April 1, 2020

One Last Cataract Surgery by Davison before COVID-19 Restrictions in Iowa Take Place

In the eye business, some believe the year 2020 is something extra to be celebrated. At Wolfe Eye Clinic, we are excited, to celebrate this landmark year and while we can't promise 20/20 in 2020 for every patient who aspires to it, our goal is to always strive for it. Whether it's through cataract surgery, LASIK surgery or managing diseases like glaucoma or macular degeneration, our goal is "better vision for a better life", every day of every year.

Now, what else will 2020 be remembered for? COVID-19 has left its mark by affecting nearly every person, family, business and industry across the country in a very large and unforgettable way. For Wolfe Eye Clinic, it temporarily means only seeing urgent and emergency patients at our 11 ophthalmology clinics and nine Wolfe Family Vision Centers around the state. Importantly we've been restricted to only performing urgent and emergency surgeries in our 35 partnering hospitals including our less than one-year-old ambulatory surgery center in West Des Moines. Wolfe Surgery Center opened in August of 2019 and is the largest of its kind in Iowa serving patients from all over the nation in six operating rooms with over 25,000 square feet.

"We were forced to cancel all elective surgery from Thursday, March 19th forward, but I appealed to our Medical Practice Committee so that we could perform one last important case on Friday," said Dr. James Davison, Wolfe Eye Clinic ophthalmologist and surgeon of nearly 40 years. "We are trying to keep people safe and moving in this unknown period by providing care as safely as possible."

Veva Larkins had cataract surgery performed on her right eye Wednesday, March 11th and while this made a huge difference for her, she was in need of her second eye to be completed so that she could function day to day. She was extremely near-sighted before surgery and needed glasses which were minus 30.00 Diopter power - even more than the typical "Coke Bottle Glasses". She really could hardly walk, much less drive or watch TV with one eye done using almost zero power glasses and the other a minus 30.00 prescription. Leaving her that way to wait for a left eye surgery, which is generally scheduled after the right eye, would have substantially increased the risk of a fall and maybe serious injury.

"We were so thankful to be able to provide her with a great outcome so that she can get back to work and begin to enjoy her day to day life with better vision," said Davison. "But with everything on hold, we like all medical and surgical organizations, are self-distancing and conserving vital resources. We do not know how long our elective surgeries will be on hold, but our staff can't wait to get back to doing what we do, helping every patient like they are family."  Davison calls the free-standing Wolfe Surgery Center a true "life-long dream" of his.

As a member of the Wolfe Eye Clinic Board of Directors, he and his partners and administration are consistently working toward the goal of providing patients and families the best private practice eye surgery center experience possible. The beautiful hallways and the advanced equipment will be maintained, cleaned and the faithful staff and physicians will count down the days until they can excitedly return to helping patients at this state-of-the-art facility.