Two practitioners in two very different parts of Australia rely on TOTAL1 daily contact lens for very similar but powerful results.
Optometrists Lien Trinh and Mark Koszek are both working towards new beginnings.
At the Top End of Australia, Trinh is just a few weeks away from opening her own practice, Darwin Eye Care, while a little more than 4000km south, Koszek is set to open a practice in Sylvania Waters, Sydney.
In fact, at the time of writing, the website for My Eye Centre has a picture of Koszek standing in front of an empty, plastered wall.
New businesses they may be, but both practitioners will be quick to include a trusted friend to their portfolio of products and treatments when they do open those doors.
Both have long relationships with Alcon’s product lines, and especially the company’s WATERINNOVATIONS range, including its TOTAL1 daily disposable contact lenses.
TOTAL1 portfolio of contact lenses which Koszek often calls “revolutionary”, features the company’s Water Gradient technology, which uses an ultra-soft, high water surface gel combined with the oxygen transmission advantages of a silicone rich core to enhance comfort for the wearer.1-2
Also, there’s its SmarTears technology, which releases phosphatidylcholine, found naturally in tears, to help stabilise the lipid layer of the tear film.3
That has been particularly helpful for Koszek’s many patients with contact lens related dry eye.
He admits being a vocal advocate for Alcon products “for as long as I’ve been practising”.
That’s because he believes in the technology and its benefits to patients, particularly those using the TOTAL1 daily disposable contact lenses.
“TOTAL1 has been my most widely prescribed brand for years,” he says.
“Patients barely know they’re wearing a lens,4 and that was unheard of before this technology.”
Koszek’s journey is marked by long-term partnerships and significant milestones. He spent 25 years with EyeQ Optometrists, as a co-founder, before it was sold in 2024.
Following that, he worked for EssilorLuxottica for 18 months before deciding to open his own practice.
The new practice, scheduled to open around the time this Insight edition goes to print, will serve a wide demographic, including many older patients from nearby retirement communities.
“I see patients of all ages, from zero to 100,” Koszek says. “I’ve treated everything from routine cases to complex ocular conditions. That experience allows me to fully utilise my skills, which is something patients recognise and appreciate.”
Revolution in comfort, care
Koszek first encountered Alcon’s revolutionary materials in the early 2000s, beginning with the introduction of the water-breathable Focus Night & Day lenses (commonly known today as Air Optix Night & Day Aqua).
“Extended wear lenses were a huge step forward at the time, but there were inherent complications” he says.
The shift to daily wear contact lenses represented the next leap.
“In 2014, TOTAL1 launched in Australia,” he says.
“It delivered outstanding comfort and oxygen transmission”.
“Even patients experiencing contact lens related dry eye noticed a significant improvement.”5
He emphasises that TOTAL1 is suitable for nearly all patients, including those with astigmatism or multifocal needs.
“The water gradient material helps stabilise the lens on the eye. Rotation is negligible for astigmatic patients, and multifocal optics remain stationary, reducing visual variation.”
He also highlights the SmarTears technology, which enhances wetting and comfort.
Beyond the clinical advantages, Koszek notes that TOTAL1 has practical benefits for patient compliance.
“Historically, monthly or two-week lenses relied heavily on patients maintaining rigorous cleaning routines. Many didn’t, which increased infection risks.
“Daily lenses reduce those risks because each day starts with a fresh lens. Patients experience fewer dry spots and less friction – all of which leads to better overall eye health.”6
TOTAL1 isn’t just about patient comfort – it’s also good for the practice itself.
“When patients are comfortable, they wear lenses full-time,” says Koszek. “That improves their quality of life and ensures they continue purchasing lenses through the practice, rather than seeking alternatives online,” he says.
The business impact is clear. “If a patient is dissatisfied with comfort or vision, they might only wear lenses occasionally, or stop altogether.
“By providing the best product, you reduce dropout, encourage full-time wear, and naturally grow your practice revenue.”
He adds that educating patients about lens cost and compliance is key.
“I tell patients that even though daily lenses seem more expensive, the value is in comfort, convenience, and safety.
“Over a year, daily lenses aren’t 30 times more expensive than monthly ones. And the reduction in complications, infections, and lens replacements offsets the cost.”
Total power
Trinh, too, has witnessed its power to impact the lives of her patients.
One case, in particular, stands out: a First Nations teenager from a remote community struggling with poor vision due to progressive keratoconus. “When I first met him, he was frustrated and disengaged,” she says. “He had such severe keratoconus and fitting him with a hard contact lens completely inappropriate for his situation living in a remote community with limited access to care.
“His confidence at school and in daily life was affected. We tried multiple daily disposable lenses, and nothing seemed to sit properly on the cornea or provide stable vision, except the highest minus spherical Alcon TOTAL1 lenses.”
Beyond this case, Trinh believes the results reflect something bigger the ability of premium daily disposable contact lenses like TOTAL1 to enhance comfort and vision for almost any patient who wears them.
“It’s a combination of the right technology and the right clinical approach.”
It looks like, when both are able to open the doors to their new practices, people will be in good hands.
And in good contact lenses, if they need them.
References:
1.Thekveli S, Qui Y, Kapoor Y, et al. Structure-property relationship of delefilcon A lenses. Contact Lens Anterior Eye. 2012;35(Suppl 1):e14. [REF-09690].
2. Angelini TE, Nixon RM, Dunn AC, et al. Viscoelasticity and mesh-size at the surface of hydrogels characterized with microrheology. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013;54:E-abstract 500. [REF-04789].
3. Pitt WG, Jack DR, Zhao Y, Nelson JL, Pruitt JD. Loading and release of a phospholipid from contact lenses. Optom Vis Sci. 2011 Apr;88(4):502-6. REF-10228
4. Perez-Gomez I, Giles T. European survey of contact lens wearers and eye care professionals on satisfaction with a new water gradient disposable contact lens. Clin Optom. 2014;6:17-23. [REF-02432].
5. Michaud L, Forcier P. Comparing two different daily disposable lenses for improving discomfort related to contact lens wear. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2016 Jun;39(3):203-9. [REF-10228]
6. Hart, S.M., McGhee, E.O., Urueña, J.M. et al. Surface Gel Layers Reduce Shear Stress and Damage of Corneal Epithelial Cells. Tribol Lett 68, 106 (2020). [REF-20694]
