Dr. Mitchell Shultz, an opthalmologist with Pasadena’s California Lasik Center, understands vision. Following his undergraduate study at UC San Diego, an internship at UCLA and a residency at UC Irvine, he traveled to Argentina to see for himself what was new in laser surgery.

“When I finished my residency in 1996,” he told Pasadena Now, “Lasik surgery was really just getting started, and I went down there to work with a doctor named Roberto Zaldivar. I realized that in order to get the best experience, I really needed to go international. In Argentina they were using more advanced lasers, and they were doing techniques that we were not doing in the United States.”

As Schultz explained, ‘What the United States is good at, is making sure that nothing that comes to market is unsafe for patients. In the South American and Central American markets, they allow products to get to market faster, but I found that the lasers we were using back then are similar to the lasers we’re using now. The technology then was just more advanced, and it took a while for those products and techniques to get to the US.”

But it was that trip to South America back then that solidified a lot of Schultz’ approach to his practice today.

“A lot of success in the refractive surgery field comes not only from knowing what is available now, but what will be available in the future,” he explained. “It’s always keeping the patient’s needs in mind. Sometimes a patient might come in, and want a procedure or surgery, but based on that patient’s needs, and my knowledge of the technology, I might know that what he wants will be better later, so I won’t recommend surgery. We also just have more options for patients today,” he said.

Along with his extensive research and training, Mitchell, who has worked in lasik surgery through all of his 17-year career, is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology. His specialty is laser surgery or any kind of corneal refractive conditions, which encompasses a wide range of specific procedures.

Though California Lasik Center, a division of the Retina Institute, is a relatively new office in Pasadena, Schultz’ relationship with the medical team goes back at least ten years, as he had already established a successful practice of his own working with one of the founders of the Pasadena office. Two years he was asked to come aboard as the team’s corneal refractive surgeon.

What sets the Pasadena office apart from other Lasik surgery practices in the area, says Schultz, is the wealth of experience the doctors and surgeons have. None, says Schultz, have only recently completed their residency. Most have many years of working experience in the field of opthamology.

And there is something else, says Schultz.

“It’s the whole caring process,” he says. “I’m a good listener, and we’re not just here to do surgery, or to just pass the patients along. We demand from our employees a level of care that makes the patient comfortable throughout the whole process.”

Plus, says Schultz, “I’m in the community. I’ve been here 17 years. Some doctors in some offices come and go, but this is a long-term journey for me.”

California Lasik Center, a division of the Retina Institute, is at 100 E California Blvd, Pasadena. (800) 898-2020.