Printer-friendly format

Dr. Lynn McMahan has met Nelson Mandela, shook hands with President George Bush, had breakfast with President Bill Clinton and dined with President Zia of Pakistan.

But he is arguably more pleased with another coup: landing on the cover of the first-ever American Express OPEN BOOK: A Practical Guide for Business Growth. Inside, the cataract and implant specialist and founder of Southern Eye Center in Hattiesburg is one of only six individuals featured in the inaugural publication.

“Upon contacting me in November 2006, I went into detail of all Dr. McMahan does not only for his employees, but the community too,” said Angel Misenhelter, practice development director for Southern Eye Center, who persevered through the highly competitive process.

Among the highlights of McMahan’s contributions: loading up vans with equipment and driving to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the perilous days after the devastating storm hit, treating people in shelters whose eyes had been damaged by flying debris. Charitable acts like those represent reasons why Southern Eye Center earned the Governor’s GIVE Award for Excellence in Volunteerism in 2002, the same year McMahan’s Gift of Sight Program won USA Today’s National Make a Difference Day Award.

Fried Chicken, Anyone?
Southern Eye Center was founded in April 1977 in an old fried-chicken store with McMahan aided by a sole technician. It has grown into a sprawling, thriving practice in a custom-built clinic served by seven surgeons providing full-time services for cataract, implant, retina, diabetes, glaucoma, cornea, eyelids, eye muscles and LASIK patients. With a staff of 85, the team performs approximately 6,000 operations a year.

“There was a need for eye specialists,” recalled McMahan of establishing the clinic. “The nearest (eye specialists) were about 100 miles away. I learned the rudiments of laser surgery and brought the first laser treatments to this area.”

OPEN BOOK describes the ophthalmology clinic as one with a small-town family feel: “Patients greet staff in the cheery waiting rooms like old friends (‘Are you still seein’ that policeman, darlin’?’). The genial character of the place is personified in its owner, Dr. Lynn McMahan, 60. His scrubs are adorned with blue hearts or green frogs; he hums tunes or sings ‘Amazing Grace’ during operations – with particular emphasis on the line ‘was blind, but now I see.’”

“What we aim to do here is take the dread out of surgery,” he told OPEN BOOK in his laconic southern drawl. “In fact, we prefer the term ‘procedure.’ There’s no ER drama and blood and people shouting. You just walk in, lay down, get some drops put in, and 10 minutes later, you’re on your way home to cook supper.”

Lesson Learned
McMahan learned a valuable lesson early in his career and religiously vows to “never turn anybody away.”

“In my first year of practice, I had a lady come here with glaucoma. Several years later, she came back and was blind,” he recalled, shaking his head. “I said, ‘why didn’t we see you sooner?’ She said she had no insurance and couldn’t afford it. If I’d seen her in time, I could’ve saved her sight. And I never wanted that on my conscience again. Ever.”

McMahan completed his residency at the University of Alabama and finished a fellowship with Drs. David Meyer and Steven Charles in Memphis. He was among the first American ophthalmologists to use phaco-emulsification and intra-ocular implants and to perform the majority of his cataract surgeries on an outpatient basis. His work has been featured in 36 national publications. He has given nearly 60 scientific lectures on five continents and in almost every major city in the United States.

Listed among the 21 busiest cataract surgeons in the nation, McMahan has been named one of America’s Top Ophthalmologists, Best Doctors in America, and a Mississippi Foundation to Preserve Sight Person of Vision.

The American Express book was mailed to 2 million cardholders nationwide, and the credit card company has gone back to print three times to fill requests for additional copies.

“Though we have been featured in several national publications, such as U.S. News, the national exposure shows Dr. McMahan and Southern Eye Center’s reputation of offering the highest level of patient care and hopefully has encouraged other practices across the U.S. to help those in need,” said Misenhelter.



February 2008

Tags:

None

Login and voice your opinion!