Tom Butler is a legend at Junior Deputy Baseball. After 49 years of coaching, the organization named a field in his honor during a celebration of his commitment to generations of ball players. Last fall, he noticed he couldn’t see the ball clearly when pitching batting practice for his team of 9- to 12-year-olds. He got really worried after not being able to see the lines on the interstate while driving one rainy evening.

He scheduled an appointment with his optometrist at the UAMS Jones Eye Institute, and she referred him to Dr. Tayyeba Ali, a UAMS cataract specialist. He had cataract surgery on his right eye in December and his left eye two weeks later. Today everything is clear and bright, and he can see the baseball — and his golf ball.

“My wife and I receive all our medical care at UAMS. We trust our doctors and know they have access to specialists who can cover almost anything we need. It’s great to be part of such a great team.”
– Tom Butler, Little Rock

Lisa Holt thinks about the family of her eye donor every March — National Eye Donor Month — and is grateful.

“His family gave a total stranger the gift of sight. That truly is remarkable,” she said.

Holt, from Lonoke, is no stranger to eye problems. She started wearing glasses in the second grade and contacts in the fifth grade. Then, in 1995 at age 26, she began noticing changes in her left eye. She described it as having a water balloon over her eye.

As a radiology student at UAMS, Holt had trouble doing simple classroom tasks.

“If I had a tube I needed to put a clamp on, with both eyes open I would miss the tube because of the way my cornea bulged out and watered a lot,” she said. “I would have to close my left eye.”

In 1995, Holt was diagnosed with an aggressive type of keratoconus by an ophthalmologist. Keratoconus is a progressive eye disease in which the normally round cornea of the eye thins and begins to bulge into a cone-like shape. This curve causes astigmatism and nearsightedness. It usually affects both eyes, but in Holt’s case, it only affected the left eye.

Holt was referred to a cornea specialist, but sought a second opinion from an ophthalmologist at the UAMS Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute and the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital.

Holt was fitted with three types of contacts to reduce her astigmatism and to delay surgery, but none of the options worked because of the bulge in the cornea.

“If you looked at my face from the side, you could see the soft contact sitting on my eyelash — that’s how bad it was,” she said.

Holt was put on the cornea transplant waiting list at the Arkansas Lions Bank and Laboratory at UAMS. A week later, she was notified that she had a cornea donation from a 15-year-old male.

Holt said the surgery went smoothly.

“During surgery the ophthalmologist actually let my sister go in with me and she held my hand all the way through the surgery,” she said. “I really had no trouble at all. I had a few days where I didn’t feel that well, but most of it was a relaxing six weeks off.”

The year after her surgery, Holt said her eye started showing signs of rejecting the transplant.

“JEI increased my steroid shots and pulled me out of it within just a couple of weeks, and I was back to being fine,” she said.

Today, Holt’s doctors say her cornea is “wonderful.” However, there are signs that Holt’s keratoconus is starting to reoccur around the outer edge of the cornea.

“So long as the contact continues to fit, I won’t have to have surgery for several years,” she said.

Holt’s transplant not only changed her vision, but it changed her friends’ minds about eye and organ donation.

“After my cornea transplant, I know several of my friends who became organ donors,” she said. “That meant a lot. I sure became a donor, as well.”

Arkansas Lions Eye Bank, the only eye bank in Arkansas, was established in 1986 and obtains, prepares and delivers eye tissue to transplanting surgeons all over the state and occasionally across the country and around the world.

Every year since 2010, the bank has collected tissue for around 400 cornea transplants.

Geoff Brown, executive director of the eye bank, encourages people to consider becoming an eye donor.

“There’s always going to be a need,” Brown said. “When you donate, most corneas are going to directly help other Arkansans.

“E-V-O-T-Z-2,” said 14-year-old Ryan Longood, reading from an eye chart, during a post-operation check-up with John David Pemberton, D.O., an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

“Good, very good,” said Pemberton, who is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, specializing in plastic surgery of the eyelids, orbital reconstruction and other surgeries of the structures surrounding the eye. Pemberton, days earlier, had shaved off bone growth that was pushing the teenager’s right eye up and out of its orbit.

“That’s like a garage for my eyeball,” Longood explained. “I’ve got some residual swelling but that will go down in time.”

Longood, who won the St. Christopher’s School top award for Latin and says he “loves learning,” has spent his entire young life quietly educating his friends and people he meets about one of the rarest vascular lesions in the world: arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. He’s had 40 surgeries since he was 2 years old, most of them with James Y. Suen, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine. AVM patients from around the world come to UAMS to see Suen because he is one of few doctors who operate on these complex conditions.

