Experiments with dead animal eyes were to soon follow. About two years ago human eyes were safely but partially treated with the laser outside the U.S. After about 100 eye treatment, the research seems to be positive. We are still very far from a proven commercial product but we are likewise reassured that our studies have some merit since two other companies have followed our course.

So hopefully surgeons will soon feel confident to tell their patients “well, of course I will be using my safe and precise laser to take care of your cataract”!

Telemundo Article in Spanish on Providing Free Lasik to U.S. soldiers

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:56:12 +0000

Click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlFGZKNSiVo to watch the article.
Description (in spanish): El doctor Jeffrey Dello Russo ofrece cirugía LASIK para hombres y mujeres que sirven en el ejército por 4 de Julio.

Twenty Two Returning Soldiers from Iraq Receive Free LASIK from Dr. Dello Russo

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:42:46 +0000

A group of soldiers awaiting deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq received free Lasik performed by Drs. Joseph and Jeffrey Dello Russo at the Dello Russo LaserVision Center.

Staff Sgt. Robert Marks of Rockaway, New Jersey who just returned from Iraq and was there for his one year vision check said “it was like Christmas” when he found out during a routine eye exam that the Dello Russos would perform a laser eye surgery for free. ”I really couldn’t afford to pay for the procedure what with the economy”, added Sgt. Marks. ”You really can’t do our job with glasses. As a sniper, the reflection from the lenses will give away your position. Drs. Dello Russo are true American heroes. Getting this surgery made our job so much safer and easier.”

Performing free operations on military personnel has become an ongoing cause for Drs. Joseph and Jeffrey Dello Russo, who said this is the fourth round of surgeries they have performed in the last few years on close to fifty soldiers. Dr. Jeff Dello Russo remarked that “It is quite a sight seeing all these brave guys and gals, all in uniform, milling around with their eye shield on, waiting for each other.”

“Watching these brave heroes in uniform, and seeing their excitement following the less than 11 seconds per eye procedure makes it all worthwhile”, said Dr. Jeff Dello Russo. ”It feels great to be able to give back and made the July 4th holiday more meaningful.” said Dr. Joseph Dello Russo.

When the soldiers return for their post operational vision check, Drs. Dello Russo will make sure all of them will not need to use eyeglasses any longer. Most patients eyesight is restored to 20/20 in a procedure that is now more affordable thanks to new financing programs with low monthly payments.

EyeTube: New Video-Based Resource for Eye Surgery

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:03:28 +0000

A new website, www.eyetube.net, now offers access to hundreds of different videos, divided into categories such as Cataract, Cornea, Glaucoma, Laser Vision Correction, Ocuplastics, Refractive IOL, and Retina. Users can watch a few seconds of each video but need to register to the site in order to have free access to all videos.

New video – history of the excimer laser

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:47:11 +0000

As one of the researchers of Lasik back going to 1987, Dr. Dello Russo recommends this chronological history of the evolution of Lasik as true and inclusive.
Watch here: http://www.aao.org/isrs/publications/excimerlaserhistory.cfm

You can also look at the new Dello Russo channel on YouTube to see ads, news stories and other video materials that were gathered over the years: http://www.youtube.com/user/dellorussovideo

THE EXCIMER LASER EVOLUTION

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:24:26 +0000

Pioneers of the Excimer laser for Refractive Surgery took attendees on a journey through the quarter-century following the first clinical application of the Excimer laser to correct astigmatism on the 25th Anniversary of the Excimer laser. In a combined meeting with the International Society of Refractive Surgeons of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (ISRS/AAO) and the European society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) on Sunday, Stephen Trokel, M.D., N.Y., described how the laser was developed, how it evolved and then reached clinical application.

The Excimer laser was originally used for etching silicone computer chips in the 1970s. In 1982, Rangaswamy Srinivasin, James Wynne, and Samuel Blum, who worked in IBM research laboratories, found that tissue could be removed with a laser without causing any heat damage to the neighboring material. Dr. Trokel saw the potential for this to be applied to corneal refractive surgery. Charles Munnerlyn, Ph.D., Santa Clara, Calif., who was introduced to the Excimer laser in 1983 by Dr. Trokel, discussed the evolution of Excimer laser algorithms. It was Dr. Munnerlyn’s algorithms for required ablation depths that Dr. Trokel first used to begin performing the surgery on rabbits.

From a historical narrative, to the description of present applications of the Excimer laser, speakers moved on to discuss the future of the Excimer laser. Theo Seiler, M.D., Ph.D., Zurich, Switzerland, talked about the application of the laser on eyes that have undergone collagen cross-linking, which he said has a high efficacy and low complication rate. Presenting a case study, he said the combination of surface ablation and collagen cross-linking seems to be a reasonable approach though further research is needed.

As a sum up of the Excimer laser’s advancement through the years, Yaron S. Rabinowitz, M.D., Los Angeles, Calif., presented a video of the history of the laser, which will be made available for members of the Academy. This year’s Barraquer medal was awarded to Roger F. Steinert, M.D., Irvine, Calif., who delivered the Barraquer lecture titled, “Corneal Surgery is Refractive Surgery.”

GOOGLE INTRODUCES NEW HEALTH WEB SITE

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:30:03 +0000

According to an article from the July 2008 issue of Ophthalmology Times, Google has launched a new health site www.google.com/health designed to allow for patients to create pesonal online profiles, import medical records, learn more about health issues, search for doctors and hospitals. The Cleveland Clinic is a partner in this venture.

Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Product and User Experience at Google, said that “through our health offering patients will be empowered to manage their own records”.