NEW RETINAL SURGERY CENTER ESTABLISHED

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Dr. David J. Westrich, a Cape Girardeau ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon, has established a new facility to care for patients with diabetic eye disease and diseases of the posterior eye where the retina and vitreous are located.

"One of the greatest benefits of this facility for our patients is the availability of outpatient surgical procedures performed in an office setting," said Westrich, who is located in the Cape Retinal Surgery Center, 19 Doctors' Park.

Two major types of surgeries performed are the opthalmic laser surgery and cryopexy freezing the back of the eye to seal tears.

"The center has the only tunable dye laser in the area," he said. "This allows for the selection of the best wavelength of laser light to treat each patient's particular retinal eye disease."

Westrich, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Leon A. Westrich of Cape Girardeau, said he returned to his hometown "to fill a long-standing void in the ophthalmic care of citizens in a tri-state area. Prior to initiating my practice here, the patients in this area had to travel to St. Louis or Memphis to seek vitreoretinal eye care."

Westrich attended Notre Dame High School and Southeast Missouri State University, where he received his B.S. degree, summa cum laude, in 1980. He earned his M.D. degree, magna cum laude, from St. Louis University School of Medicine, where he also took his internship in internal medicine. His training and experience also included fulfilling a residency in ophthalmology and a vitreoretinal fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., from 1985 to 1989.

Westrich and his wife, Mary K. (O'Connor), moved to Cape Girardeau in 1989 when he affiliated with the Eye Consultants in Doctors' Park.

He is board certified in ophthalmology, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is member of the American Medical Association, the Missouri State Medical Association, Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society and the American Diabetes Association. He has published, or presented, numerous papers in his field of speciality.

Westrich and his wife are parents of an 11-month-old son.

Stephanie Kasten is the new administrative manager of the Cape Retinal Surgery Center. She received her B.S. in nursing, summa cum laude, from Northern Illinois University. She completed her M.S. degree in biology, also summa cum laude, from NIU, while accruing Ph.D. credits at Baylor College of Medicine at Houston. Most recently, Kasten withdrew from the George Washington University School of Medicine at Washington D.C., where she was a medical student, to relocate to Cape Girardeau with her husband, Vernon L. Kasten.

Other staff at the center include Mary ("Suzie") Vickery of Cape Girardeau, ophthalmic registered nurse; Michael Pittman, ophthalmic photographer; Linda Bass of Jackson, medical secretary/insurance coordinator; and Jennifer Gibbar of Perryville, medical secretary/transcriptionist.