June 12, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Vance Thompson Vision.

Paul Mundt noticed his hazy vision all the time, from work as a psychotherapist to his active lifestyle in Laguna Beach, California. After two years of constant annoyance of living with clouded vision because of cataracts, he woke up with clear 20/20 vision after having back-to-back cataract lens replacement surgery at Vance Thompson Vision.

After Mundt noticed that his vision was hazy, he visited his optometrist, who informed him that he had cataracts and would require surgery. He was referred to an ophthalmologist in California but instead chose to schedule his procedure at Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls, where he grew up. He went to Vance Thompson Vision because his sister’s cataract surgery there went wonderfully, plus he loved the convenience of having each eye done one day after the other. In California, he had been offered typical scheduling at other practices, which do each eye weeks apart.

“I liked the idea of getting it done all at once, getting both eyes done in the same week instead of dragging it out,” Mundt said.

This wasn’t Mundt’s first vision care procedure. He said he couldn’t see the black on an eye chart before he had LASIK in 1996, not even the large letter E, just a blurry white rectangle. After years of thick glasses and contact lenses, his LASIK operation meant he could wake up seeing clearly every day with no hassle.

“That was a miracle because I woke up the next day and could see just fine,” he said.

LASIK corrects nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism by reshaping the cornea, but cataracts involve the eye’s natural lens that gradually hardens over time. So as Mundt aged, cataracts began to cloud his vision, and the time came to correct his vision again, this time with help from Vance Thompson Vision.

Because Mundt had LASIK in the past, the doctors recommended the Light Adjustable Lens, or LAL, a premium lens that allows the prescription to be dialed in after surgery in a series of laser adjustments. In May, he flew to Sioux Falls to have the procedure at Vance Thompson Vision.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Mundt said. “It was just very easy, and there was no waiting. When they said, ‘Here’s your appointment,’ that’s when you went in for the appointment. You didn’t have to sit in the waiting room for an hour. I like that.”

What Mundt appreciated the most about the care he received at Vance Thompson Vision is that they called him by name. With operations scheduled on back-to-back days, he had his first cataract removal on a Wednesday. Then, when he walked in Thursday for his second appointment, he received a friendly, “Hi, Paul.”

“It made me feel like not just a number but like they really cared about the outcome of my surgery,” he said.

By Friday, the day after the second surgery, Mundt had 20/20 vision, and with LAL, he has the option to fine-tune that even more during a specialized light adjustment procedure. He added that his distance and night vision have improved significantly.

Mundt was thankful for the professionalism and friendliness he experienced at Vance Thompson Vision. He described it as a “really well-oiled machine” with plenty of knowledgeable people who explained the process to him clearly and caringly.

“Every single person I met was real professional, real friendly, real competent and made me feel really at ease,” Mundt said.

Happy Cataract Awareness Month! There’s no better time to repair hazy vision. Ready to schedule a cataract consultation? Call Vance Thompson Vision at 605-361-EYES (3937). Vance Thompson Vision has performed more than 100,000 eye procedures at its locations throughout the Midwest and Mountain West.