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Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News Source Financial Times Information Limited (Trade Mark) - Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News KRTBN Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News - The Record - Hackensack
February 2, 2006 Thursday
HEADLINE: PATIENT SAYS SURGERY LED TO VISION TROUBLE
BYLINE: Amy Klein
BODY:
Emretta Hinman just wanted to be able to see better. But instead of
correcting her severe farsightedness, Hinman said, lasik eye surgery performed by a Bergenfield doctor triggered a slew of new problems that left her unable to drive or remain in bright daylight for long.
Well-known eye surgeon Joseph Dello Russo never explained the risks of lasik surgery before he operated on her in 2001, the Connecticut woman told jurors in Newark, as a malpractice trial opened Wednesday. Then, in the months afterward, she said, he didn't take her complaints of poor eyesight seriously.
"I was scared. I really wanted to know what was wrong," Hinman testified, her voice breaking. "He said that I was just having an abnormal healing, that it was just healing slow."
Dello Russo's lawyer, John Tomaszewski, called him a "pioneer" in the field
of lasik eye surgery who continued to be a caring doctor after Hinman's procedure.
"Her vision [after the surgery] was pretty much all over the charts,"
Tomaszewski said during opening arguments Wednesday. "There are great unexplained inconsistencies."
About 1 million lasik procedures are performed each year, according to the Eye Surgery Education Council. The surgery, begun in 1995, carries risks, including cornea damage and vision problems such as glares and halos.
Dello Russo has been sued more than 16 times since 1991 by patients claiming they suffered permanent injuries while being treated at his New Jersey Eye Center. Some also alleged they were treated by employees who weren't licensed to provide such services.
In February 2005, Dello Russo's insurance company was ordered to pay $15.3 million to cover the malpractice claims.
Hinman and her husband filed suit two years ago in U.S . District Court in
Newark. The case is being tried by a seven-member jury before Judge William Bassler and is expected to last two weeks.
Hinman, now 40, contacted Dello Russo after her husband heard an ad for his lasik eye surgery on the radio. She testified Wednesday that she was told at the time that she was not a candidate for the surgery, but to call back in six months because the technology was changing.
In January 2001, the couple drove to Dello Russo's Bergenfield office.
Although she was just gathering information, Hinman said Dello Russo told her she would be a "perfect candidate" for the surgery, and she agreed to have it done that day. Hinman testified that she signed a seven-page consent form but that Dello Russo never explained the risks to her.
"The seven-page consent form was carefully reviewed and Mrs. Hinman fully approved of the risks," Tomaszewski countered. "The visual problems she has now are not as a result of any malpractice on the part of Dr. Dello Russo."
In the days and weeks following the surgery, Hinman said, she had increased vision problems and returned to Dello Russo's office several times to voice her concerns. Hinman testified that she saw strange glows from lights, starbursts around exposed bulbs and distorted letters when she tried to read.
Each time, she testified, Dello Russo told her she was just healing slowly.
Two months after the surgery, Hinman said she became very upset in Dello Russo's office and the doctor prescribed Valium for her.
Hinman testified that Dello Russo handed the prescription to an assistant and said, "Here, this will fix all her problems. Now get this woman out of my sight."
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