Ira
The following is an email written by our patient Ira in response to one of his colleagues:
I want to thank you for hosting me at the Launch Party for China Personified. It was truly a memorable event reflecting the high esteem of you as a producer by the major network news organizations leading to belief in your mission at China Personified. Also thanks for including me in the delicious dinner that followed at Cafe China.
The reason that I did not email you earlier was that I was suffering from increasing pain behind my eyes that led to my not wanting to use the computer or watch TV very much. I recently met Dr. Emil W. Chynn at a Columbia Alumni event (he is a graduate of Dartmouth College, Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons and did his internship and residency in Ophthalmology at the Harvard hospitals). Finally despite trepidation about undergoing eye surgery, I decided to go ahead and undergo what Dr. Chynn suggested to me, which included Lasek corrective surgery. To my amazement, Dr. Chynn operated on both of my eyes the same morning 9 days ago and my recovery, which is continuing, has been absolutely amazing. I have been able to get rid of all of my eye junk--contact lenses, bi-focal glasses, reading glasses, etc. My vision has gone from being 20/150 or so to being 20/30. Dr. Chynn tells me that in around two more months, my vision will be
better than 20/20 and stay that way.
Dr. Chynn is truly a great surgeon, who in my opinion would make a terrific subject for one of your China Personified videos. His office is at 102 E. 25th St. and his website is www.ParkAvenueLasek.com . One final note, before I made my final commitment for the surgery, I decided to call Harvard Medical School to try to talk to the head of Ophthalmology to confirm that he was indeed the real deal. I was referred to a Dr. Reza Dana at Mass Eye & Ear Institute. Dr. Dana was unavailable but the assistant who answered the phone asked why I wanted to speak with Dr. Dana and then simply commented, "There's nobody better than Dr. Chynn."
Best,
Ira
Mallory Feuer
As a pre-med student at NYU, when I decided that I wanted to get laser eye surgery, I did EXTENSIVE research on the subject. This was because I knew I had Thygeson’s Keratitis, a rare type of disease that is aggravated by contact lenses and causes dryness, inflamed corneas, and sometimes blurred vision.
My eye doctor strongly discouraged LASIK surgery with the flap because of this disease. It was not until I walked into Park Avenue LASEK that I learned the difference between the flap cutting procedure (LASIK) and the non-cutting procedure that Emil Chynn MD performs (LASEK). Non-cutting LASEK is ten times safer with no risk of complication in the OR, and because they are removing so much less corneal tissue, Park Avenue LASEK is able to provide safe laser eye surgery for a much larger set of patients (even me, with Thygeson’s Keratitis).
Because Dr. Emil Chynn and PAL are performing an Advanced Surface Ablation on the surface with LASEK (as opposed to lasering the inside of my cornea in LASIK), they remove any surface abnormalities as the laser resurfaces the cornea. Therefore, patients like me with a surface problem (Thygeson’s causes tiny dots on the surface of the cornea) can be treated with LASEK.
Dr. Chynn and Park Avenue LASEK changed my life. Being able to see the world without my glasses or symptoms from Thygeson’s Keratitis has made me an entirely more confident person.
After my LASEK, Dr. Chynn has hired me as a pre-med intern at Park Avenue LASEK, and since I got the epi-LASEK procedure in my left eye and the regular LASEK procedure in my right eye, I can offer the best advice to prospective patients. Although both types of procedures result in the same 20/20 (or better, in my case) results, I definitely noticed a difference in healing time and general comfort with my left epi-LASEK eye. Bascially, with epi-LASEK PAL can offer the 10x safety of LASEK, with the speed of recovery of the less safe, cutting LASIK procedure.
Park Avenue LASEK is also the only center that offers (nitrous oxide) laughing gas in addition to Valium during surgery, so I was very relaxed during my surgery, and all of my friends and family were able to be there with me. It was an amazing experience, and I truly believe in the work that Dr. Emil Chynn is doing in Park Avenue LASEK; providing the option for safer laser eye surgery for a larger demographic of people is definitely an admirable achievement, and I could not be happier with my better-than-20/20 results!
Mallory Feuer
Premed NYU student
BETTER than 20/20 without my glasses and contacts since my LASEK and epi-LASEK at Park Avenue LASEK by Dr. Chynn
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 at 10:44 pm and is filed under Testimonials.
Jun Shi
a Thank You Note
Dear Dr. Chynn,
I’m writing you on behalf of my wife as her English writing skills are not good enough for her to express her thoughts.
A very sincere thank you for the amazing vision she now has.
My apologies for the delay, but I wanted to wait a few months to see the outcome of the surgery before writing this note to you. Despite my conversations with her, I was not sure exactly how well my wife can see now, so I wanted her to have a regular checkup by an optometrist. He examined her and concluded that no further correction is required. Her eyes are now at 0. Remember how poor her vision was before you performed surgery? She had -19, virtually “uncorrectable.”
The optometrist was astounded. He said, “There are only a couple of Doctors in the entire world who could do this.” He spent quite some time studying your work. I could see how impressed he was. Obviously he had never seen anything like it before and was greatly interested. He asked enough questions until he was satisfied that he understood what procedures you used, and again reiterated how “unique” this was. I felt badly for holding up his other appointments, as the waiting room was full when we left. He was so amazed by your surgery on my wife that our appointment took a lot longer than the allotted time. He wanted to admire your work and fully understand it.
