I Wish I could post this review with absolutely no stars, but I can't. Dale Fong does not deserve any stars! I was a patient for 28 years! I trusted him to care for my eyes. I went in for an annual eye exam and he found some inflammation inside both eyelids. He prescribed a "New formulation" of eye drops, Lotomax, and told me I could wear my contacts while using these eye drops. Boy, was he wrong! Apparently he did not do his research on this new formulation. According to the pharmaceutical company who makes these eye drops, clinicians are to "Advise patients AGAINST wearing contact lenses while on Lotomax therapy." Two weeks after initial therapy with Lotomax eye drops, which I found out later, is harsh steroid eye drops, I almost lost my vision. I woke up with the most horrible migraine, my vision was cloudy and all the straight lines I looked at were now waves. I saw Dale Fong for an emergency visit and he initially told me it was a migraine, but I never have migraines! I was referred to a specialist and told me I could wait a week to see him. Worried that I could loose my vision, I begged Dale Fong to call the specialist for me and get me in ASAP. I saw the specialist 2 days later. Over the course of 2 days, my vision worsened, I could not see the letters in the vision test chart, only a white box in the wall. The specialist told me I had severe inflammation in my retina and was prescribed 60mg of oral Prednisone. I was out of work for 2 weeks, saw countless specialists, took countless test, to include CT scans, and blood work. For 2 weeks, I could not see any fine details, I could not see my own reflection in the mirror, nor could not see any details of anyone's faces! After 2 weeks my vision improved. After 4 weeks, I lost 3/4 of my hair, and spent thousands of dollars to restore my vision. My Rheumatologist and new Ophthalmologist both agree that using the eye drops and wearing my contact lenses, as advised by Dale Fong, has left me with Uveitis. It's been 4 years, and I am still on Prednisone therapy, and will continue to be some sort of autoimmune suppression drug for the rest of my life! My Uveitis was caused by an extrinsic factor, using contact lenses with unnecessary steroidal eye drops, rather than an intrinsic health factor. my life has changed forever because of Dale Fong!
I have documented my experience with Dale Fong and sent it in to my medical insurance company. The insurance company deemed my complaint a valid medical complaint and sent a letter to Dale Fong advising him to do the right thing and reach out to me. I have never heard from him. I spoke to a personal injury attorney who advised me a have a legitimate malpractice case, but with attorney fees, I would end up loosing more money than I have already lost to medical bills.
I ran into Dale Fong one night shopping. At first, the sight of him made my bold boil. Then I decided I should confront him. After showing him pictures of my hair loss, and giving him details of my horrible experience, he wrote it off by saying, "That couldn't happen, that would be very rare," I told him I spend thousands of dollars because of his neglect of researching the dosing instructions for Lotomax eye drops. I told him that I thought about requesting help from him to cover my medical bills. He stated, "Oh I can't pay for your medical bills, it's illegal," it's not illegal, it would be admitting fault! He stated he knew someone sent a complaint letter to the insurance company, but didn't know it was me, what a liar! I did not tell him I sent a letter to my insurance company! He then had the audacity to tell me, "I want to help you, why don't you come back as my patient and I'll give you a discount on your eye glasses and a free bottle of vitamins." What an insult! I will never go back as a patient!
PATIENTS BEWARE! MY VISION WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! I currently have black floaters caused by the inflammation that will never go away, I will never be able to wear contact lenses ever again, and I will always have medical appointments to monitor my condition. read more