Los Angeles, CA -?Corneal Transplant Renews Vision for DEF Board Member Cliff Einstein
For Cliff Einstein, Chairman of Dailey and Associates Advertising, life is a visual feast. As a powerhouse in the world of advertising, an avid collector of and a leading authority on contemporary art, a dedicated sports car and motorcycle enthusiast, and a devoted family man, much of his life has evolved around his visual abilities.
Considering his tremendous accomplishments in his chosen areas of interest, however, it is startling to learn that Einstein was diagnosed with keratoconus (KC) in both eyes while in his early 20s. A thinning disorder of the cornea that causes distortion and reduces vision, KC can be treated through medical and non-medical techniques, including corrective lenses, Intacs, and corneal transplants.
Last year, after years of treatment and progressive vision loss, Einstein ? who, with his wife, Mandy Einstein, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Discovery Eye Foundation (DEF) ? made the final decision to undergo a corneal transplant in his right eye.
?I?d gone through every new advance in keratoconus treatment,? he recalls. ?I?d tried all the lenses. They?d work for a while, but then I?d develop an abrasion. Nothing seemed to work. I got to a point where I could only use the lenses for a few hours at a time. We?d always talked about the next step, but I hadn?t been ready before.?
A longtime patient of DEF Medical Director Anthony B. Nesburn, M.D., Einstein realized that the time had come to move forward with a corneal transplant. After that, things happened very quickly.
?He had me see his partner and corneal surgery expert, Dr. Ezra Maguen, to talk about it, and 12 days later they did the transplant,? says Einstein. ?I was very blessed to get a transplant so quickly. I didn?t have too much time to think about it!?
After surgery, Einstein recovered rapidly with only a minor setback due to an allergic reaction to one of his prescription medications.
?They put a hard lens in, just for a moment, a few weeks after the surgery,? he remembers. ?I could see brilliantly. It was a remarkable promise of things to come.?
Now, just ten months after surgery, Einstein?s corrected vision in both eyes is 20/30. He wears corrective lenses throughout the day, but must limit his wearing as the new cornea gets more and mores used to the hard contact lens. At this point there is very little discomfort and many days find him wearing the lens more than fifteen hours.?
?I waited to do the transplant until the time was right. I wanted the science to have progressed as far as it could while I was still young enough to recover from the surgery,? continues Einstein. ?Each month my vision should be even better. People ask me what part of the day I want to see, I want to see all of it!?
Einstein, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), has returned full time to his favorite pursuits: philanthropy, art collecting, and driving fast cars. Shortly he intends to take Dr. Maguen for a ride…if he?s up to it.