Meet Dr. Chynn
Meet Dr. Emil William Chynn,
MD, FACS, MBA
Dr. Emil William Chynn, MD, FACS, MBA trained at Dartmouth, Columbia, Harvard, Emory, and NYU and has spent more than 30 years helping shape the field of laser vision correction.
As both a surgeon and a patient who underwent LASIK and LASEK himself, Dr. Chynn combines academic training, clinical research, and personal experience to help patients, especially those with complex cases that other centers often reject.
Featured by and affiliated with:
Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, NYU, Emory, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News, Discovery Channel, New York Post, Daily News.
Education
Dr. Chynn was an undergraduate at Dartmouth College and attended medical school at Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons (the #1 medical school in New York State). He completed his residency at Harvard University’s world-famous Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, where he was on the teaching faculty of Harvard Medical School.
After Harvard, Dr. Chynn could have gone out and performed refractive surgery (most LASIK doctors never completed a fellowship). Instead, he chose to spend an additional year completing a full fellowship in Corneal Transplantation & Refractive Surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, under George Waring, MD, the “Father of American Refractive Surgery” who introduced RK and LASIK to the US.
Dr. Chynn’s Story & the History of Refractive Surgery
“When I was a premed student at Dartmouth in the 1980s the only procedures were RK and AK. These are incisional procedures where the surgeon makes manual incisions to change the shape of your cornea. This technique was discovered by Dr. Filatov, an eye surgeon in Ukraine.
He treated a child who fell off his bicycle, shattered his eyeglasses, and lacerated his cornea with many cuts. Fortunately each incision only went 99% through the cornea and didn’t perforate. Dr. Filatov decided to patch rather than sew the eye, since suturing distorts the cornea and induces astigmatism. Miraculously, when the patch was removed, not only was his cornea intact–the child’s myopia had disappeared!
I had followed the progress of refractive surgery myself since the 1970s, because I was very nearsighted myself. By the time I was at Dartmouth the older “Russian” technique using a metal blade had been supplanted by the American technique, which used a diamond blade. But RK results were both unpredictable and unstable.
In the 1980s, when I was at Columbia Medical School, two ophthalmologists invented laser vision correction by obtaining a use patent for the excimer laser. These surgeons were Stephen Trokel and Francis L’Esperrance. The original patent was held by IBM in Armonk, NY for use to etch silicon chips. This didn’t work out, but the excimer laser was perfect for laser vision correction.
Drs. Trokel and L’Esperrance licensed their patents to competing companies. Dr. Trokel’s company became VISX, which is the market leader in refractive surgery in the US, with more procedures performed on the VISX platform than any other brands. Dr. L’Esperrance’s company was Summit, which became Alcon, which is #2 in # of eyes lasered.
Dr. L’Esperrance is the one who first certified me on the Alcon laser. Both doctors inspired me to conduct research, and I’ve got 2 US patents granted and 1 pending in ophthalmology.
VISX & Alcon engaged in “patent wars” that ended in their agreeing to split royalties from the “end-users” like me. This is why, even though I bought my VISX laser for $500,000 and own it, I have to pay a “click fee” every time I use the laser (which is about $250/eye for low-def and $500/eye for Hi-Def). I have paid over $1 million in royalties to VISX over my 30 year career.
At the end of my time at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, I’d decided to go into ophthalmology. This made me a third-generation eye surgeon!
My grandfather JT Lou grew up in China but fled to Hong Kong to escape communism. He eventually became a famous eye surgeon and even served as Minister of Health in Hong Kong. My uncle is a prominent retinal surgeon at Harvard. He has his own Retina Fellowship. It’s very prestigious to have a fellowship program, because it means you’ve been chosen to train the next generation of subspecialists. Years later, I’d have my own Cornea Fellowship. There are only about 30 Cornea Fellowships in the United States, and only about 3 that are based at a private practice, not at a medical school.
When I was applying for my ophthalmology residency I had my heart set on Harvard, which is the pinnacle in the US. I spoke to the secretary in charge of handling applications, and she told me they received 800 applications for 8 spots! Noticing my crestfallen look, she told me, “Cheer up–we narrow that down to ‘only’ 100 interviewees!”
