Hawaii’s First IMT Patient Receives the Gift of Sight

On January 10, 2012, Merrill Smith underwent the first IMT surgery in Honolulu, Hawaii. Since then, he has been working on his vision and training with Dr. Kellen Kashiwa bi-weekly in Hilo on Hawaii’s Big Island. Prior to receiving the telescope implant, Smith was nearly blind. His vision has improved remarkably from 20/200 to 20/80 and his quality of life has increased dramatically. Where he was once unable to see faces and could barely read, Mr. Smith can now decipher faces, read with glasses, see movement and watch television. His vision began improving immediately after surgery and with continued training with Dr. Kashiwa, his complete treatment time is anticipated to be about three months.