"I am so blessed to have found the Retina Center of New Jersey. All three doctors and the entire staff, every one of them, are very competent and caring. I experienced a very disturbing eye problem but I am confident that I have the best of care possible and am on the way to recovery. They all treat me like family. I highly recommend them!" Jeanne F.
"Dear Dr. Higgins, It is such a pleasure to see you at each visit... and I mean that literally. I can't thank you enough for saving my eyesight. When I was diagnosed with macular degeneration, my vision began to deteriorate rapidly. Although the doctors tried their best, nothing they suggested made a difference. Then I found you! When I walked into your office, I was impressed with the state-of-the-art equipment. Your staff was very receptive, helpful, and freindly. Then I met you, and knew I hit a homerun! There is one moment I will never forget. I was at my grandson's basketball game and my daughter realized I wasn't bothering to ask her for the score anymore... I could actually see the scoreboard! My vision had improved! Words cannot express my gratitude. I refer everyone to you. Thank you." Evelyn H.
"Thank you Dr. Lauren Kallina because you make me feel so comfortable when my daughter brings me for my visits. Your compassion and care is unique for a doctor." Maria C.
"I have been coming to the Retina Center of NJ for the past ten years for treatment of wet macular degeneration in both eyes. Dr. Patrick Higgins is the very best. I can attest to this statement because I went to another doctor for convenience. It was a terrible experience. That is when I vowed I would go back to Dr. Higgins no matter what. Everyone at the Retina Center of NJ is very kind, caring and knowledgeable. I look forward to seeing Dr. Higgins and the staff. I truly appreciate their expertise, gentleness and caring very much." Yolanda S.
"I was referred to Dr. Patrick Higgins by my ophthalmologist. My first appointment with Dr. Higgins left a lasting impression. The moment I entered the office, I was greeted with a very friendly and professional staff. They demonstrated excellent teamwork. Through each step of the process, I felt comfortable because they took the time to explain what I would encounter before my treatment with Dr. Higgins.
Once Dr. Higgins entered the treatment room, my nervousness diminished because he had a million dollar smile and he shook my hand firm but gently. He took time to explain to me what the diagnosis of my condition meant and what he would administer as treatment options.
He not only lifted my spirit but gave me hope and encouragement. Dr. Higgins has the best chair-side manner that I have ever experienced. I wish all my doctors were like him. He's truly a rare gem."
Gwen S.
"I was 29 years old when I was diagnosed with bilateral detached retina. The day I was diagnosed was the scariest day of my life. I was referred to Dr. Higgins for emergency surgery. As soon as we met he reassured me that I would be OK, the words I needed to hear at that moment. He thoroughly explained the diagnosis and took all necessary tests. The surgery was performed three days before super storm Sandy. Little did I know that this would be the one of the biggest storms of my life. I made it through the storm because of Dr. Higgins. The man saved my eyesight. Words cannot express the gratitude I have towards Dr. Higgins. He's not only a great doctor, he is also very compassionate with all of his patients. Since that time I've seen all of his associates including Dr. Jackson and Dr. Kalina, they are all wonderful. Thank you again - I was blessed to have found you Dr. Higgins!"
Alexandrea A.
"Dear Drs. Angioletti and Higgins,
A note just to thank you warmly for all that you have done to restore my sight.
Dr. Higgins, I am still reverberating from the experience of coming up to your home in Ridgewood and being helped out by you in an emergency situation.
Dr. Angioletti, I can't thank you enough for your expertise that saw me through surgery and my recovery.
I daresay that I might appear to you to be just another retina or just another patient in the long line of patients I have now seen passing through the Retina Center of New Jersey in North Bergen and in Bloomfield, and I wouldn't blame you for thinking so because you are busy men and I doubt my case presented anything of particular interest. Yet, as you will understand, as someone who stood on the verge of losing sight in his left eye, its restoration is nothing short of miraculous. I think it was Arthur C. Clarke who said something to the effect that when technologies become sufficiently sophisticated, the result is nothing short of magic, and so I can only think of you as magicians.
Over the years in some of my work I have taken keen interest in the senses and what we have to learn of the world outside of ourselves by considering the senses as mechanisms for communicating information. What I have learned about vision in the last few weeks has added volumes to my understanding of this issue in a most concrete way.
I hope this note conveys, then, something of my appreciation for all that you have done for me.
Yours Sincerely,
James M."
