Dr. Rafael Trespalacios of Brevard Eye Center offers a suite of cutting-edge vision-correction procedures

There are only a handful of qualified and experienced refractive surgeons in the world and no others in Central Florida that can offer what Rafael Trespalacios, M.D. of Brevard Eye Center can: A guaranteed outcome.

We have all heard of the professional athlete who insures his shoulder before undergoing a surgical procedure because that body part is valuable to him and his career. Likewise, eyes are important to everyone! And every patient deserves the opportunity to elect to have the same benefit.

Supported by a company led by nationally recognized and pioneering ophthalmologists, an organization called Vision Lock, Dr. Trespalacios (affectionately known as “Dr. Tres” by his patients) is the surgeon you want to see in Brevard County if you’re having refractive lens exchange or cataract surgery.

Vision Lock insures the surgical outcomes of its covered group of refractive surgeons, all of whom have met and exceeded extensive clinical and surgical criteria. “They review credentials, historical surgical outcomes, as well as character profile and community standing. They adhere to strict criteria in order to insure your outcomes,” says Dr. Tres of Vision Lock. “I underwent the underwriting process including a personal interview, site visit and a review of my facilities’ operating procedures and they are now insuring my patients’ visual results. It really is amazing to be able to say that to your patients!”

NOT YOUR TYPICAL SURGEON

In a day when LASIK surgery has become all the rage for people who need life-changing vision correction, Dr. Tres is able to provide many other life-altering vision changes and experiences – vision for the way his patients live.

Because LASIK may not be the best surgical option for every patient, Dr. Tres offers a full complement of procedures that go beyond LASIK. These procedures also reflect the experience that he has earned through the persistent care, time and effort that he has put into his illustrious career.

Using one of Dr. Tres’s analogies, it would be like calling in a handyman and telling him you need a number of things done to your home. And he walks
in with only a hammer. In order to be a real handyman, he has to have more than one tool in his belt. The same principle applies to a refractive surgeon who only performs one or two types of surgeries.

“Ninety-five percent of the patients that come in, they get LASIK surgery,” says Dr. Tres. “But that other (5 percent) … why would I turn them away? If I call myself a refractive surgeon, I should be able to do something for them,” he says. “There’s nobody in the world who would do it better than I could and would. I would not send them anywhere else for these procedures – that would not only be a disservice but also a disappointment for the patient.”

DRAMATIC ADVANCES IN REFRACTIVE SURGERY

If a patient’s corneas are too thin, or there is too much tissue that needs to be removed and the patient is now deemed to be a poor candidate for LASIK surgery, Dr. Tres offers Implantable Contact Lenses or ICLs. He is the only one in the county who currently offers this procedure.

Another option is a refractive lens exchange. This surgery is designed to remove and replace the natural lens of the eye before it becomes a cataract, while also providing clear vision for objects that are up close, far away, or somewhere in between.

Patients can choose between a multifocal lens and a Crystalens, both of which are designed with the goal of providing the most glasses and contact lens independence for their lifestyle.

In order to avoid a full corneal transplant for those patients whose corneas are so thin that they begin to lose mechanical stability, Dr. Tres is the only provider of INTACS in Brevard County and Central Florida, for that matter.

“INTACS are re-enforcing rings that are placed inside the cornea through a very small incision,” he says. “It is minimally invasive, tissue sparing and disease targeted. It stabilizes their vision, and creates the opportunity and option of keeping their vision intact, before having to proceed to a corneal transplant as the next best care plan. Are they going to be out of glasses 100 percent of the time? That is unlikely with INTACS, but what we have accomplished with INTACS is something far more valuable than vanity. They will preserve their intact eye.”

Should a corneal transplant be required, Dr. Tres will perform the procedure using a laser that can drastically reduce a patient’s recovery time. Under normal circumstances, it would take a year for the sutures to be removed. Using the laser, the sutures can come out in three months.

Dr. Tres was the fifth surgeon in the world to perform this procedure and is completing these with his patients right here in Brevard County. There is no need to go outside of Brevard County for care options – some of the best and brightest talent is right here.

He also became the first surgeon in the state to complete several variations of a partial thickness corneal transplant technique known as a DSEK, including an ultra-thin procedure that was successfully performed recently. The patient, who had the surgery done on one eye, told Dr. Tres the results were so dramatic and his vision improved so much that he wanted to have the same procedure performed on the other eye as soon as possible. In less than five weeks, both of the patient’s eyes were fully rehabilitated – a process that usually would have taken years. It is this attention to detail and surgical outcomes that separates Dr. Tres.

