Emily Renk Hawthorne

They did not numb me before starting the procedure. I felt EVERYTHING. The office was like an assembly line of people (the front desk told me he sees 40-50 patients a day) so it’s no wonder someone forgot to do their job along the way. When the assistants put the eye retractors in, I tried to pull away and say it hurt, but they told me to be still and not talk. Being young and naive at the time, I wasn’t sure if that was normal or not. Also, when someone is doing surgery in your eyes and tells you not to move, of course you don’t move because you don’t want to end up blind. When they cut into my eyes with the laser, I felt like someone punched me. My head throbbed, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I could feel a sharp pinching in my eyes when the laser was shaping my cornea. My whole body was tensed so hard because they kept telling me not to move. When they were done, I was shaking and crying and too traumatized to speak. The doctor just looked at me, laughed and said, “Oh it’s normal for girls to be emotional.” They rushed me out of the office since they had so many other patients waiting. When I left the office, the pain was so severe, my ride had to carry me to the car. I took the sedatives that I was prescribed and they took effect about 20 minutes later, however I woke up several times due to the pain. When I fully woke up 8 hours later, fortunately most of the pain had subsided, and my vision turned out ok in the end, but the experience was so traumatic that I wouldn’t recommend him to anyone. I’ve had so many friends have wonderful experiences elsewhere, in a relaxed, personalized environment where they were numbed with eye drops several times before they even got to the surgery table. Due to the physical trauma, it took me several years to write this review, but since this doctor is still in practice, I really feel others should know what they could be getting into. Please do your research and speak with people you trust about their experiences.

Laura Glavan

I have just received a letter from dr. Berg’s lawyers threatening to sue me for my review. Therefore, I am going to restate the facts concerning my LASIK procedure by leaving out any personal consideration. I was evaluated by Dr. Murthy for LASIK as a corrective procedure of my nearsightedness, who stated that the risk with LASIK was only associated with the suction ring used during the surgery to keep your eye in place, as it puts pressure on the eye and can detach the retina. He then added that Dr. Berg did not use the suction ring and that I was good to have the procedure done with him. At my first visit, in August 2017, after doing several tests to asses if I was in fact a candidate, Dr. Berg stated that I was the perfect candidate and that I was going to have perfect vision. When I asked him about what dr. Murthy said of the suction ring, he replied that he had no idea why dr. Murthy said that, as he does use the suction ring, but he reassured me that the procedure would not affect my eye retina in any way. As a side fact, I also received a discount for being referred by dr. Murthy. So I had my procedure done at the end of August 2017. At the followup visit I informed Dr. Berg that my vision in the right eye was not good. He said it was okay. Three weeks later I started experiencing symptoms of a retinal detachment, so I got an appointment with Dr. Murthy. He looked at my retina and said that it was all good, and that he was going to see me in a year. I waited a couple more weeks, in which my symptoms continued to worsen, and then I decided to go see a different retina specialist. I had an extensive retina detachment and went into urgent eye surgery. I now have almost fully recovered from the buckle surgery, and I’m wearing corrective glasses as I’m left with -2.00 in the right eye. I also have difficulty wearing contact lenses now, as I’ve developed chronic dry eye disease following the LASIK procedure. Interesting fact: the “informed consent” that they had me sign does include retinal detachment among the risks associated with LASIK, and I quote “I understand that other very rear complications threatening vision include, but are not limited to, corneal swelling, corneal thinning (ecstasia), appearance of “floaters” and RETINAL DETACHMENT, hemorrhage, venous and arterial blockage, catara formation, total blindness, and even loss of my eye”. But Dr. Berg verbally stated that it is not true. And dr. Berg’s lawyers state in their letter that “The fact of the matter is injury to the retina is not a known risk of LASIK”. I must add that one retina specialist and two optometrist I have seen, said that my detachment could have indeed been caused by the suction ring. I will make these precise statements under oath if necessary.

Sam Fallah

Best decision I ever made. He is very good and patience. Very friendly staff too.