Every aspect available to maximize vision performance is found at the Kellis Eye & Laser Center in Chardon. The comprehensive hybrid of care covers routine eye exams, glasses and contact lens fittings, oculoplastic surgery, cataract implant surgery, glaucoma management, dry eye treatment, retinal disease management and aesthetic laser surgeries.

“Oculoplastic surgeons aren’t that common to begin with, so it’s unusual to have so many of us under one roof, as well as retinal specialists and an optometrist,” says Founder Dr. Augustine J. Kellis, who is a board- certified ophthalmologist and fellowship- trained oculoplastic surgeon. “Our field of medicine aims to restore or enhance the complex structures within and around the eye, such as lids, brows and orbit.”

About 25 years ago, Dr. Kellis and his group were the first in Ohio to introduce his trademarked CO2 procedure.

“There’s a night-and-day difference between what a scalpel can accomplish and what a laser can,” says Dr. Kellis, who, as a faculty member at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, also trained the other doctors in his own practice and many others, as fellows.

In addition to cataract implant surgery, one of the most common surgeries they perform is blepharoplasty. The procedure aims to reduce excess skin and fat around the upper or lower lids, which can cause trouble with vision. During some procedures, when necessary, the doctors can also lift the brow.

“There is much more precision and finesse involved with a laser, and our patients enjoy outcomes that are very natural-looking,” he adds. “Patients just look refreshed afterward, not changed. The laser greatly reduces recovery time, bruising and swelling, since it seals blood vessels as it moves across tissue. We hardly ever see even a drop of blood during the surgery, which only takes about six minutes per eyelid. The entire process takes about 15 minutes. And if the excess skin on the upper lids is causing vision impairment, insurance usually covers it.”

In addition to blepharoplasty, the doctors also use the laser to perform surgeries to remove cancers on the eyelid, eyeball or socket, as well as repair fractures and perform reconstructions.

“The demand has been growing for these services, and we are up to seven locations between our main office and satellites,” he says.

Since Kellis Eye & Laser Center shares a building with the Chardon Surgery Center, patients don’t have to go to another hospital for the procedures.

As a nice complement to the CO2 laser, the doctors also use a BBL (Broad Band Light) laser for facial rejuvenation, including anti-aging, contouring, hair removal and acne care.

Dr. Kellis always has his eye on research- based innovation, and his vitamin formulation—Nature’s Eye Vitamins—is testimony to that. He wasn’t satisfied with the vitamins on the market to treat macular degeneration, so he formulated his own.

“Based on AREDS II age-related eye disease study, these vitamins are made from 100% natural ingredients, including protective elements such as lutein and bilberry, to slow the progression of age- related macular degeneration,” he says.