Dr. Rinku Dutt unprofessionalism, has to guess at prescriptions, talks down to underprivelaged patients New Kensington Pennsylvania

I would like to share the experiences that I have had with Dr. Dutt in the short time that she has been caring for me, with the hope to help individuals who may find this site make a more informed decision about choosing her as their eye care physician.

My first visit with Dr. Dutt was almost 3 months ago for a routine check up and to get new glasses at her Cranberry Township office.  Dr. Dutt's assistant was very personable and spent roughly 10 minutes helping me try on glasses before I went back for my examination.  My first impression of Dr. Dutt was that she was a friendly and caring person.  She made me feel comfortable and at ease during my examination.  During this visit we discussed the possibility of ILASIK surgery to improve my vision.  I had wanted to have this surgery for quite some time but was always too afraid.  Dr. Dutt described the procedure and convinced me to have the surgery.  Let me clarify that I did not feel pressured in any way.  I feel I am a pretty good judge of character and she instilled a level of trust that allowed me to make this decision.

I was very nervous about having the surgery, quite simply because I don't like "things" touching my eyes.  When I came into her office for the surgery I was greeted by friendly and professional staff.  There were four or five other patients there that day to have ILASIK surgery yet my interaction with Dr. Dutt and her staff made me feel like I was the only one, and their top priority.  The pre-surgery testing was a piece-of-cake and lasted longer than the actual procedure.  Prior to the surgery I received valium to help me relax and numbing eye drops.  The best way I know how to describe the surgery is that it felt like I had been abducted by aliens and they were doing tests on my eyes.  I know it sounds funny but I have talked to other people who have had LASIK and they say the same thing.  There was absolutely no pain but some pressure which I was informed about prior to the surgery.  I don't know how long the actual procedure was but it only felt like ten minutes.  In real-time I think it does only take about ten to fifteen minutes.

It has been five weeks since I had the ILASIK surgery.  Today I visited Dr. Dutt for my one month follow-up examination.  I have 20/15 vision and I'm ecstatic about my results!  I often smile during the day when I reach for my glasses and realize that I don't need them anymore.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Dr. Dutt if you are looking for an eye care physician.  She is a down-to-earth, caring person, and she "gave" me a new set of eyes!  If you are a candidate for ILASIK and are apprehensive about the procedure, my recommendation is to do it.  To have freedom of sight without glasses is amazing.  I was not asked to compose this entry by Dr. Dutt but chose to by my own free will.  The catalyst for doing so was because I felt she received unfair comments on the Internet, and so that others in my position may make more informed opinions about her.  Please contact Dr. Dutt's office if you would like my phone number to discuss my experiences in greater detail.

I just want to say to the two people who commented on my report: Your experience with Dr. Dutt may have been a pleasant, courteous and professional one, but, mine was not. And yes, I DO KNOW HOW TO PUT MY LENSES IN PROPERLY. I'VE BEEN WEARING THEM SINCE 1989! In addition, I WAS NOT LOOKING FOR FREE MEDICAL CARE. I can only assume that you made that "free service" comment, because you have some prejudice against the working poor (as Dr. Dutt apparently does). She needs to work on her bedside manner, and not judge which people she feels like being professional with (and which she doesn't feel the need to be), according to their profession or how they look or are dressed. I hope she has matured since I last saw her, and is not as discriminatory with her patients.

I have been going to Dr. Dutt for 6 years. Yes, I have had to wait for more than an hour on occassion but most Doctors make you wait. I have never had Dr. Dutt talk down to me, she has been nothing but helpful and curtious.

As far as Dr. Dutt not taking the time with you because you are low income or don't have insurance....come on......I think you have a guilt factor working against you.

If you have a problem with Dr. Dutt then I think you should take this up with Dr. Dutt personally and not try to slam her over the internet.

I would highly recommend Dr. Dutt to anyone. I have had lasik surgery in both eyes plus CK in one eye. My husband has had lasik surgery and I have recommended Dr. Dutt to several of her clients and maybe that's why she's so busy that you have to wait longer to go see her.

If you don't like the service go elsewhere....there are tons of eye doctors out there. I don't have tons of money but I work hard for what I have and I scrimped and saved until I had enough money to have my surgery and I am proud to say that I paid for it on my own. No hand outs for me...Just lots of hard work

I'm not afraid to give out my name.....and if anyone wants to contact me personally please feel free.

This rebuttal is in response to the false and slanderous comments written above. The person who wrote the entry is mistaken both in terms of the terminology she uses and the assumptions she is making, and is clearly unfamiliar with good eye care practices. She was also apparently seeking free eye care because she feels herself to be low income. Based on my experience, the doctor's office accepts most insurances, but is unable to offer free eye to anyone who walks in and requests it.

The doctor uses a state of the art autorefractor to measure prescriptions. Because individual responses to contacts can vary, we often offer a free trial set, and then measure their effectiveness in the eye. Contact lens prescriptions can be checked by measuring visual acuity with the contact lenses in the eye. This offers a practical determination of the patient's eye's response to the particular brand, style, curvature and prescription strength of the contacts she is using. Of course, in any case, if a wearer puts the contact lens in her eye inside-out, it will tend to hurt and to curl up, as apparently happened to this patient.

The doctor, who is fellowship trained in glaucoma, uses the most reliable method of measuring eye pressures, by using numbing drops and a blue light. The puff of air, which is applicable for high eye pressures, is not as useful for measuring normal or borderline eye pressures. The puff of air approach is not all that comfortable for the patients, and since it doesn't provide the same quality of information as the blue light method, the doctor does not use it commonly.

The doctor takes great care to give her patient's her full attention when she sees them. Sometimes patients with serious conditions have a lot of questions, and the doctor takes the time to answer their questions. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes a patient will have a short wait to see the doctor before the prior patient is finished. A wait of many hours, as alleged, is a ridiculous exaggeration. However, the doctor and her staff make every effort to keep the wait as short as possible. As part of this effort, as with virtually every medical office in the country, some preliminary matters and routine diagnostics are handled by the doctor's staff. The patient's complaints in this regard are simply misguided and unrealistic.

For those who are interested, the doctor does offer the LASIK procedure. She was trained in a cornea refractive fellowship at Tulane University Medical Center and has performed thousands of LASIK procedures. Our LASIK treatment uses a state of the art VISX lasers, with advanced customized procedures available. Our LASIK prices are very competitive, without any of the bait and switch tricks used by the companies that advertise so heavily on the radio and in the Sunday newspaper. You should call her office, at 724-527-9720 or 1-866-LETS-SEE for more information, or check out their website at www.duttvision.com.