January 8, 1999
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
During National Glaucoma Awareness Month in January, medical professionals and glaucoma sufferers alike urge people to have their eyes examined for the disease, which can result in blindness when left untreated. In the U.S., as many as 116,000 people are legally blind due to glaucoma, and an estimated 5,500 new cases of disease-related blindness are reported each year.
LOS ANGELES (January 6, 1999) -- Flight attendant Vesta McDermott credits a chance encounter with a passenger in the darkened cabin of a DC-10 with saving her sight. That passenger was Michael S. Berlin, M.D., an ophthalmologist on the medical staff of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who recognized the signs of advanced glaucoma in Vesta's left eye. Dr. Berlin's expertise so impressed Vesta, who had undergone treatment for the condition for many years, that she vowed to make an appointment with him after she completed an impending move to Los Angeles from New York. Today, Vesta's glaucoma is under control -- a heartening circumstance she attributes to impressive advancements in medical care and treatment.
The above story is based on materials provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
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Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Millions Of Americans With Glaucoma Could Save Sight With Early Detection, Treatment." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 January 1999. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/01/990108080532.htm>.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. (1999, January 8). Millions Of Americans With Glaucoma Could Save Sight With Early Detection, Treatment. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 21, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/01/990108080532.htm
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Millions Of Americans With Glaucoma Could Save Sight With Early Detection, Treatment." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/01/990108080532.htm (accessed April 21, 2014).