CustomerSpotlightDR. David LinSeeing is BelievingDr.David Lin isone of the mostsuccessful and accomplishedeye surgeons inthe country. Togetherwith his partner Dr.Simon Holland, Dr. Linhas performed over60,000 proceduresat his independentlyowned clinic, the PacificLaser Eye Centre inVancouver, BC. As youcan imagine, Dr. Linis an extremely busyman, but he was morethan willing to take afew minutes to talk withus about his career, hiscars, and the rapidlyadvancing field of correctivelaser eye surgery.Interview by Ben Hudson<strong>OpenRoad</strong> driver |
How did you first become interested inpursuing laser eye surgery?At medical school my goal was to becomean eye surgeon. Specifically, I wanted todo corneal transplant surgery. Duringmy postgraduate work at LouisianaState University I was introduced to theexcimer laser and I participated in thefirst laser eye surgeries ever performedin the world.So you were the first student to betrained in laser eye surgery?Well, I was one of five students involvedin the studies. But yes, I was definitelyone of the first.What did that first machine look like?It was gigantic. It took up half the room.I am just trying to imagine being thefirst patient to sit in front of that thing.The first patients we had were great.They knew it was really experimentaland most of them were going to requiretransplants anyway. But the first testsworked beyond our expectations.Do you remember the look on the firstperson’s face when they realized theycould see?Well, it didn’t really work quite like that.Back then it took two days to treat eacheye and almost a week before we coulddetermine the final results. But thepatients came back with 20/20 visionand we were all totally amazed.What do you think are the most significantdevelopments in the field of correctivelaser eye surgery?The first LASIK treatment performedin 1994 was a significant development.But, the technology and techniques arealways being refined. We recently introducedCustom Surgery, which is a technologythat allows us to map out eachcornea with fourteen or fifteen thousandpoints. These points represent thebumps and valleys that exist on the cornea.Mapping out these features enablesus to use the laser to create a verysmooth contour on the cornea. That’s thegoal of custom laser surgery – to create aperfect contour on the cornea.How long does it take before thesedevelopments are available to yourpatients?Usually about three or four years. I aminvolved in a lot of the research. Theplanning begins at the mathematicallevel, then at the software level, and thenthe safety level. Then we go through trials,start compiling the results, and thenthose results need to be verified beforethe technology is made available.So you still adhere to the old fashionedfundamentals of good scientific researcheven though the technology seems tohave gone far beyond imagination?Absolutely. You have to have good, verifiabledata. All our work is based on thedata we’ve collected during the 60,000surgeries we’ve completed. Each datapoint helps us improve our techniques.It seems like you are a cross between asurgeon, a scientist, a computer engineerand a math wizard.Yeah (laughs), in my field a good surgeonhas to be all those things. But most importantlyyou have to be a critical thinker witha very strong background in math. And Ilove math.Do you think that laser technology hasthe potential to replace the scalpel?For eye surgery, absolutely. But surgeonswill always have a need for a scalpel.Lasers are the cornerstone of cheesyscience fiction.I am sure that has led to some prettycommon misconceptions about laser eyesurgery. People have very high expectationsabout how the laser actuallyworks. There is this notion that becausethere’s no scalpel the procedure is totallysafe. But the laser does not work alone.Ultimately the patient’s safety is highlydependent on the caregiver.Do people assume that their vision isgoing to be fixed immediately?Most people certainly expect instantaneousresults. And with LASIK we wereable to produce nearly instantaneousresults. Usually, by the morning after theprocedure, the patient’s vision is 20/20.With 60,000 surgeries under yourbelt, are any of them particularlymemorable?There are so many. I think the biggestimpact is on people who are reallynearsighted, people who basically cannotfunction without glasses. For thosepeople, simply waking up in the morningand being able to see the alarm clock isa huge change for them. It seems like asmall thing, but it represents a dramaticimprovement in their quality of life.Is that what keeps you going?Seeing people happy and smiling the dayafter the procedure. That’s what keepsme coming back.Do you ever get away from the office?Oh, yeah. I play a lot of golf and I love toski. The centre is open five days a weekbut I think it is really important to taketime off. Surgery is high-pressure, highstresswork. You need to pace yourselfand stay balanced.Where is your favourite place to ski?I love skiing at Whistler, especially withmy kids. I have skied all my life and Ireally enjoy sharing that experience withmy children.How many children do you have?I have two girls.So when you get the family all togetherand go skiing, what do you drive?I drive a Lexus RX 400 hybrid. My wifeis quite environmentally conscious andshe drives a Toyota Prius, which is alsoa hybrid. The Lexus RX 400 is a prettybig SUV and I am amazed at how muchfuel the hybrid technology saves. But Ilike it for more reasons than that. It isso quiet. Not to mention, I pull into mygarage and there is virtually no exhaust,no smell. It’s great.And if you could drive the car of yourdreams, what would it be?Well, I have been fortunate enough inmy professional life that I have beenable to buy one of my dream cars. It’s apretty nice car, but I’m not going to tellyou what it is (laughing). I drive it justfor fun.I bet it doesn’t have a hybrid engine in it.No, no it doesn’t.<strong>OpenRoad</strong> driver |
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