Kristin Cavallari Takes Camera Into Her Own Hands for RealityLASIK Docu-Drama Premiering Online Today

    LOS ANGELES, May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- What do you get when you
 mix a reality TV crew, four handheld digital camcorders, and an eye
 surgeon-to-the-stars, with a TV beauty's pursuit of 20/20 vision and one
 innovative company willing to document it all? You get the breakthrough
 online docu-drama RealityLASIK, which documents Kristin Cavallari's pursuit
 of the latest in vision correction surgery and her decision to ultimately
 undergoing Advanced CustomVue(TM) LASIK with the IntraLase Method(TM).
     The online series, underwritten and produced by Advanced Medical Optics
 (AMO) (NYSE:   EYE), the company behind the advanced blade-free LASIK
 procedure, premieres today at www.realityLASIK.com. It is the first
 docu-drama to use a reality show format as the vehicle for not only
 entertaining, but also educating viewers about the popular vision
 correction surgery.
     "Kristin had made the decision to have LASIK surgery and approached us
 with the idea of documenting her own experience as a fun way to speak to
 her fans and others considering the procedure," said Lauren Kanner, AMO's
 global director of consumer market development. "The medical industry is
 always looking for ways to earn the public's trust. The very nature of a
 reality-based program is to draw the audience in, and we thought this was
 an engaging opportunity for people to live the LASIK surgery experience
 through Kristin's eyes, not ours."
     Cavallari added, "I am a person with real questions, fears, and
 ultimately, extreme elation with the end result. AMO gave me the freedom to
 tell my story, on my terms, with my own friends and family using my own
 cameras."
     Reality crews follow Kristin Cavallari's every LASIK move over a one
 month time span, capturing her first doctor's visit, the advanced
 blade-free LASIK procedure itself performed by renowned ophthalmologist Dr.
 Robert Maloney, and the subsequent post-op visits. The 8-episode docu-drama
 also catches Kristin in candid, confessional moments -- some filmed by
 close friends and family and some by herself with the use of four digital
 camcorders. The reality series also includes a companion blog and audiocast
 of her experience.
     RealityLASIK: Beauty Real-EYE-zed
     The first episode opens with Kristin entering her management offices to
 pitch the concept for an online reality journal. The concept is met with
 much enthusiasm around the room as she details her desire to reach out to
 her fans and other young people.
     "My frustration with my vision began in sixth grade with my first pair
 of glasses and didn't get any better with my first pair of contacts two
 years later," said Cavallari. "No matter how you look at it, glasses and
 contacts are a huge inconvenience, especially when you're young."
     Episode 2 will debut one week later with one episode rolling out each
 week.
     Real-EYE-Dramas Acted out Daily Nationwide
     Millions struggle with the hassle of contacts and glasses. Yet most
 don't realize that the likelihood of a serious sight-threatening
 complication from contact lenses is five times greater than LASIK,
 according to a recent study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology
 (Mathers, et. al., Oct. 2006). The size of the U.S. Gen Y population is
 estimated at 76 million. (Fast Company, Jan./Feb. 2006).
     "People in their 20s are the ideal candidates for LASIK. Not only will
 they enjoy great vision for decades to come, but they will preserve the
 health of their eyes by eliminating continual contact lens wear," said Dr.
 Maloney. "Kristin really represents a generation that is comfortable and
 savvy enough to seek the most advanced technologies, such as Advanced
 CustomVue LASIK with the IntraLase Method, to meet the demands of their
 lifestyles."
     Dr. Maloney continued, "By having LASIK surgery earlier in life, this
 generation also will save tens of thousands of dollars in glasses, contact
 lenses, solutions and continual follow-up care." Given the cost of
 contacts, ever-changing glasses prescriptions and follow-up care, some
 people can recoup the cost of LASIK in less than three years. Flexible
 financing plans can make this a realistic, affordable option for young
 people.
     Casting Call
     In conjunction with the docu-drama's premiere, AMO also is launching a