Suen says AVMs most commonly manifest themselves very early in life or during puberty. They occur when arteries connect to veins and bypasscapillaries. Tangles of veins then expand, invade tissues or organs and start coming to the surface of the skin.

AVMs can cause a range of health problems including facial disfigurement and paralysis, external and internal bleeding, blood clots and, in the most severe cases, death.

For Longood, appreciating life is not an empty sentiment found in a hospital gift shop greeting card. AVMs “can turn your life upside down at any time period,” he said, “so you have to be thankful. They affect you deeply and they can really change who you are.”

Longood is a budding artist who turns to paints and paper to express who he is becoming. Already, he’s got a supportive fan at UAMS.

“That’s pretty good; you’re getting better,” said Pemberton, the eye surgeon, as he evaluated images of Longood’s seventh-grade “Self Portrait,” featuring a full-color Longood with smiling red lips, and an eighth-grade monochromatic “Self Portrait” with its shadowed, open-mouthed expression akin to Munch’s iconic work.

“You got to keep it up because I buy a lot of art,” Pemberton said.

Knowing his grandmother lost her sight in the 1960s due to glaucoma, Richard Zraick, Ph.D., sought the best in eye care after he became an adult. And when he became a professor of speech-language pathology in the College of Health Related Professions at UAMS in 1997, Richard had no idea just how much he would need the technology and expertise of the doctors at the Jones Eye Institute.

“My eyes are a huge part of what I do as a professor. My teaching, research and patient-care responsibilities all depend on me having good vision,” Richard said. After he joined the faculty at UAMS and learning that UAMS doctors have a great reputation in the medical community, he became a patient at the Jones Eye Institute.

Following several years of routine eye exams to monitor his glaucoma, Richard had an urgent issue with his vision one day. Knowing that he needed urgent medical care, Richard was relieved to be referred by his Jones Eye Institute ophthalmologist to a retina specialist on the same day. After Richard’s detached retina was repaired at Jones Eye Institute, he was advised that the other retina would likely detach in the future, and a second detached retina was later repaired successfully.

In the years following his retina surgeries, Richard developed cataracts in both eyes that were surgically treated using state-of-the-art ultrasound technology. Dr. Wiggins, a comprehensive ophthalmologist who specializes in cataract surgery, says, “Not all cataracts are age related. Some are caused by medications, trauma or are present at birth. Having cataracts develop after a major retina surgery is a known occurrence.”

“I’ve never seen better in my entire life. My grandmother visited many of the top specialists in New York and Boston, and I believe her sight could have been saved if the science and technology at UAMS had been available to her.”

Richard is grateful to be under the ongoing care of Dr. Wiggins and appreciates the great job he is doing overseeing the UAMS Ophthalmic Medical Technology (OMT) Program. ”As a College of Health Related Professions faculty member, it is nice to experience firsthand how well-trained the OMTs are because of the efforts of Dr. Wiggins and his colleagues,” says Richard. He adds, ”Many times when I was seen by Dr. Wiggins he was accompanied by OMT students, and I’m glad I got to contribute firsthand to their education.”

Since Richard now uses eye drops to control his glaucoma and uses only over-the-counter reading glasses, his patients and students may not imagine how much the professor needed high quality eye care. “I’ve received excellent care from the Jones Eye Institute staff across the board, from the nurses who coordinated my surgery to the ophthalmology techs who worked alongside the doctors. From the minute I came in to the institute, staff members were concerned about my eyes and well being, and I have had seamless eye care throughout my 13 years as an eye patient at UAMS.”

At UAMS, we offer our patients the best care through our state-of-the-art equipment and technology and doctors who are committed to providing personalized medical treatment.

Before successful treatment at UAMS, Ann Kincl was misdiagnosed by three eye doctors. Her eyelid gland malfunction caused great discomfort and pain, and she was constantly blinking.

While she was embarrassed by her inability to maintain eye contact with others, her family and friends were trying to assist her in obtaining the correct medical treatment. Other doctors performed procedures and prescribed medication, but Ann’s eyes remained uncomfortable and her vision continued to deteriorate.

Dr. Nicola Kim of the UAMS Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute finally identified her eyelid disorder, putting her on a simple regimen that eased her discomfort and frequent blinking. However, the previous use of steroid medication had led Ann to rapidly develop cataracts and glaucoma, so Dr. Kim offered a new, cutting-edge technology to treat Ann’s cataracts.

