Eye Doctor Accused of Botching Surgery

State medical officials have accused a Burbank eye doctor of botching cataract surgery on one elderly patient who later went blind and of giving an excessive number of laser “shots” to another who was left with almost no vision in the treated eye.

According to state records, Dr. Akim F. Czmus has been on probation since 1987 for falsely telling a Glendale hospital where he was seeking a job that he was certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Czmus, 39, who is in private practice, was charged with negligent and incompetent treatment of six patients in a recent complaint filed by the California Medical Board, which disciplines state-licensed health practitioners. He faces the loss of his medical license if found guilty of the charges, which are expected to be heard by an administrative law judge next spring.