PEORIA MAGAZINE July 2022

a result, we changed the name to Wyman-Sicher Eye Associates.” In 1985, they added Dr. Pete Lagouros, a retinal ophthalmologist. “To avoid sounding like a legal or accounting practice by adding another name to the door, we decided on a more generic name: Illinois Eye Center,” saidWyman, laughing. From there, they recruited a pediatric ophthalmologist, an oculoplastic specialist and ultimately a glaucoma specialist, Dr. Patrick Rhode, who remains with the practice today. “I joined the Illinois Eye Center in 1995, right out of training,” said Rhode. “A few months in, I had a complication during one of my surgeries, and was worried what these seasoned ophthalmologists were going to think of this young gun. Dr. Wyman pulled me aside and said, ‘You know how to avoid complications during surgery? Don’t operate. Complications are going to happen and you have to do the best you can for your patients.’ He was so kind and understanding, and continues to be to this day.” A CLEARER VISION The practice was bursting at the seams and needed to rent additional space. Ultimately, a group decision was made to build on land off Illinois Route 91 in north Peoria. Illinois Eye Center moved there in 2007. “It’s pretty amazing how the Center has gone from Dr. George Wyman’s initial practice on Jefferson Street, which was maybe 1,500 square feet, to our current space at 8921 Wood Sage Road, which is 45,000 square feet,” said TimMcCormack, Illinois Eye Center’s executive director of five years. The practice also has satellite offices in Washington and Pekin. ‘DR. WYMAN OR BUST’ “When Dr. Wyman joined his father’s practice, it began a mission that ultimately saw Illinois Eye Center grow to care for more patients annually than most busy academic

institutions,” said Dr. Yannis Kolettis, who has been with the practice for 22 years. “He established unique, loyal and long-term bonds with his patients. When I first joined … some patients would refuse to see me, though I could get them in sooner due to my sparse schedule. It was Dr. Wyman or bust!” Over time, Wyman became the go-to physician for cataract surgery, performing more than 25,000 such procedures. “When I first came to Peoria, I was doing it all, from the front … to the back of the eye,” he said. “Then we became so busy that we had to refer some of those procedures out, which of course was the impetus to expand.” LOOKING BACK Wyman reflected on the changes in medicine over the years. “As my grandfather was getting ready to pass on, he said, ‘You know, it’s a shame to be leaving this earth; they’re inventing such interesting things.’ And when I look back on what’s happened in ophthalmology, that’s very true.” One example is Wyman’s specialty, cataract surgery. “When I started in ophthalmology, we were taking the lens out of the eye, which is what a cataract extraction is, and not replacing it. Now, we’re able to replace the lens to correct for nearsightedness and astigmatism, and our success rates are much higher – like 99 percent.” Meanwhi le, “radial keratotomy used to be one of the most common procedures to correct nearsightedness,” he said. “We went from that procedure, whichwas a lot of surgery for not a lot of improvement, to LASIK, which is using a laser to reshape the cornea.” In fact, Dr. Kolettis trained with Dr. Ioannis Pallikaris, the surgeon credited with pioneering LASIK. Wyman is proud of not only his practice but of the level of medical care in general locally. “What some people don’t realize is that the size and sophistication of the medical community is significantly higher than you would expect for a medium-sized city in the Midwest,” he explained.

“When we’ve looked at networking with other practices around the nation, we’ve only found about a dozen … that come close to doing what we’re doing. The largest practice outside of Chicago and St. Louis, with the widest array of subspecialty services, is right here in Peoria.” REFLECTING ON A LEGACY Wyman is nowsemi-retired. He enjoys fishing, golfing, reading and walking his two dogs, Willie and Grace, but perhaps his favorite place remains the halls of Illinois Eye Center, interacting with patients and staff. “Dr. Wyman … is unwavering in his dedication to treat every patient as if they are the only person he is seeing that day,” said Dr. Evan Pike, who came on board in 2012. “I swear his pulse is never above 62,” joked Rhode. “He never has an ill word … He treats everyone on the staff like family.” “He taught me that caring for a patient wasn’t just about removing their cataract or prescribing glasses, but connecting in ways that reveal your genuine interest in their fears, uncer taint ies and l ives,” added Kolettis. “My relationships with many of my patients have been modeled after what Dr. Wyman shared in those early days.” Reflecting on his career, Wyman said he feels “very blessed to have been able to practice for 45 years. “When you start at one end of life, you don’t really tend to think about what’s going to happen at the far end of it … I like to say that ophthalmologists don’t die, we just refract away. I believe that’s just what might happen with me, but until then, I’m living the dream.”

Amy Talcott is is a senior marketing and communications analyst at RLI Corp. and freelance writer

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