In this era of COVID-19, your safety is key. We will call before your appointment to start the exam virtually. If you are a new patient, your forms can be downloaded prior to the exam and filled out at home and either emailed to us ahead of time, or handed to the front desk on the day of your visit.
We will prescreen you on the phone to ascertain there are no risk factors to having you come into the office. Please do not enter without a mask. If necessary, a disposable one will be given to you . On arrival , only the patient is allowed to come into the office. You will wait in your car, since we will no longer have patients waiting in the waiting room. You will then come in when called, the doors will be open so you do not have to touch any surfaces. We will all be wearing N-95 masks with surgical masks over them, as well as scrubs, eye coverings and gloves. We will check your temperature with an infrared noncontact thermometer. On arrival, a technician will have a machine read your current prescription and use another machine, an auto refractor, to tell us what your prescription should be. Another machine will be used to take a photo of the back of your eyes so that you will not need to be dilated. You will then go into an exam room where the rest of the exam will occur. We will be scrubbing all instruments and surfaces before and after your visit with 70% alcohol and medical grade bleach solutions. We will ask you not to speak while being examined so as to reduce drop and viral load formation. You will leave with prescriptions and written instructions, and we will go over everything with you virtually when you are in your car to keep you and staff safe. We prefer you to give your credit card information by phone before the visit to keep check out contactless.
Our goal is to minimize your risk, so we will do as much as possible virtually with was little contact as possible.
If you have ever undergone eye surgery, a trained ophthalmologist has done the work. Ophthalmology focuses on treating diseases and conditions that affect the anatomy and physiology of the eye. What this means is that an ophthalmologist takes care of both surgical procedures and medical care for the eye. They are specialists in dealing with multiple eye diseases and conditions.
Ophthalmology Training and Education
Becoming an ophthalmologist requires a medical degree and completing residency like other branches of medicine. Some ophthalmologists can undergo additional training if they choose and focus on a specialty within the field.
Ophthalmology training covers the entire spectrum of eye care. Ophthalmologists are trained to do thorough eye exams to prescribe glasses or contact lenses, offer medical treatment for assorted eye problems, and do complex and delicate eye surgeries for qualified candidates. They also take an active role in conducting scientific research on eye diseases and other serious vision problems. Ophthalmologists work to uncover causes behind these things and find cures.
An ophthalmologist is a licensed medical doctor, so they are permitted to practice medicine and surgery. This is different from an optometrist who focuses on performing eye exams, prescribing corrective lenses, and prescribing medications for certain eye diseases. Often, optometrists and ophthalmologists will work together to provide complete eye care for a patient.
Ophthalmologist Sub-Specialties
The field of ophthalmology includes multiple sub-specialties where an ophthalmologist can focus on treating
and curing specific types of eye problems. This can make it easier to address the specific needs of eye
patients.
These ophthalmology sub-specialties include:
Cornea and External Disease: Diagnosing and treating diseases related to the cornea, sclera and eyelids are the primary focus of this specialty. Training within this specialty includes doing corneal transplant surgery and other types of corneal surgery.
Glaucoma: This specialty concentrates on medical and surgical treatment of glaucoma and other age-related vision disorders that can create optic nerve damage through increased ocular pressure.
Neuro-ophthalmology: A nonsurgical specialty focused on diseases affecting the optic nerve and visual pathways. It deals with the relationship between neurologic and ophthalmic diseases and can be combined with eye and orbital surgery.
Ophthalmic Pathology: An ophthalmic pathologist examines tissue samples culled from the eye and adnexa in helping to diagnose eye diseases and vision problems.
Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery: With this specialty, the focus is on reconstructive surgery in facial and orbital areas. It can include complex surgeries on eyelids, orbits, certain facial bones, and the lacrimal system.
Pediatric Ophthalmology: This specialty focuses on dealing with vision problems and eye diseases affecting children. Pediatric ophthalmologists offer medical and surgical treatment of genetic ocular abnormalities and serious eye diseases before a patient reaches adulthood.
Vitreoretinal Diseases: Medical and surgical treatment of diseases affecting the retina and vitreous are the focus of this specialty. These diseases can be genetic and systemic in origin. A vitreoretinal ophthalmologist uses tools like ultrasound fluorescein, angiography and electrophysiology to make a diagnosis. From there, they treat vitreoretinal diseases through using such procedures as laser therapy, cryotherapy, retinal detachment surgery and vitrectomy.