Dr. Vivien Tham is an eye physician and surgeon with global training and 20 years of experience.  She has been serving Hawai‘i’s community for 15 years and offers exceptional, advanced eye care in a state-of-the art facility with a personalized touch.
 

Dr. Tham prides herself in the genuine way she interacts with her patients, and always treats every patient with the same level of care, detail and surgical excellence she would give her own family. Ophthalmology is her passion, and it shines through in every interaction with her patients.
 

Dr. Tham has performed thousands of cataract and refractive surgeries, including many on colleagues and their family members. She is also actively training future doctors and ophthalmologists as an assistant clinical professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at UH. In addition to her busy practice and teaching schedule, Dr. Tham continues researching the latest innovations in techniques and technology through projects with leading academic centers.

Dr. Tham is also fluent in Chinese.

What are the latest advances in cataract surgery?
Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed surgery in the world, and our practice is constantly researching new technologies to provide the most advanced, individualized and outstanding experience for patients.

Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery is the newest laser technology available and offers a highly customized and precise method of cataract removal. A specialized machine first maps out the patient’s eye with 3D imaging, then the laser is used to make precise incisions to allow access of the cataract. These were traditionally made with handheld manual instruments. The laser then softens the hard cataract, enabling a gentler extraction of the cataract. Because of this, less ultrasound energy is required to remove the cataract allowing for a gentler approach and, quite often, a quicker recovery.

This technology allows each procedure to be tailored specifically to the patient’s unique eyescape and works with a variety of the most advanced lenses, including astigmatism correcting, multifocal and presbyopia correcting lenses. Patients electing these advanced techniques with their cataract surgery find that they are much less dependent on glasses and can see much more clearly. Currently, we are one of the few of practices in the state that offer this type of surgery.