Fortunately, I was accepted by Harvard, and started my residency there in 1993. Everyone there was brilliant, so it was an incredible environment to learn not only the latest surgical techniques, but to conduct research. As a resident, I published articles in the top 3 eye journals in the world (Ophthalmology, Archives of Ophthalmology, and American Journal of Ophthalmology), which no other resident did!
In 1995, I performed my first RK and PRK procedures, and both patients saw 20/20. However, I was concerned about the manual nature of RK, and the pain and delayed recovery in PRK (the original type of laser vision correction, and the older form of surface ablation).
This is why I helped invent LASEK with two other eye surgeons at Harvard, Drs., Jon Talamo and Juan Carlos Abbad, In LASEK, an alcohol solution is used to delaminate the epithelium or skin of the eye from the underlying cornea. This gentle, clean separation prevents the crushing of millions of epithelial cells that occurs in PRK, which causes pain and delayed healing.
I was very nearsighted and astigmatic (-7.50 -1.50 x 180 in both eyes), so had followed refractive surgery since RK in the 1970s. I decided to become a true expert in refractive surgery by applying to the Fellowship of most famous refractive surgeon in the US: George Waring III. I got accepted & was his Corneal Transplant & Refractive Fellow from 1996-1997. Dr. Waring conducted the FDA-sponsored national study called PERK that proved RK isn’t stable.
I performed my first LASIK in 1996 under George Waring, and was ecstatic when the patient wound up seeing 20/15, or better than “perfect” 20/20 vision.
From 1997-2000 I worked as a “shooter” at a very busy centre in Rhode Island, where I once operated on 56 eyes in a single day. I was a surgeon at TLC in NYC from 2001-2002, which at that time was the largest chain in the world, listed on Nasdaq, and with a market cap of $1 billion. Although I got incredible surgical experience and performed about 5,000 LASIKs, I grew disillusioned by the “factory” nature of their business & vowed that one day, I’d own my own center.
Laser “chains” like TLC or LVI or LASIK Plus or very high volume centers cut costs by hiring cheap non-MDs (ODs who don’t go to medical school or even “techs”) do the preop testing and postop exams. Then they have a MD come in 1-2 days per week to be the “shooter”. It’s not the way to deliver optimal patient care, so I quit my “shooter” jobs.
In 1999 I had my own LASIK performed & the first LASIK surgeon in NYC to have the procedure myself. My former Chief Resident at Harvard, Roberto Pineda MD performed it. I had a live weekly AM talk radio show in NYC where people could ask LASIK questions. We simulcast the surgery from the OR in Boston to my audience in NYC!
My surgery went well and I got rid of my myopia and astigmatism and got to 20/20. However I had dry eyes and have to take tears daily, because my corneal nerves got cut by cutting the LASIK flap. I also had bad night glare, also caused by the LASIK flap. In 2000 I became a partner in a LASIK centre on West 14th St. Unfortunately the next year 9/11 happened, which destroyed the laser vision correction market for a year.
I was the very first & only MD to arrive at WTC as a volunteer on 9/11. How this happened is an interesting story. In 1993 I was an intern at St. Vincent’s hospital when WTC was attacked the first time. As the closest Level III trauma centre to WTC, the “house staff” doctors weren’t allowed to leave, to handle anticipated flood of victims. But no victims came for hours, because no triage had been set up at WTC.
That lesson stayed with me. So when I saw the twin towers burning from my apartment building I fed & walked my dog, Hershey, grabbed a first aid kit, put on my rollerblades, and headed downtown. Tower 1 collapsed on my way down, but I didn’t know that, I just saw a lot of smoke & dust.
Triage had been set up in the lobby of Tower 2, and I missed being killed by Tower 2’s cool come down on my head by 10 minutes. Later on, my mom figured out that if not for having to feed & walk Hershey, I would have died. So she spoiled my dog every day afterwards until he died!
When I arrived at Ground Zero, I met some nurses and EMTs and we thought we were at the wrong place because we couldn’t see the Towers. It took us a while to figure out that the piles of rubble we were next to had once been the Twin Towers. I set up the first triage centre inside a 7/11, and the first morgue inside the Brooks Brothers store. It was truly surreal and apocalyptic.
