Harbin Clinic Eye Center “Firsts”

On February 13, 2006 Dr. Harton was the first surgeon in Georgia to implant the newly FDA approved Visian ICL. The ICL, or Implantable Contact Lens, is a lens inserted into the eye to correct nearsightedness. This will provide an alternative to LASIK but will more importantly provide an option to individuals who for one reason or another are not LASIK candidates.

ICL

Dr. Harton with the first people in
Georgia to have the ICL procedure

Dr. Bob Harbin was the first surgeon in Northwest Georgia to implant Intraocular Lenses (IOLs) into cataract patients. Prior to the introduction of IOLs, patients who underwent cataract extraction were left without a lens in the eye, a condition called “aphakia”. Aphakic individuals require very thick and often uncomfortable glasses to restore their vision. The implantation of an IOL at the time of surgery greatly reduces and often eliminates the need for full time spectacle use providing patients with greater satisfaction after their surgery. Today, virtually every patient receives an IOL at the time of their cataract surgery.

Dr. Bob Harbin with a patient

An Intraocular Lens or IOL

LASIK is laser vision correction surgery for the correction of nearsightedness was first performed on site in Northwest Georgia by Dr. Paul Harton. Dr. Harton first provided LASIK locally in Rome in June 1999. Since then, thousands of patients have successfully reduced their dependence on glasses and contact lenses without traveling to Atlanta or Chattanooga. Today, Dr. Harton performs Intralase (blade-free) LASIK surgery on patients to correct nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia) and astigmatism in both Rome and Kennesaw, as well as in Atlanta.

Dr. Harton and the VISX laser for LASIK surgery.

In 2004, Harbin Clinic Eye Center became the first practice in Georgia – and one of the first in the nation – to implant a new type of Deluxe IOL called the CrystaLens. The CrystaLens is an IOL with the unique ability to change its position within the eye. Like today’s conventional IOLs, the CrystaLens allows the surgeon to make the patient less dependent on glasses for distance vision post operatively. However, in contrast to conventional IOLs, the CrystaLens can also reduce the need for reading glasses.

CrystaLens

Conductive Keratoplasty or CK was first done locally at the Harbin Clinic Eye Center by Dr. Harton in April 2005. This procedure helps individuals over 40 with good distance vision reduce their dependence on reading glasses.

CK unit