An eye care clinic in Ketchikan is now offering two first of its kind laser procedures for southern Southeast Alaska.
The Ketchikan Eye Care Center in January started performing capsulotomies, which are often done after cataract surgery when scar tissue makes a person’s vision blurry. That procedure uses a laser to zap a lens capsule, or the thin membrane that surrounds the eye’s natural lens. The laser is also being used for trabeculoplasties, which can prevent glaucoma by reducing pressure inside the eye.
Eye doctor Joseph Johnson purchased the practice last fall.
“Really, my goal since doing so has been to bring in services to Ketchikan, to keep people from having to travel so far for eye care services,” Johnson said. “So that’s the overarching theme and goal of everything that I’m doing.”
Like other Southeast communities, Ketchikan is on an island and has limited eye care services. Patients often have to fly to Anchorage or Seattle to receive specialized services.
Johnson says the first step in expanding his clinic’s services was buying the laser. Both minimally invasive procedures the laser is capable of are painless and can be done in just a few minutes.
The laser so far has been used on about 60 patients. And not all of them live in Ketchikan. Johnson said some have come as far as Prince of Wales Island or Wrangell to undergo an operation.
Johnson said the laser saved a recent patient of his from going blind. He said she no longer wanted to travel long distances for eye care.
“We got the laser done for her, and now she’s back to seeing 20/20, and she’s just so grateful,” Johnson said. “That’s so incredibly rewarding to me. That’s everything that I wanted to have in purchasing this practice.”
Eugene O’Brien, of Ketchikan, has undergone capsulotomies in both eyes at the clinic. He said his vision was starting to fog, and he was amazed there was a local option to treat it. He said prep for the procedure took longer than the operation itself.
“Suddenly, everything, the whole world was brighter,” O’Brien said. “That tissue that was forming around the lens, the artificial lens, had been zapped away.”
O’Brien said given the size of the region, he wonders why the laser technology didn’t come to Ketchikan sooner. He hopes the city can become a medical hub for other Southeast communities. O’Brien said that could cut down travel expenses for patients.
“I think this kind of service is a good thing for this community, having not to have that kind of cost,” O’Brien said. “And insurance companies are probably going to love the heck out of that, not having to pay for all that kind of stuff, and we were thankful about that.”
Johnson hopes to expand his clinic to offer other services, too. He’s looking to onboard a doctor who can perform eye injections for diseases like macular degeneration. He said that could happen later this year.
Johnson also hopes to bring cataract surgery back to Ketchikan. He said it hasn’t been offered locally in over five years.
“I’m very excited, very excited about what the future has to hold,” Johnson said. “I’m fired up about it. Just hang on for the ride.”
Johnson said the clinic is working to expand what insurances they take. He said the only other eye care clinic in town is only open part-time.
Editor’s Note: Eugene O’Brien is a volunteer DJ at KRBD and is not involved with the news department.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
