LASIK Even Safer Now! - Your Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Roxboro LASIK Surgeons
LASIK Even Safer
Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better than this, it does.
Enter the brand new Avellino-GENE Detection System (AGDS™) Test, which makes LASIK safer. Just announced to the world this month (May 2013), by test developer Avellino Lab USA, the only genetic test available worldwide for Avellino Corneal Dystrophy (ACD), also known as Granular Corneal Dystrophy type 2.
The AGDS Test is the world’s first genetic test to detect ACD, a disease that causes cloudiness, specifically grey-white granular deposits on the cornea, which can lead to complete loss of sight. While ACD usually develops slowly, carriers of this genetic mutation are at an extremely high risk of experiencing diminished vision and eventual blindness if they undergo laser-vision-correction refractive surgery such as LASIK, LASEK, or PRK.
Fortunately, prior to undergoing refractive surgery such as LASIK, the AGDS Test positively identifies with 100 percent accuracy whether a person has the ACD genetic mutation. By doing so, the test reduces the risk of patients with ACD having post-operative vision impairment or blindness.
The AGDS Test is easy and safe, involving just a simple mouth swab from a patient’s cheek. The sample is then sent to Avellino Lab USA’s certified molecular diagnostic testing lab. Within 24 to 48 hours, the results are provided to the surgeon to share with the patient. Depending on the result, patients are able to proceed or not with laser-vision-correction procedure with confidence that they are avoiding unnecessary harm to their vision.
Particularly, patients can feel confident that if they are identified as having the genetic mutation, they will be strongly advised against having the surgery and encouraged to take protective measures, such as minimizing exposure to UV light by wearing appropriate protective lenses, to help postpone the progression of ACD symptoms.
Providing State-of-the-Art Care for Eye Surgery Patients
Avellino Lab USA’s chief operating officer Scott Korney says that the company is committed to working with laser-vision-correction practices in order to provide patients with the most innovative and state-of-the-art care and “advancing our efforts to make LASIK safer for the thousands of patients who undergo eye vision correction surgery each year.”
In Sum / The Bottomline
About Avellino Lab USA has developed the first and only commercially available testing system for Avellino Corneal Dystrophy (ACD), also known as Granular Corneal Dystrophy type 2. The company’s advanced genetic diagnostics system provides fast, safe, and affordable evaluations of an individual’s genetic predisposition to ACD. Known as the Avellino-GENE Detection System (AGDS™) Test, Avellino Lab USA is able to positively identify, with 100 percent accuracy, a patient’s ACD status. Based on the test’s results, patients and their physician can make an informed decision when considering vision correction surgery.
Avellino Lab USA’s AGDS Test is primarily available throughout California for now. If you are not in California, call Avellino Lab USA to find out when and where the nearest location will be available for you!