Ann had two surgeries, one on each eye approximately a week apart, to correct her vision with intraocular lenses. Designed to provide enhanced image quality and a full range of vision, these new lenses offered Ann the best opportunity for a life free of glasses and contacts, and Ann was a perfect candidate for this treatment.

Following her cataract surgery, Ann has near perfect vision and no longer uses glasses or contacts. And she does not require treatment for glaucoma because she does not require the steroid medications any more. Since she is also much more comfortable physically, her quality of life has increased, and she was able to return to her work tutoring students.

At UAMS our goal is to provide the best care for every patient every day. All the awards and accolades can’t tell the UAMS story better than the words of our patients.

Mac Faulkner recommends the Retina Services at UAMS: “After bumping into the kitchen door jamb one day, I noticed I could not see my right hand. I immediately called the Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute and got an appointment the same day. I had a detached retina. Surgery was scheduled for the very next day.”

At UAMS our goal is to provide the best care for every patient every day. Our patients say it best, and their stories are really the story of UAMS. All the formal awards and accolades just can’t tell the UAMS story better than the words of our patients.

Sue Carter was successfully treated at the UAMS Jones Eye Institute: “Because I had diabetic retinopathy and very dense cataracts, no surgeon wanted to operate on my eyes. The doctor not only performed cataract surgery, but worked with me in the low vision clinic.”

At UAMS our goal is to provide the best care for every patient every day. Our patients say it best, and their stories are really the story of UAMS. All the formal awards and accolades just can’t tell the UAMS story better than the words of our patients.

Reza Arab used UAMS services at the Jones Eye Institute: “Several years ago I was told I might have glaucoma.”

Arab was pleased with the results from the procedure. “After several tests and an easy and painless laser procedure, I am doing fine and taking no glaucoma medication,” he said.

When Karen Howlett counts her blessings, she starts with the three most dear: her daughter, her son and her vision. She wouldn’t have any of them, she said, without UAMS.

Diagnosed with Marfan’s syndrome at age 5, Howlett’s parents knew she faced a life of challenges. Marfan’s syndrome is a genetic condition that affects the body’s connective tissue and can cause multiple medical conditions, including dislocated lenses and complications in pregnancy.

Although her vision began to deteriorate at an early age, Howlett developed a love of horseback riding, competing in both barrel racing and pole bending events. “I knocked down a lot of poles because of my vision problems,” she said.

As an adult, Howlett’s vision continued to decline, resulting in her sometimes resorting to wearing contact lenses and glasses at the same time. “Because my vision was so poor, I was afraid to stay alone overnight. I eventually had to stop driving, which was really difficult for a 34-year-old to accept,” she said.

At the same time Howlett was struggling with her vision, she was advised not to have children due to possible heart-related complications from Marfan’s. When Howlett became unexpectedly pregnant in 2000, she and her husband, Lew, sought the care of Dr. Paul Wendel, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in the UAMS high-risk pregnancy program. UAMS is home to the only board-certified maternal-fetal specialists in Arkansas.

Under Wendel’s care, Howlett successfully delivered her daughter, Jessica, who was followed two years later by the planned pregnancy of her brother, Justin.

“Dr. Wendel believed in me and made sure I received the best possible care during my pregnancies. My children were my first two blessings,” Howlett said.

Howlett’s third blessing came in the form of a visit to Dr. Nicola Kim at the UAMS Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute. Under the care of UAMS ophthalmologist Dr. Richard Harper since the early 1990s, Howlett was told in late 2006 that her eyes had reached the point that she eligible for a surgical procedure that could potentially improve her vision. Kim performed three procedures on Howlett — a laser treatment on her left eye and a lens implementation in both eyes — bringing her vision to a near perfect 20/25.

“The first time I looked at my children after my surgery, my heart melted. It was like seeing them for the first time,” she said. “I could see everything, even the specks of color in their eyes. A whole new world was opened up for me.”

At UAMS our goal is to provide the best care for every patient every day. Our patients say it best, and their stories are really the story of UAMS. All the formal awards and accolades just can’t tell the UAMS story better than the words of our patients.

Dana Carthron recommends LASIK surgery at UAMS: “I had been wearing glasses since I was 4. I could never wear contact lenses and was told my astigmatism prevented me from having LASIK surgery. Not so. After a thorough exam at Jones Eye, I was told I was a candidate for LASIK after all. I had the surgery, and I had 20/20 vision the very next day.”