I am a retired male living in Florida. I only wear glasses for close-up work such as reading. I do not wear contacts. For the past year, I have experienced what is known as severe Dry Eyes in both eyes. Over the past few months, it has become a debilitating condition for me. I have had to restrict my activities such as driving, watching TV, reading and working at the computer. In addition, I could not tolerate any blowing air, which restricted my going to activities such as concerts or restaurants. The symptoms included constant irritation, redness, itchiness, and excessive blinking. At times, there was also pain. My left eye was worse than the right eye and the blinking got to the point that my eyes were shut more than they were open.

I was making almost weekly trips to my Ophthalmologist. Everything was tried. Medications of all types were used including Lotemax, Restasis and hot/cold packs, but no laser work was ever done on my eyes. Nothing worked and eventually, I was using artificial tears about every half hour. As a last resort, I was sent to a corneal specialist, Dr. Steven L. Maskin, whose primary office is in Tampa, FL, with a satellite office in Largo, FL. Dr. Maskin specializes in corneal and eye surface treatment. This includes surgery when required.

I was diagnosed with two problems. One was a reduction in the amount of tears that was produced and second was a wrinkling of the thin film that covers the white of the eye called conjunctiva. There can be a number of reasons for these conditions including age. As it was related to me, the wrinkling compounded the problem. The small amount of tears that I did generate followed the wrinkles and was channeled to the side of the eyes, leaving little or no tears to form a film to cover the cornea. The first step was to close the lower tear ducts which stopped the tears from flowing away. They could then remain longer on the surface of the eye.

The second step that was done is the most important. Dr. Maskin is one of the few surgeons that has perfected the technique of removing the wrinkled film from the conjunctiva and replacing it with an Amniotic membrane (without the use of Lasers). This is done surgically as an out-patient procedure. Recently, I had the left eye done with wonderful results and I am looking forward to having the right eye done shortly. Note that I have never had any Laser work done on my eyes, however, I did have cataract surgery on both eyes almost 2 years ago. I should stress that the amniotic membrane transplant (AMT) that Dr. Maskin does is not an experimental procedure. It has been done for many years, very successfully. The amniotic membrane has been used for decades as a source of "biological dressing" for wounds. It has been used successfully for various conditions of the eyes for many years. I did a great deal of research on the Internet regarding the transplant of amniotic membrane in eye surgery and was pleasantly surprised to find that of all the work being done internationally, all medical personnel have praised the results. Amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) has become well established as a treatment for many chronic eye defects and problems. However, for Dry Eyes related to the wrinkling of the conjunctiva, I could find little that has been said or done. I have been told that in some cases, the patient may be told that nothing can be done for this specific problem. The end result is chronic pain and suffering. After my surgery, I had immediate results which are improving each day. I no longer require artificial tears for the left eye and the irritation and blinking is gone from this eye. I look forward to a full cure when the right eye is corrected. The surgery takes about an hour. The patient is given an IV which puts him/her into a twilight sleep. I was fully awake almost immediately and had no after-effects. In fact, I could continue my normal activities the same afternoon.

Dr. Maskin has had a great deal of success with this procedure as can be seen from the many letters and cards he has received that attest to the good results. He is a well-respected specialist in this field and gives all of the time necessary to make the patient feel comfortable and have their questions answered fully.