I volunteered at WTC for the first 10 days, until FEMA had things finally under control, and I felt I could go home. I did develop exercise-induced asthma from the prolonged exposure.
Publications
Dr. Chynn has published extensively, both nationally and internationally. He is first author on over a dozen peer-reviewed publications, including all three leading ophthalmic journals in the US.
Dr. Chynn has published over 100 articles in non-peer reviewed literature, including many in Ophthalmology Times, the #1 popular journal in ophthalmology (according to annual readership and sales figures, provided by OT).
These articles report on the latest advances in LASIK and the more advanced LASEK and epi-LASEK (epi-LASIK) laser vision correction techniques and are widely read by eye surgeons across the US – especially those who are unable to attend the prominent meetings covered (the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology).
Articles About Laser Vision Correction
- Hyperopic LASIK
- Hyperopic PRK
- Re-treatment one year after photo refractive keratectomy (PRK) for myopia
- How many myopes will have refractive surgery?
- Contact Holmium Laser Thermokeratoplasty (LTK) for Hyperopia Surgery: 30 months follow-up
- Photo refractive keratectomy for the correction of hyperopia using the excimer laser VISX STAR
- Hyperopic LASIK: a comparison of the Nidek EC-5000, Chiron PlanoScan, and Kera Isobeam
- Prospective randomized comparison of simultaneous and sequential bilateral laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK)
- The correction of myopia
- LASIK Laser Vision Correction – UPDATE
- See Better…Drive Better!
Articles About Upcoming Techniques in Vision Correction
- Hyperopic Intraocular Contact Lens
- Clear Lensectomy
- Laser Thermokeratoplasty
- Bladeless “all-laser” new LASEK technique by Dr. Chynn offers maximum safety and vision!
Articles About Cataract Surgical Techniques
- CATARACTS: What They are, How to Prevent Them, and How to Choose a Cataract Surgeon
Articles About Cornea and External Disease
- Acanthamoeba Keratitis: Is Water Exposure a True Risk Factor?
- Acanthamoeba Keratitis: Contact Lens and Non-Contact Lens Characteristics
- Topical Cyclosporin A in the management of postkeratoplasty Corticosteroid-Induced Ocular Hypertension (CIOH) and Glaucoma
- Is Pseudoexfoliation an Immunological Disease?
- Relationship of Corneal Thickness and Measured Intraocular Pressure
- Long-term Treatment of Normal Pressure Glaucoma with Nimodipine
- Therapeutic Outcomes of Acanthamoeba Keratitis
- Prognosis and Complications of Corneo-scleral Transplants for End-Stage Corneal Disease
- Subconjunctival Treatment of Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid (OCP) with Mitomycin-C (MMC)
- Treatment of Conjunctival Malignancies with Topical Chemotherapy
Articles Featuring Dr. Chynn (Press)
- “From ‘Ground Zero’ to Heroes: A Nation Resolves to Stand Tall.” ACSH News Volume 9 No. 2 2001.
Articles Featuring Dr. Chynn (PubMed)
PubMed comprises more than 20 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.
- Reactive lymphoid hyperplasia one month after LASIK surgery
- Topographic detection of photo refractive keratectomy
- Metastatic Ewing cell sarcoma of the sinus and osteoid osteoma of the orbit
- Acanthamoeba keratitis: is water exposure a true risk factor?
- Norrie disease. Diagnosis of a simplex case by DNA analysis
- Cogan's syndrome: ophthalmic, audiovestibular, and systemic manifestations and therapy
- Acanthamoeba keratitis. Contact lens and noncontact lens characteristics
- Cystic lumbar meningioma presenting as a ring enhancing lesion on MRI
- Rigor of research methods in studies of the effectiveness and safety of cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation
- Hepatitis B transmission by neurologic pin testing
- Neurilemmoma of the anterior ethmoidal nerve encroaching upon the nasolacrimal duct
- Correlations among field dependence-independence, sex, sex-role stereotype, and age of preschoolers
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