Nov 6, 2008 8:35 am US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Paraplegic Lasik Patient
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
There are nearly 750,000 laser eye surgeries done every year in America, and 30 million people worldwide have had the procedure. Such procedures are usually done because a person is tired of, or can't wear glasses or contacts. One young man, however, got the surgery to to save his independence.
Eric Abreu runs his own music business, goes to college online, designs t-shirts, and all after breaking his neck in a playground accident 23 years ago. "I'm not going to be able to ever move again. I'm paralyzed from the neck down. My only mobility is my neck. From my shoulders up pretty much," he said.
So how does Eric accomplish so much? Technology.
He talks on a cell phone with the help of a home health-aid. For surfing the internet, he's amazingly adept with a mouth-stick, moving and clicking his computer cursor with a trackball instead of a mouse. He's online 16, 18 hours a day.
"After a while I start getting headaches, my eyes start tearing, my vision comes blurred," he said.
Dr. Jeffrey Dello Russo from Laser Vision explains, "Eric has one of the typical astigmatisms which gives him difficulty for distance vision. He can't wear glasses because he can't situate them and because of his situation he certainly can't wear contacts. So he is stuck."
However, he could have his astigmatism corrected with Lasik eye surgery. And it may be the first time a quadriplegic patient will undergo this procedure.
It's not a simple undertaking. First there's the transfer from wheelchair to operating table. His ventilator has to be momentarily disconnected. But once underway, the procedure itself is fairly routine.
"He should be able to work and do whatever he wants much more comfortably, without eye strain," Russo said.
Before his procedure, Eric shared what his life could become without this procedure. "I wouldn't be able to do anything from work, socially to schooling. I would be pretty much laying in bed not being able to do anything."
A few minutes after his Lasik, Eric could already tell the difference. "When I am looking, everything seems a lot more clear. Overall, this is a better feeling."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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