Sharon Kleyne Hour

Dr. Marguerite McDonald, MD, FACS (New York, NY), Corneal Specialist and Cataract & Refractive Eye Surgeon, discusses the basics of LASIK surgery, a procedure in which the need for glasses and contact lenses is eliminated or reduced. LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis and is a procedure that permanently changes the shape of the cornea, the clear covering of the front of the eye, using an excimer laser. A mechanical microkeratome (a blade device) or a laser keratome (a laser device) is used to cut a flap in the cornea and a hinge is left at one end of this flap. The flap is then folded back revealing the stroma, the middlesection of the cornea. Pulses from a computer-controlled laser vaporize a portion of the stroma and the flap is replaced. For additional information, please visit www.ocli.net. Second guest, Jan Rowan (Sunderland, MA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Connecticut River Coordinator's Office, discusses the program's involvement in native and migratory