I told him of how badly my wife was rejected by some other LASIK providers. One Doctor was especially callous, effectively calling her “blind” while the Doctor held her own hand 3” away from her own face to illustrate the humiliation. We were ushered out of their office quickly when they realized that they couldn’t do anything for her, due to their own inadequacies with the only option they provided, LASIK “flap” surgery. This Doctor devastated our hopes. My wife was crying when we left. This from the strongest woman I know, crying because this Doctor crushed her during her examination. “There is nothing that can be done, maybe corneal implants. She is basically stuck with her problem.” She transposed her ignorance onto my wife, causing her great pain. What that Doctor should have done was to be more knowledgeable of her chosen field. There is another option. There is hope. (This was one of the premier laser eye surgery offices in Charlotte. Despite being the largest city in North Carolina, there is no one here that could treat her.)
The experience my wife had with you and your staff instilled that hope back into her. She really liked everyone in your office, and she is not easily impressed. It might be because she is a Chinese citizen, a strong woman who has lived through things that we as Americans have never seen or could ever imagine. And on the same note, there is no one in all of China who could help her either. She had been to many Doctors over there that were unable to help her.
Due to my new job, I very regrettably could not accompany my wife to her surgical appointment. Despite her English being limited, your staff took the necessary time and effort to ensure that she fully understood both the surgery and the all important follow up medications, what they were for and what times to administer them (and also that I understood everything as well). I especially appreciated that your staff accompanied my wife to her friend’s home where she would rest after the surgery, to ensure that she arrived safely. All of this went above and beyond my expectations. I felt that everyone involved did everything they could so that my wife’s outcome was the best possible.
We are very grateful to you Doctor Emil Chynn. You have changed her life markedly when no others could. She now has her learner’s permit to drive, and I’m teaching her. Before the surgery, she could not pass the vision tests, even with the contact lenses she wore. She can read very well also. You’ve given her the ability to do those things and so much more. Her life has been enriched now in so many ways. She is very intelligent, and now she can do anything she wants because she can see well. The impact of this cannot be overstated. Her life has been forever changed. Thank you so very much.
Very Sincerely,
Robert Zatynski & Jun Shi
Please, I am very happy to help in any way I can. I would gladly testify to this remarkable outcome, and that this statement is exactly what transpired with my wife. I would be proud to see this posted on your web site. I’ve carefully and honestly composed this letter, trying to include everything pertinent.
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 6th, 2011 at 7:52 pm and is filed under About Dr. Chynn, Testimonials.
How do our employees like working at Park Avenue LASEK?
Liz - Practice Manager
PAL is never, ever, EVER boring. Whether it be learning something business related, something medical, tackling some hostile situation or, yes, actually having fun, there's always some kind of intense stimulation happening that makes everyday like some kind of crazy psychedelic trip or visionquest.
-Our patients are awesome, interesting people who truly benefit from our service in a legit, life-altering way.
-Our patients are awesome, interesting people who aren't all sick or old or babies or nasty. (seriously, if you've worked in other med offices, you'll know this is key)
While we still have rigorous protocols and policies, we are not some giant corp or hospital bureaucracy where employee #47262747 never has a say and the powers that be are untouchable. (again, if you've worked in any type of corp setting, you'll know this is key)
And lastly, I love working at PAL because I am 20/15!
There are all kinds of "I learned this about myself or that about what I can do" things too, which are great and valid and important, and any good employee extracts everything they can out of the work they're tasked to do and learns a lot doing it... But it may be boring sometimes, or it may not pay that well, or you may not get to work with the public, or the cool public, or in the environment you want. And maybe you all don't have the same feelings I do, but I'm guessing you share at least one or two.
Dr. Jyoti Puri - Refractive Surgeon
I joined PAL four years ago to do a fellowship in Refractive Surgery. It has been quite a journey since and a life changing experience.
At the time I started, I was apprehensive, shy and a bit scared!! The first week at PAL was the toughest week in my entire career, which I will never forget. I realized very early in my fellowship that Dr. Chynn is a hard task master and a perfectionist and that there was no room for error. I set my goal to achieve the same standards and perfection.
Every day was a challenge and I was pushed to my limits and beyond, but I would get past that to face the next one. It would get very stressful at times, but gradually I learned to deal with it. This whole experience made me aware of my inner strength which I did not know existed. I became more confident, assertive, mature and better at handling stress at work. My strong work ethics and desire to learn helped me all the way.
I learned a great deal about Refractive Surgery, running a business, managing difficult situations and about my inner self from Dr. Chynn.
I enjoy working here, interacting with our wonderful staff and wide spectrum of our patient clientele. It is a very fast-paced office and, not once have I had to look at the clock and wait for the day to be over. I love this place. Dr. Chynn is an extraordinary mentor and knows how to bring out the best in you.
Even though Dr. Chynn is a strict boss in the office, he is a friend and fun to be with outside the office. We have had a lot of fun on our staff outings - apple picking, wine tasting, ice skating, skiing and going to Fire Island for the weekend retreat. We are like family and it feels to me like - HOME AWAY FROM HOME!!
Tarek - Patient Coordinator/Director of Sales
As patient coordinator and director of sales, marketing and PR, I’ve learned a lot during my brief time here
at Park Avenue SafeSight™. Dr. Chynn is strict with his procedures in a boot camp sense and it has helped me
reassess my own work habits. While each day has brought more challenges than I thought I could handle, it has
helped me realize a stronger work ethic than I originally possessed. Each day I’m pushed to my limits but I find
each day those limits are pushed a little more. I expect I’ll be a much stronger employee and possess a better
“be the boss” mindset when making decisions by the time I conclude my “tour” here. I’ve worked elsewhere in the
past and I could choose to work elsewhere now, but I choose to stay here because I’ve learned more in the past
three months than I’ve learned from other places in years.
Gallery of LASEK Patients
Look at a small sample of our thousands of happy LASEK patients. These are pictures taken right from our “open OR” as soon as they sit up from their procedure. Most of our patients are legally blind when they enter our OR. Ten minutes later after one minute of laser treatment per eye they sit up and are already legal to drive! That means they could go to DMV and pass their driving test that day!