"I've known Dr. Louis V. Angioletti since I was 7 years old. I was born with severe myopia and an amblyopic right eye. With his ingenuity, perseverance, and pure brilliance he was able to stop my amblyopic right eye from completely going blind with the use of a single hard contact lense in my bad eye along with glasses. The purpose of this was to strengthen the muscles in my bad eye, and get them working as best as possible while also trying to restore some vision. Being his youngest contact lense patient I was as eager as ever to start wearing it!
Now that I am 46 years old I still continue to see Dr. Louis V. Angioletti every 6 months due to my current conditions. I have never in my life seen any other Doctor who has as much passion and perfection in his field while truly showing each and every patient kindness and compassion all while making them feel so comfortable and leaving with a hug and a smile. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful doctor in my life."
Francine I.
"It was almost 30 years ago that I stumbled into the then Manhattan office of Dr. Louis V. Angioletti -- literally stumbled -- eye drops blurring my vision, terrified of going blind.
All these years later, that stumble has become more like a leap of faith, because this remarkable doctor has helped me maintain my sight, despite macular degeneration, not only with his skill, but with his great optimism and good heart.
Dr. Angioletti just makes you feel things are going to be all right and you're going to be able to handle it. That is no small gift. You become an active partner, not only physically but mentally and emotionally, in your own treatment.
Those many years ago, two other doctors had made a dire prognosis for me with a cold professionalism that made me feel treatment was useless. I was a working reporter on a major New York City newspaper at the time whose life meant dealing with words. How was I supposed to see those words now? How was I, a husband and father of three, supposed to use them to take care of my family?
This is what was weighing me down when the second doctor at a hospital in New York examined me, filled my eyes with gunk, and suggested I go see somebody named Angioletti, up the street.
When I finally came tripping into Dr. Angioletti's office, he and his beautiful wife and assistant, Katherine, and gracious staff greeted me like a beloved relative they had truly missed. I was overwhelmed with relief and gratitude. So it has been ever since.
Now I'm retired from daily journalism, and, Dr. Angioletti, in large measure, allowed me to enjoy it for as long as I did.
Dr. Angioletti has saved my vision more than once and more than once he has brought me back from anxiety. At one point, the vision in my left eye became so distorted that the ocean horizon looked like a series of large hills. Dr. Angioletti's sure and confident use of his gift and the laser, precariously near my central vision, remains a miracle to me. Within a month I was seeing normally again. The ocean was just the ocean.
But, I repeat, what makes Dr. Angioletti so special is more than just his talent and skill. It is his empathy, kindness and generosity of spirit.
Perhaps he was born with that empathy. And perhaps he honed it as a combat medic with the Marines amid the suffering of Vietnam. Perhaps it is the sense of honor he learned there that has prompted him to volunteer his skill on numerous occasions, as he did when he made it a point to go to the World Trade Center immediately after the attack of 9/11 to cleanse the eyes and spirit of numerous first responders and construction workers of the dust and grit of that tragedy.
I have never met another doctor like him and consider him a friend. The name, Angioletti, has come to have a special meaning. It reminds me of "angel," as in an instrument of God."
George J.
"Dear Retina Center of New Jersey,
My family and I have been patients of Dr. Louis V. Angioletti, Jr. for so long now that I cannot pinpoint exactly when we first had the pleasure of meeting. I do know, however, that our relationship spans decades. My parents were his patients first and then I eventually started seeing him as well. Before being blessed with meeting Dr. Angioletti, my mother, through recommendation, had gone to another eye doctor in New York City and had been misdiagnosed with cataracts. By the time she saw Dr. Angioletti, who diagnosed her with Macular Degeneration, she had lost 50% of her eyesight in that eye. Given the history of the treatment options we worked through, she's had a standing appointment with him every three months to monitor her eyesight ever since. He always puts her at ease with his kind words, his compassion, and a kiss from St. Lucy. My mother is now 90 years old and just suffered a stroke. I wouldn't trust my mother's eyes with anyone else! Even with him moving from his Gramercy Park office in Manhattan to the Retina Center of New Jersey office in Teaneck, NJ, now a 45 minute to an hour drive away, it didn't change a thing. He recommended other doctors that were closer to us, but we would follow him regardless of location. For as long as he will be practicing, we will always be his patients. He is simply the most amazing doctor and human being I have had the pleasure of knowing. I do not view him as our doctor but as family. We will never go anywhere else!"
Valerie C.