Life-changing Treatment for Corneal Disease Sufferers Now Available in Florida

NEEDHAM, MA (October 24, 2012) – Corneal disease sufferers can now receive Boston Foundation for Sight’s innovative BostonSight PROSE treatment at the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Ocular Surface Center. Bascom Palmer Eye Institute has ranked #1 in the country for ophthalmology by U.S. News & World Report for the last nine years.

An estimated 2 million individuals in the United States alone suffer with complex corneal disease. Of that number, Boston Foundation for Sight estimates that over 50,000 might benefit from treatment through its PROSE Provider Network.

BostonSight’s PROSE (Prosthetic Replacement of the Ocular Surface Ecosystem) treatment can restore the sight of patients with complex corneal disease so they can reclaim their lives.  It protects and can enable vision by replacing or supporting damaged ocular function.  During the treatment process doctors custom-design and fit prosthetic devices for each patient’s unique condition and eye shape.   Approved by the FDA since 1994, it can be the ideal, and sometimes only, treatment capable of restoring vision and dramatically reducing eye pain and light sensitivity.

PROSE treatment can restore sight for patients and help them to reclaim their lives.  One such inspirational story is of a 76-year old Florida man who returned to his home after treatment finally free from the pain of ocular herpes that had stolen his sight.  Able to drive again, he cherished the freedom to enjoy every day of his retirement as if it were his first.

Under the guidance of Victor L. Perez, M.D., Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, whose specialty is ocular immunology, cornea external diseases and uveitis, PROSE treatment will be available to patients in the southeastern United States. “BostonSight’s PROSE treatment gives Bascom Palmer new techniques to treat patients suffering from severe cornea and ocular surface disease,” said Dr. Perez.

Priscilla Sotomayor, O.D., who joined the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in July 2011, completed the 9-week BostonSight PROSE Clinical Fellowship and has begun seeing patients at Bascom Palmer’s Ocular Surface Center in Plantation, Florida where PROSE treatment is available

“Making the life-changing BostonSight PROSE treatment assessable on a local and regional basis is a strategic goal for Boston Foundation for Sight.” noted its President and CEO, Eugene A. Bonte. “Bascom Palmer’s focus on the advancement of innovative treatments makes them the perfect partner to provide PROSE in Florida and the southeastern United States.” 

About Boston Foundation for Sight

Boston Foundation for Sight (BFS) is a world renowned nonprofit eye healthcare organization.  Its mission is to improve the quality of life for patients and their families by transforming the understanding, treatment and care of complex corneal disease. Since 1992 they have restored vision to thousands of patients around the world.

Their Needham, MA Center of Excellence includes a state-of-the art Manufacturing Lab, a Medical Institute, a Research Center and a Patient and Family Support Center.  Compassionate care is at the heart of their approach to medicine.

About Bascom Palmer Eye Institute

Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is ranked the #1 eye hospital in the nation, as noted in U.S. News & World Report for the ninth consecutive year. Having earned an international reputation as one of the premier providers of eye care in the world, Bascom Palmer has also been ranked #1 in patient care and residency training by Ophthalmology Times. As the largest ophthalmic care, research and educational facility in the southeastern United States, each year Bascom Palmer treats more than 250,000 patients with nearly every ophthalmic condition and performs more than 12,000 surgeries. Founded in 1962, Bascom Palmer has patient care facilities in Miami, Palm Beach Gardens, Naples, and Plantation, Florida.

For more information, visit www.bostonsight.org.

Follow Boston Foundation for Sight on www.facebook.com/bostonsight

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