Meet Dr. Nickel: The Valley’s First Eye Surgeon  

Your vision shapes how you see the world, whether you’re admiring the Gore Range in the distance, working at a computer screen mid-range or reading a book up close. Eye health goes beyond annual exams and can include local, successful surgeries with Dr. Todd Nickel, an expert eye surgeon. Nickel is at Colorado Mountain Medical (CMM) ophthalmology, serving as Vail Health’s first ophthalmologist and eye surgeon, and works with state-of-the-art equipment and technology.  

Nickel has performed over 20,000 eye surgeries before starting at Vail Health five months ago. “My goal here has been my goal for my entire career,” Nickel says. “That is to meet the patient and hear his or her concerns or needs, then develop a plan or strategy to best serve the patient through education, reassurance and excellent surgical and clinical care. I like to engage with patients to attempt to really hear their concerns — not only what their eye or vision concerns might be, but what their lifestyle is and how they need support, surgically or otherwise, to continue participating in their preferred lifestyle at the highest level.” 

Optometry vs. Ophthalmology 

Although optometrists and ophthalmologists collaborate and specialize in the human eye, the two doctors have different skill sets to deliver patient care. Optometrists are your primary care eye doctors, the providers you see for annual exams and to be fitted for glasses and contacts. Ophthalmologists, however, specialize in eye surgery, graduating from medical school, like optometrists, but then spend four years in residency training in ophthalmology.  

In his practice in east Texas, Nickel developed relationships with top optometrists in the area so he could care of their patients surgically, and he’s excited to continue to develop relationships with optometrists in the Valley. Nickel says he’s honored to receive patient referrals from local optometrists and grateful for the community’s trust to lead patients through the surgery process while their optometrists continue postoperative care.  

Through a variety of surgeries, Nickel’s specialties work to reduce dependence on glasses, provide customized vision correction and serve as a vision correction surgery.  

Conditions Nickel Treats 

• Cataracts 

• Dry eye  

• Diabetic-related eye disease, like retinopathy 

• Eyelid disorders that impact vision or eye health 

• Eye injuries  

• Sudden vision loss 

• Glaucoma  

• Inflammatory eye disease 

• Macular degeneration 

• Retinal conditions  

Procedures Nickel Performs  

• Cataract surgery  

• Refractive cataract surgery 

• Premium lens implantation 

• Refractive lens exchange 

• Comprehensive medical eye exams  

• Laser and refractive surgery  

• Minor eyelid surgery  

• Other vision-restoring surgeries 

Glaucoma Awareness  

Glaucoma is a condition where the optic nerve, which is responsible for all of our central and peripheral vision, slowly becomes damaged over time. Nickel recommends patients 40 years or older schedule regular glaucoma screenings.  

“The wonderful thing about glaucoma treatment these days is that treatment has become easier and more effective,” Nickel shares. He treats glaucoma with eye drops, in-office laser procedures that are painless and easy and Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgeries (MIGS).  

Cataract Surgery 

Cataracts are a dysfunctional human lens. The human lens is the amazing structure that creates crystal-clear, dynamic vision, keeping what we see in focus. The human lens begins to change when we are in our 40s; our vision becomes stiffer, less compliant and more dysfunctional. In our 50s and beyond, the human lens becomes more opaque. Nickel says this common process is called Dysfunctional Lens Syndrome, also known as how cataracts are produced. Nickel treats cataracts by removing the cloudy lens from the eye and replacing it with a prescription lens implant.  

“There is always some improvement in the vision,” Nickel says. He adds that cataract surgeries are typically covered by Medicare and insurances because it is a necessary, basic procedure to restore clearer vision and everyday life.  

Refractive cataract surgery is the same, except patients have the option to upgrade to premium categories in an attempt to dramatically decrease dependence upon glasses and contact lenses.  

Refractive Lens Exchange Surgery 

Refractive lens exchange is the same surgery as refractive cataract surgery, but this is for individuals who do not have significant cataract formation. The surgery is ideal for patients who want to limit their glasses and contacts use. Refractive lens exchange surgeries are highly successful, and easy and manageable for the patient. 

Unlike many surgical procedures, eye surgeries at CMM ophthalmology take up to 20 minutes, and the patient gets to go back to the comfort of their home shortly after. Patients experience a painless recovery, are able to drive and partake in normal activities within one day and rarely leave with a patch over their eye(s). After the surgery, follow-up visits are required following one day and one week post-operation. Nickel says he sends patients home with eyedrops to use on a taping schedule for approximately four weeks.  

Experiencing any of these symptoms? 

• Decreasing visual clarity 

• Decreasing ability to read clearly 

• Experiencing glares and/or halos at night 

• Depth perception issues 

• Color perception changes 

• The sense that “my eyes are not what they used to be” 

Nickel assures: “Most of the time, there are simple explanations for these visual changes and most of the time, simple solutions to help improve vision.”  

If you are feeling any of these symptoms, schedule a consolation with CMM ophthalmology. You might just be ready to work with Nickel for customized vision correction.