From our many years of experience we
know that in order for any treatment plan to be successful, all of the
patients' needs must be addressed. Therefore in our practice our goal
is to deliver the most modern care available to our patients, while at
the same time emphasizing the personal as well as the medical needs of
each patient. We aim to deliver the required care in the gentlest
possible way.
Dr. Levine's interest in maximizing his
patients' quality of life has led him to pioneer eyelid reanimation
and repositioning techniques for patients with facial paralysis, a
passion that has led him to be known both nationally and
internationally for his contributions to the field of ophthalmic
plastic surgery.
Medical &
Surgical Techniques
Dr. Levine has pioneered various techniques in ophthalmology and oculo-plastics.
He has published articles and text-book chapters which are the
definitive sources dealing with those techniques. Dr. Levine has also
taught courses for physicians who wished to learn the techniques.
As a result of Dr. Levine's teaching
activities (as Clinical Professor at U.S.C. School of Medicine), and
his interaction with colleagues at national and international meetings
and as Co-Director of the Center for Facial Nerve Function, Dr. Levine
is aware of the latest medical and surgical techniques. He selects
those which are appropriate for his patients.
During his more than three decades of
association with the House Ear Clinic, Dr. Levine has had the
opportunity to care for approximately 5000 patients with facial
paralysis. His approaches to the treatment of facial paralysis
patients is therefore based on a uniquely extensive experience with
the eye problems such patients face.
Equipment
It is especially important in treating eye patients to be able to use
sophisticated state-of the art equipment. We make every effort to have
the latest office-based equipment available. For example, we were the
first in Southern California to have the new OCT 3 laser scanner in
our office, for diagnostic imaging of the back of the eye. Since Dr.
Levine is affiliated with three of Los Angeles' foremost medical
centers (St.Vincent Medical Center, U.S.C. University Medical Center,
and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center), we can always assure that our
patients have access to the latest in hospital-based equipment as
well.
With the exception of cosmetic
blepharoplasties and cosmetic ptosis surgery, all of the procedures
performed by Dr. Levine are covered by insurance, including such
innovative procedures as the enhanced palpebral spring procedure. In
fact, Medicare, Blue Cross of California and Blue Shield of California
have each provided specific guidelines for payment for the enhanced
palpebral spring procedure.
As a service to patients, Dr. Levine
also wants everyone to be aware of some poorly publicized facts
concerning insurance coverage:
For many years, insurers have claimed
that functional procedures involving the eyelids (such as spring
surgery and lower lid repositioning) were cosmetic, and thereby found
an excuse not to pay for them. That ploy no longer works, at least in
California. In July of 1999, in response to a wave of protests about
the callousness of insurers who denied reconstructive surgery to women
who underwent mastectomies for breast cancer, AB 1367 became law. That
bill, which is now Section 1367 of the Business and Professions Code,
requires that all insurers pay for reconstructive surgery which was
required because of a congenital defect or a disease or medical
condition (such as facial paralysis), even if that surgery were only
cosmetic (like breast reconstruction).
Section 1367 also provides that
services can be denied only by a California licensed physician who is
a peer of the physician requesting the services, e.g., a nurse or
general practitioner cannot deny the services requested by an oculo-plastic
surgeon. Also, a review agency outside of California cannot deny
services, unless they employ California licensed physicians who issue
that denial.
Even patients who do not live in
California may be covered by the above statutes if the surgery is done
in California and their company writes insurance in California. Check
with your insurance carrier, or local state insurance commission.
In addition, Dr. Levine has been
informed by reliable sources that patients insured by Blue Cross (and
possibly Blue Shield) in any state must be offered benefits comparable
to those offered in another state (such as California, where Section
1367 is in effect).
If you require consultation with Dr.
Levine, or surgery by him, our staff will assist you in every way to
obtain the pre-authorization that you may need.