 nationwide contest for people to submit their own videos, audiocasts and
 blog entries, documenting their own experience having Advanced CustomVue
 LASIK using the IntraLase Method. Experiences can be submitted in the form
 of a video, audio or diary entry to www.RealityLASIK.com. One winner will
 be selected each month through December 31, 2007 and awarded $5,000. For a
 complete list of contest rules please visit www.RealityLASIK.com.
     RealityLASIK Credits:
     Starring Kristin Cavallari
     Kristin Cavallari is known for her role several years ago on the MTV
 Reality TV series Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. She was one of
 several women who had their real life captured on the reality TV show, as
 she progressed from a high school junior in the first season to a senior in
 the second season of the show. Kristin's friends and family also appear in
 the RealityLASIK docu-drama including her mom, best friend, manager and
 beloved dog.
     Ophthalmologist: Dr. Robert K. Maloney
     Robert K. Maloney, MD, MA (Oxon), is a former Rhodes scholar and Summa
 Cum Laude graduate of Harvard University. He completed his education at
 Oxford University and John Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Maloney was the first
 surgeon in western North America to perform LASIK surgery as part of the
 original FDA clinical trials. He is clinical professor of ophthalmology at
 UCLA and director of the Maloney Vision Institute in West Los Angeles,
 Calif. Dr. Maloney has personally performed more than 50,000
 vision-correction procedures and has been interviewed by the Discovery
 Channel, the Learning Channel, Extra, 20/20, Prime Time Live, PBS's Life
 and Times, and CNN's the World Today. He also has been featured in numerous
 magazines and newspapers.
     The Procedure: Advanced CustomVue(TM) LASIK with the IntraLase
 Method(TM)
     The Advanced CustomVue laser vision correction procedure stands in a
 class of its own with the broadest range of FDA-approved indications. When
 combined with the power and precision of the IntraLase Method, the Advanced
 CustomVue represents the most advanced LASIK procedure available to
 patients today. The IntraLase FS laser, the first technology for a
 blade-free LASIK procedure, replaces the handheld microkeratome blade
 historically used in creating LASIK corneal flaps -- the first step of the
 procedure -- with a computer guided, ultra-fast femtosecond (fem-to-second)
 laser. The IntraLase laser virtually eliminates the majority of the most
 severe sight-threatening LASIK complications related to use of the
 microkeratome and, by creating an optimal corneal surface below the flap,
 provides for better visual outcomes -- taking patients to 20/20 vision and
 beyond. More than one million LASIK procedures using the IntraLase Method
 have been performed.
     Executive Producers: Advanced Medical Optics (AMO)
     AMO develops advanced, life-improving vision technologies for people of
 all ages. Products in the cataract/implant line include intraocular lenses
 (IOLS), phacoemulsification systems, viscoelastics, and related products
 used in ocular surgery. AMO owns or has the rights to such product brands
 as ReZoom(R), Tecnis(R), Clariflex(R), Sensar(R), and Verisyse(TM) IOLs,
 Sovereign(R) and Sovereign(R) Compact(TM) phacoemulsification systems with
 WhiteStar(R) technology, Healon(R) viscoelastics, and the Baerveldt(R)
 glaucoma shunt. Products in the laser vision correction line include
 wavefront diagnostic devices, femtosecond lasers and associated patient
 interface devices, and excimer laser vision correction systems and
 treatment cards. AMO brands in the laser vision correction business include
 Star S4 IR(TM), WaveScan Wavefront(R), CustomVue(TM), IntraLase (TM),
 IntraLase Method(TM) and IntraLasik(TM). Products in the contact lens care
 line include disinfecting solutions, enzymatic cleaners and lens rewetting
 drops. Among the eye care product brands the company possesses are COMPLETE
 Moisture PLUS(R), COMPLETE(R) Blink-N-Clean(R), Consept(R)F, Consept(R) 1
 Step, Oxysept(R) 1 Step, UltraCare(R), Ultrazyme(R), Total Care(TM) and
 blink(TM) branded products. AMO is based in Santa Ana, California, and
 employs approximately 4,200 worldwide. The company has operations in 24
 countries and markets products in approximately 60 countries. For more
 information, visit the company's Website at www.amo-inc.com.
 
 

SOURCE Advanced Medical Optics