PATIENT VALUE IS PARAMOUNT

Working hard to discover new types of treatments that will benefit his patients is one of the many factors that drive Dr. Tres, who takes a lot of pride in providing services other local refractive surgeons cannot achieve.

“It sets me apart,” he says. “It’s what I do for a living – being able to recognize not just new technology, but technology that will actually enhance the patient experience through value and precision.”

It isn’t all talk, either. In fact, it’s for show as well.

If you want to see the good doctor in action, all you have to do is walk into Brevard Eye Center and pull up a chair. All of his surgeries are broadcast live in the waiting area. Once again, he is the only doctor in Central Florida to offer current patients and prospective patients a glimpse into the intricacy of his work. That just goes to show how much confidence he has in his ability as a surgeon.

“I perform surgery, I like to say, in front of a live studio audience,” he grins. “It’s a very elegant procedure. I think it takes a lot of the mystery out of it for a lot of my patients. They see it and they’re like, ‘That’s neat. It is not what I was envisioning or what I thought it was going to be.’”

Spend a few minutes with Dr. Tres and it is easy to understand that while he is successful at what he does, he also loves doing it, too. Dr. Tres grew up in Inverness, Florida, which is just north of Tampa, and knew he wanted to be in the medical field at a very early age.

Upon his arrival at Brevard Eye Center, he was named the Director of Corneal and Refractive Services performing thousands of sight-saving procedures every year. He works out of Melbourne, Merritt Island, Titusville and Suntree and sees 30 to 40 patients on a given day and operates several days a week, performing up to 30 surgical procedures on any given day.

While most doctors would be hesitant to discuss their complication rate, Dr. Tres will tell you his complication rate is just a small fraction of 1 percent. It is another reason and validation of why Vision Lock is willing and able to insure his guarantee for refractive lens exchange and cataract surgery.

His skill set lets him stand out from the other eye surgeons, not only in Brevard County but the entire state of Florida. The fact that he does much more than LASIK only helps make him even more of a draw for local residents who are in need of successful vision correction to enhance and accessorize lifestyle improvements.

“There is a multitude of options that can be accomplished with today’s advancements, but I especially want patients to recognize that technology is not a substitute for surgical acumen,” says Dr. Tres. “These procedures are elective. And these are your eyes … Do not trust them to just anyone.”

DR. TRES’S PATIENTS SPEAK OUT

John Maxwell didn’t realize he had cataracts until his glasses frames broke and he decided to have an eye exam done while waiting for them to get fixed. While determining how to best treat his cataracts, he passed by a sign advertising a free cataract seminar offered by Brevard Eye Center.

That’s when he met Dr. Rafael Trespalacios.

“I’m really pleased with the way they present the surgery, having a seminar and having Dr. Tres relax you and show you exactly what takes place,” says Maxwell. “I had my doubts, especially when you’re dealing with your eyes. After the seminar, I was
fully set to have the operation.”

Maxwell, who was unhappy with his previous eye care provider, had the resolve to switch services and proceed under the care of Dr. Tres. He underwent surgery on his right eye February 23, and his left eye on February 27. The cataract was removed and a Crystalens artificial lens was implanted.

“After I had the right (eye) done, I came home … and when I closed my right eye, the white appliances I have in the kitchen looked like a light shade of almond,” says Maxwell. “When I closed my left eye, everything was just nice and clear and white. I’ve never seen it like that before. It was amazing how clear it was.”

The 69-year-old Cocoa resident raved about the treatment he received at the Brevard Eye Center, particularly from Dr. Tres.

“I’ve been real happy with Dr. Tres and his staff,” he continues. “I think they’re the best in Brevard County.”

Jane Stillwell wore glasses for more than 30 years … and hated every second of it. So when the Cocoa resident discovered she had cataracts, she opted to have the multifocal lens implants done by Dr. Tres. She had her right eye done on February 23 – her 63rd birthday — and the left one done on February 27. Now she doesn’t need glasses.

“I didn’t realize how bad my eyesight was until I had the surgery,” says Stillwell. “In fact, I asked the doctor … ‘Everything is so bright now, will that go away?’ He kind of chuckled and said, ‘It’s not so much that things are brighter, it’s just that you can see.”’

Like Maxwell, Stillwell couldn’t be happier with the treatment she received from Dr. Tres and his staff. Now, if they could just help her with something else.

“I still can’t sing,” she laughs. “And time will tell whether or not it improves my golf game.”