Meet
the Staff

Yulia Benjamin

Surgical Coordinator

Yulia was born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine where she graduated from the Kiev National University of Culture and Art, specializing in information technology. When not at work, Yulia loves to spend time with the family, her daughters Charlie and Danielle and son Jonah. Her other interests include reading, playing piano and guitar, traveling, and attending cultural events. Yulia also enjoys painting in water color and sculpting.

Yulia can help with:

• Scheduling your surgery
• Coordinating your pre-operative testing at the Benjamin Eye Institute
• Coordinating your pre-operative evaluation with your family doctor
• Insurance pre-authorizations for your procedure
• Arranging financing through Chase or Care Credit
• Pre-operative and post-operative care instructions
• Communication with your doctor and or optometrist

Yulia is our dedicated intra-ocular surgery coordinator for such procedures as cataract extraction, clear lens exchange, or ICL. She is the liaison between the patient, Benjamin Eye Institute, internists, surgical center and the co-managing optometrist. She is there for our patients every step of the way, from pre-op through the surgery to post-op care. She is at the surgical center on the day of the surgery to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Languages Spoken:

• English
• Russian
• Ukrainian

If you would like to contact Yulia, please write to: yuliav@benjamineye.com or simply call our office.

Mayka Choma

Operations Manager

Mayka was born and raised in Slovakia. There she successfully completed the School of Fashion Design and actually showcased her award winning designs at an international competition. When it came to her own wedding she designed and made the bride’s gown and the groom’s tuxedo. After moving to the US, Mayka settled in Colorado and dedicated herself to raising her two beautiful children. In 2005, Mayka arrived in California where she was recruited by a nationwide LASIK chain to be a patient counselor. Over the years she has taken thousands of patients through the magic of laser vision correction. In 2010 Mayka joined the Benjamin Eye Institute team.

Mayka is a truly well-rounded individual. She enjoys spending time with her son Luca and daughter Alex, and together they love to discover the majestic beauty of California, attending cultural events, traveling, and meeting interesting people.

Mayka is an avid cook and frequently spoils the team at the BEI with her delicious creations.

Mayka can help with:

• Counseling patients about LASIK
• Discussing LASIK technologies, candidacy and surgeon experience
• Educating patients about cataract surgery and available options
• Arranging financing through Chase Healthcare or CareCredit
• Coordinating pre-operative appointments and exams
• Scheduling surgery
• Performing diagnostic testing
• Giving pre-operative and post-operative instructions
• Communicating with referring doctors and optometrists

Mayka is the face of refractive surgery at the Benjamin Eye Institute. She addresses all patient needs relating to refractive or premium cataract care, such as financing, counseling, coordination of pre-operative appointments, testing, surgical and post-operative care. As a fully certified laser vision correction technician she assists Dr. Benjamin during surgery. Mayka is there with the patient every step of the way.

Languages Spoken:

• English
• Russian
• Slovakian
• Czech
• Polish

If you would like to contact Mayka, please write to: mayka.b@benjamineye.com simply call our office.

Nonna Osipova

Technician

Bio coming soon!

Lana Shekhtman

Technician

Born and raised in Moscow, Lana is an engineer by education and training. Upon arriving in the States she settled in Los Angeles where she quickly found herself drawn into the world of ophthalmology. Lana joined our team in 2001 and has become an integral part of the practice.

She is the doctor’s right hand and knows everything about every aspect of ophthalmic practice. She and her husband love to spend time with friends and their children Julia and Alexander.

Lana can help with:

• Collecting your eye and health history
• Pre-testing before you see the doctor
• Glasses and contacts prescriptions
• Ordering contact lenses
• Calling in and renewing your medication prescriptions
• Coordinating your pre-operative testing at the Benjamin Eye Institute
• Coordinating your pre-operative evaluation with your family doctor
• Pre-operative and post-operative care instructions
• Assisting with surgery
• Calibrating the lasers

Lana is our Lead Ophthalmic Technician. Through her years of experience she has developed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of optical, ocular, and systemic disorders and the treatments thereof. This incredible base of expertise serves to supplement her innate personable demeanor. She assists Dr. Benjamin in the diagnosis of patients by use of the state of the art tools at BEI. As a fully certified IntraLase and Wavelight Allegretto technician she assists Dr. Benjamin during laser vision correction procedures.

Languages Spoken:

• English
• Russian

If you would like to contact Lana, please write to: lanas@benjamineye.com or simply call our office at 310.275.5533.

Serine Mkrtchyan

Technician

Bio coming soon!

Gevorg Barsegyan

Patient Care Coordinator

Bio coming soon!

Alexandru Negruta

Patient Care Coordinator

Bio coming soon!